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1 

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6 

THE  LIFE  OE  IS^ELSOK 


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canc!  tl^;i!D^:.  tvrbiscO 


VICE-ADMIRAL.    LORD    NELSON. 

/■ram  the  portrait  in  the  possession  of  Sir  \V.  Biddulph  Parker, 
liiOL,  Blackhrook  House,  Kireh.nn,  J/ants.  On  the  thick  of  the 
pictine  is  -.vritten,  •'  This  head  rvas  sketched  from  the  Hero  ditrinsr 
his  short  stay  at  Me?-(ait,  the  beginning  of  September,  1S05,  I'y  me, 
John  Whiehelor 
I   •  kUA'N,    .\NIJ    t  '*Mi'  \XY 

I.S'l'l 


S: 


AUTI 


It 


THE 


LIFE   OF  NELSON 


THE  EMBODIMENT 


OK    THE 


Sea  Power  of  Great  Britain 


BY 

CAPTAIN   A.  T.  MAHAN,  D.C.L,  LL.D. 

Santttti  States  mbg 
AUTHOK  OF  "the  influenck  of  ska  rowKK  ni-oN  irisTOJtY,  1060-178.]"  "the 

I.NFLUENCE   OF   SEA   I'OWKU   UI'O.N   THE    FHKNCH    HEVOI.ITION   ASH 
EMWUE,"  AND   OF  A   "LIFE  UF   AUMIKAL,  FAUUAtiUT  " 


Btcavib  lEtn'tion,  Kebisctj 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

1899 


u 


Copiiright,  1897,  1899, 
By  Captain  A.  T.  Mahan. 


AU  rights  reserved 


m  i 


I 


Unibrrsitg  Dress : 

John  Wilson  and  Son,  Camiuudoe,  U.S.A. 


^ 


I 


PREFACE 


TO   THE   SECOND   EDITION. 


A. 


SINCE  the  first  publication  of  this  book,  there  have 
appeared  two  principal  criticisms  upon  the  accuracy 
of  its  presentation  of  Nelson.  The  first,  in  order  of  time, 
revived  the  often  debated  question  of  his  action  towards 
the  Neapolitan  republicans,  in  1799,  challenging  the 
author's  verdict  with  much  parade  of  evidence.  The 
second  disputed  the  estimate  of  Nelson's  affection  for  his 
wife,  basing  the  argument  chiefly  upon  some  recently  found 
letters  from  him  to  her,  the  hiding-place  of  which  had 
escaped  even  the  diligent  search  of  Sir  Harris  Nicolas. 

Concerning  the  former  of  these,  the  author,  after  due 
consideration,  has  seen  no  cause  to  change  the  opinion 
fii-st  expressed ;  but  he  has  recognized  a  necessity  to  pro- 
tect 1  he  fair  fame  of  the  admiral,  as  well  as  to  fortify  his 
own  (  osition,  by  recasting  and  amplifying  the  discussion 
of  t''.'J  subject.  He  has  therefore  embodied  in  the  text 
such  demonstration  of  Nelson's  integrity  as  may  in  the 
future  enable  a  studious  reader  to  rebut  the  accusations, 
if  renewed. 

As  regards  Nelson's  affection  for  his  wife,  it  is  enough 
to  say  that  the  author  never  thought  or  said  that  he  did 
not  love  her  tenderly  at  marriage,  and  for  yeai-s  after- 


VI 


PllEFACK  TO  TIIK   SKCOND  EDITION 


wards.  But  there  is  love  and  love.  What  was  noted» 
and  emphasized,  was  the  absence  of  any  tendency  to 
idealize  her,  as  he  did  other  women  to  whom  he  became 
attached  from  time  to  time,  and  as  lovei-s  commonly  do. 
The  newly  found  letters,  as  far  as  published,  —  the  author 
has  not  been  permitted  to  see  the  others,  —  afford  no 
reason  to  modify  this  remark,  and  consequently  no  change 
of  treatment  has  been  made.  These  letters  contain  also 
some  small  details  which  have  novelty  and  interest,  con- 
nected with  the  separation  between  Nelson  and  his  wife. 
These  have  been  incorporated  in  the  text ;  but,  beyond 
accentuating  slightly  his  hardness  to  her  in  the  particular 
instance,  they  throw  no  new  light  upon  his  character. 

As  far  as  they  go,  these  new  letters  confirm  the  remark 
made  more  than  once  by  the  author  during  his  first  study 
of  tlie  life  of  Nelson :  that  more  letters  might  yet  be 
found ;  that  a  trivial  detail  of  fact  might  hero  and  there 
receive  correction,  altering  a  little  the  background,  or 
the  framing,  of  the  portrait;  but  that  the  mass  of  cor- 
respondence published  by  Nicolas  was  so  extensive,  so 
continuous,  and  addressed  to  so  many  different  persons,  as 
to  make  it  highly  improbable  that  any  further  light,  not 
to  be  found  in  those  volumes,  would  be  shed  upon  the  ad- 
miral's character.  So  much  being  known,  biographies  of 
Nelson  will  contrast  one  with  anotlier,  not  in  point  of 
abundance  of  material,  but,  as  portraits  do,  according  to 
the  ability  of  the  workman  to  reproduce,  from  the  original 
before  him,  an  impression  of  the  man  which  shall  be  at 
once  true,  full,  and  living. 

The  work  of  revision  has  embraced  also  the  correction 
or  amplification  of  certain  minor  details,  noted  by  the 
author  himself  or  by  others.     Of  these,  the  most  impor- 


I 


1 


)N 

t  was   noted) 

tendency   to 

n  he  became 

joninionly  do. 

—  the  autlior 

—  afford  no 
ly  no  changg 
contain  also 
interest,  con- 
nd  his  wife, 
but,  beyond 
le  particular 
aracter. 

the  remark 
i  first  study 
ight  yet  be 
3  and  there 
:ground,  or 
lass  of  cor- 
ctensive,  so 
persons,  as 
f  light,  not 
)on  the  ad- 
^raphies  of 
fi  point  of 
cording  to 
lie  original 
hall  be  at 


PREFACE   TO   THE   SECOND   EDITION 


vii 


tant  concerns  the  reason  for  withholding  the  medals  for 
Copenhagen.  In  the  author's  judgnient,  his  previous  pre- 
sentment of  Nelson's  character  and  conduct  is  not  affected 
in  the  slightest  degree  by  these  changes.  They  are  part 
of  the  frame,  not  of  the  picture. 


April,  1899. 


A.  T.  ]\I. 


correction 
d  by  the 
»8t  impor- 


PREFACE 


TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION 


THE  Life  of  Nelson  has  been  written  so  often,  that  an 
explanation  —  almost  an  apology — seems  due  for  any 
renewal  of  the  attempt ;  but,  not  to  mention  the  attractive- 
ness of  the  theme  in  itself,  it  is  essential  to  the  complete- 
ness and  rounding  off  of  the  author's  discussion  of  the 
Influence  of  Sea  Power,  that  he  present  a  study,  from  his 
own  point  of  view,  of  the  one  man  who  in  himself  summed 
up  and  embodied  the  greatness  of  the  possibilities  which 
Sea  Power  comprehends,  —  the  man  for  whom  genius  and 
opportunity  worked  together,  to  make  hini  the  personifica- 
tion of  the  Navy  of  Great  Britain,  the  dominant  factor  in 
the  periods  hitherto  treated.  In  the  century  and  a  half 
embraced  in  those  periods,  the  tide  of  influence  and  of 
power  has  swelled  higher  and  liigher,  floating  upward 
before  the  eyes  of  mankind  many  a  distinguished  name; 
but  it  is  not  until  their  close  that  one  arises  in  whom  all 
tlie  promises  of  the  past  find  their  finished  realization, 
tlieir  perfect  fulfilment.  Thenceforward  the  name  of  Nel- 
son is  enrolled  among  those  few  presented  to  us  by  His- 
tory, the  simi)le  mention  of  which  suggests,  not  merely  a 
personality  or  a  career,  but  a  great  force  or  a  gnuit  era 
concrete  in  a  single  man,  who  is  its  standard -l)earer  before 
the  nations. 

Yet,  in  this  process  of  exaltation,  the  man  himself,  even 
Avhen  so  very  Innnan  and  so  very  iny.iv  our  own  time  as 
Nelson  is,  suffers  from  an  association  which  merges  his 
individuality  in  the  splendor  of  his  surroundings;  and  it 


.i 


I  ,    ! 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION 


!  I 


is  perhaps  pardonable  to  hope  that  tlie  subject  is  not  so 
far  exhausted  but  that  a  new  worker,  gleaning  after  the 
reapei-s,  may  contribute  something  further  towards  disen- 
gaging the  figure  of  the  hero  from  the  glory  that  cloaks  it. 
The  aim  of  the  present  writer,  while  not  neglecting  other 
sources  of  knowledge,  has  been  to  make  Nelson  describe 
himself,  —  tell  the  story  of  his  own  inner  life  as  well  as  of 
his  external  actions.  To  realize  this  object,  it  has  not 
seemed  the  best  way  to  insert  numerous  letters,  because, 
in  the  career  of  a  man  of  action,  each  one  commonly  deals 
with  a  variety  of  subjects,  which  bear  to  one  another  little 
relation,  except  that,  at  the  moment  of  writing,  they  all 
formed  part  of  the  multifold  life  the  writer  was  then  lead- 
ing. It  is  true,  life  in  general  is  passed  in  that  way ;  but 
it  is  not  by  such  distraction  of  interest  among  minute  de- 
tails that  a  particular  life  is  best  understood.  Few  let- 
ters, therefore,  have  been  inserted  entire ;  and  those  which 
have,  have  been  chosen  because  of  their  unity  of  subject, 
and  of  their  value  as  characteristic. 

The  author's  method  has  been  to  make  a  careful  study 
of  Nelson's  voluminous  correspondence,  analyzing  it,  in 
order  to  detect  the  leading  features  of  temperament,  traits 
of  thought,  and  motives  of  action ;  and  thence  to  conceive 
within  himself,  by  gradual  familiarity  even  more  than  by 
formal  effort,  the  character  therein  revealed.  The  impres- 
sion thus  produced  he  has  sought  to  convey  to  others, 
partly  in  the  form  of  ordinary  narrative,  —  daily  living 
with  his  hero,  —  and  partly  by  such  grouping  of  incidents 
and  utterances,  not  always,  nor  even  nearly,  simultaneous, 
as  shall  serve  by  their  joint  evidence  to  emphasize  particu- 
lar traits,  or  particular  oi)inions,  more  forcibly  than  when 
such  testimonies  are  scattered  far  apart;  as  they  would  be, 
if  recounted  in  a  strict  order  of  time. 

A  like  method  of  treatment  has  been  pursued  in  regard 
to  that  purely  external  part  of  Nelson's  career  in  whicli 
are  embraced  his  miliUiiy  actions,  as  well  as  his  public  and 


act 

as 

tn 

coi 

th( 

sue 

sue 


^ 


I'REFACE  TO  THE  FIRvST   EDITION 


xl 


ect  is  not  so 
ing  after  the 
wards  ilisen- 
hat  cloaks  it. 
:lecting  other 
Ison  describe 
as  well  as  of 
t,  it  has  not 
ers,  because, 
iinionly  deals 
mother  little 
ing,  they  all 
as  then  lead- 
lat  way ;  but 
^  minute  de- 
l.  Few  let- 
those  which 
y  of  subject, 

areful  study 
yzing  it,  in 
ment,  traits 
to  conceive 
re  than  by 
'he  inipres- 
to  others, 
:laily  living 
if  incidents 
iiultaneous, 
jize  particu- 
than  when 
would  be, 

[I  in  regard 
in  wliieli 
Ipublic  and 


private  life.  The  same  aim  is  kept  in  view  of  showing 
clearly,  not  only  what  he  did,  but  the  principles  which 
dominated  his  military  tliought,  and  guided  his  military 
actions,  throughout  his  life;  or,  it  may  bo,  such  changes 
as  must  inevitably  occur  in  the  development  of  a  man  who 
truly  lives.  This  cannot  be  done  satisfactorily  without 
concentrating  the  evidence  from  time  to  time;  and  it  is 
therefore  a  duty  a  writer  owes  to  his  readei-s,  if  they  v/ish 
such  acquaintance  with  his  subject  as  he  thinks  he  has 
succeeded  in  acquiring  for  himself. 

The  author  has  received  individual  assistance  from  sev- 
eral persons.  To  a  general  expression  of  thanks  he  wislies 
to  add  his  special  acknowledgments  to  the  present  Earl 
Nelson,  through  whose  aid  he  has  obtained  information  of 
interest  which  otherwise  probably  would  have  escaped 
him;  and  to  Lords  Radstock  and  De  Saumarez,  both  of 
whom  have  been  good  enough  to  place  in  his  hands  letters 
contemporary  with  Nelson,  and  touching  incidentally  mat- 
ters that  throw  light  on  his  career.  Material  of  the  same 
kind  has  also  been  furnished  him  by  Professor  John  Knox 
Laughton,  whose  knowledge  of  Nelson  and  of  the  Navy  of 
that  period  is  second  to  none;  it  is  not  the  least  of  the 
writer's  advantages  that  he  has  had  before  him,  to  check 
possible  errors  in  either  fact  or  conclusions,  the  admirable, 
though  brief.  Life  of  Nelson  published  by  Mr.  Laughton 
tv/o  years  since. 

Illustrative  anecdotes  have  also  been  supplied  by  Ad- 
miral Sir  William  R.  Mends,  G.  C.  B.,  who  has  shown 
his  continued  interest  in  the  work  by  the  trouble  he  has 
taken  for  it;  by  Mr.  Stuart  J.  Reid,  of  Blackwell  Cliff, 
East  Grinstead;  and  by  Mr.  Edgar  Goble,  of  Fareham, 
Hants.  Mr.  B.  F.  Stevens,  of  4  Trafalgar  Square,  has 
also  kindly  exerted  himself  on  several  occasions  to  obtain 
needed  information.  To  ]\Irs.  F.  H.  B.  Eccles,  of  Sher- 
woll  House,  Plymouth,  granddaugliter  of  Josiah  Nisbet, 
Nelson's  stepson,  the  author  is  indebted  for  reminiscences 


1 


■l 


I 


I  1 


x\l 


I'REFACE   TO  THE   IIIIST   EDITION 


of  Liidy  Nelson,  and  for  her  portrait  liere  published ;  and 
his  thanks  are  also  due  to  l^ieutenant-Colonel  W.  Clement 
1).  Esdaile,  of  Burley  Manor,  Ringwood,  Hants,  througli 
whom  he  was  brought  into  connnunication  with  Mrs. 
Eccles,  and  who  has  in  other  ways  helped  him. 

Throughout  tlie  writing  of  the  book  constant  assistance 
has  been  received  from  Mr.  Robert  B.  Marston,  to  wliom 
cordial  acknowledgment  is  made  for  the  untiring  pains 
taken  in  prosecuting  necessary  inquiries,  which  could  not 
have  been  done  without  great  delay  by  one  not  living  in 
England.  Suggestions  valuable  to  the  completeness  of 
the  work  have  been  given  also  by  Mr.  Marston. 

For  the  portrait  of  Mrs.  Philip  Ward,  the  "  Horatia  " 
whom  Nelson  called  generally  his  adopted  daughter,  but 
at  times  spoke  of  as  his  daughter  simply,  and  whom,  on 
the  last  morning  of  his  life,  he  commended  to  tlu^  care  of 
his  Country,  the  author  has  to  thank  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelson 
Ward,  of  15  Lancaster  Road,  Belsize  Park,  London.  Mr. 
Nelson  Ward  is  her  son. 

To  the  more  usual  sources  of  information  already  in 
print,  it  ib  not  necessary  to  refer  in  detail;  but  it  is  right 
to  mention  especially  the  collection  of  Hamilton  and  Nel- 
son letters,  published  by  Mr.  Alfred  Morrison,  a  copy  of 
which  by  his  polite  attention  was  sent  the  writer,  and  upon 
which  must  necessarily  be  based  such  account  of  Nelson's 
relations  with  Lady  Hamilton  Jis,  unfortunately,  cannot 
be  omitted  wholly  from  a  life  so  profoundly  affected  by 
them. 

A.  T.  MAHAN. 

Mareli,  1897. 


1 


)N 


niblisli(Hl;  and 
!l  W.  Clement 
[tints,  throiigli 
)n   with   Mry. 

him. 

bant  assistance 
ston,  to  whom 
untiring  pains 
hich  could  not 

not  living  in 
mpleteness  of 
i.rston. 

he  "Horatia" 
daughter,  but 
mtl  whom,  on 
to  tli(!  care  of 
d  Mrs.  Nelson 
London.     Mr. 

?>n  already  in 
hut  it  is  right 
Iton  and  Nel- 
on,  a  copy  of 
ter,  and  upon 
it  of  Nelson's 
ately,  cannot 
affected  by 

T.  MAHAN. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

1758-1783. 


The  First  Twent^'-Flvo  Years 


Page 
1 


CIIAPTEll  II. 

1784-1793.      Agk,  2G-.J4. 

Tlic  Cruise  of  the  "  Ilorcas."  —  Controversy  over  tlio  Eiiforoeinent  of 
tiio  Navigiition  Act.  —  Ketiirn  to  Eiiglaud.  —  Itotirciiiciit  until  tlic 
Outbreak  of  tlie  Frcncii  Uevolution.  —  Appointed  to  c-oniinand  the 
"  Agauicniuon,"  64       38 

CHAPTER  III. 

FEBRUARY-DECEMmiK,  1793.       AllE,  34. 

Nelson's  Departure  from  England  in  the  "  Agamemnon."  —  Services  in 
the  Mediterranean  until  the  Recovery  of  Toulou  by  the  French. — 
Lord  Hood  in  Command 82 


CHAPTER  IV. 

JANUAnv-DECEMiiEu,  1794.     Age,  35. 

Reduction  of  Corsica  l)y  the  British. —  Departure  of  Lord  Hood  for 
England.  —  The  "  Agamemnon  "  Refitted  at  Leghorn 101 


CHAPTER  V. 

January-July,  1795.     Age,  36. 

Nelson's  Services  with  the  Fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  under  Admiral 
llotham.  —  I'artial  Fleet  Actions  of  March  13  and  14,  and  July  13. 
—  Nelson  ordered  to  command  a  Detaciied  Squadron  co-ojjerating 
with  the  Austrian  Army  in  tiie  Riviera  of  Genoa 132 


XIV 


CONTENTS 


CIIAITKR   VI. 

tIui.Y-T)i;ci:Miii;it,  179r).     A<ii;,  .'$7. 


I'ligt) 


NoIsiiii'm  C'oiiiiiiuikI  of  :i  Dcliu-liotI  S(|ii:iilr()ii  on  tlio  liiviora  of  Genoa, 
until  till!  iX'fi'at  of  tlio  Austrian^  at  liio  liutlhtof  liuaiio.  —  8ir  Jolin 
flurvis  aiiiiuinluil  Coininaniler-in-Cliiuf  in  tliu  Modiicrruucun    .     .    .     157 


ciiAi'TKU  vn. 

J.\MrARV-nix'EMm;it,  171)0.     AiiE,  .38. 

Nelson's  Services  in  the  Meiliten-anean  iliirinjj  tlio  Year  17%.  —  Bona- 
parte's Italian  Campaign.  —  'ilio  liritLnh  aliandun  Corsica,  anil  tlio 
ricet  leaves  the  Mediterranean 171) 

CIIAPTEIl   VIII. 

DECKMBIOIt,   I71)C-,IUNE,  1797.      A(1E,  38. 

Tlio  Evaenation  of  Ellia.  — Ni;i;lit  Combat  with  Two  Spanish  Frigates. 

—  Battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent.  —  Nelson  Promoted  to  liear-Admiral. 

—  Services  before  Cadiz 221 


y\ 


CHAPTER  IX. 

July,  1797-April,  1798.     Age,  39. 

The  Unsuccessful  Attempt  again.st  Teneriffe.  —  Nelson  loses  his  T?ight 
Arm.  —  Keturn  to  England.  —  Rejoins  St.  Vincent's  Fleet,  and  sent 
into  the  Mediterranean  to  watch  the  Toulon  Armament      ....    253 


CHAPTER  X. 

MAY-SEPTEMnER,  1798.    Age,  39. 
The  Campaign  and  Battle  of  the  Nile 


271 


1  ! 


I! 


CHAPTER  XI. 

September-Decemrer,  1798.    Age,  40. 

Nelson's  Return  from  Egypt  to  Naples.  —  Meeting  with  Lady  Hamilton. 
—  Association  with  the  Court  of  Na])Ies.  -r-  War  between  Naples 
and  France.  —  Defeat  of  the  Neapolitans.  —  Flight  of  the  Court  to 
Palermo 314 


v 


CONTENTS 


XV 


Page 
loni  of  OoiiDii. 
•<).  —  Sir  John 
iuicau    ...     157 


CIIAFTER  XII. 
January-May,  1799.    A(ii:,  40. 


I'ltK" 


Np1.*<oii's  ('jirccr,  .iikI  (loncnil  KvciitH  in  tiio  Mfditcrranciin  iuid  Italy, 
from  tlio  ( )vertiirow  of  the  IJoyal  (Jovornnicnt  in  Najdcs  to  tii(?  In- 
cursion of  the  French  Fleet  under  Admiral  Brui.x       34iJ 


1790.  — Bona- 
rsica,  and  the 


179 


CIIAI'TKIl  XIII. 

May-Ji;i-v,  1799.     AciB,  40. 

From  the  Incur.'^ion  of  the  French  Fleet  under  Uruix  to  the  Hestoralion 
of  tlie  Royal  Authority  at  Naples. — The  Caracciolo  Fxecutiori. — 
Nelson's  l)i.><obedicnce  to  Admiral  Lord  Keith 3.58 


lish  Frifjates. 
fear-Admiral. 


221 


CII  AFTER  XIV. 

Auc;u.ST,  1799-J»;nk,  1800.    Age,  41. 

Nelson  temporarily  Comniander-inChiif  in  the  Mediterranean.  —  'Re- 
lieved by  Lord  Keith.  —  Applies  to  return  to  Kngland  on  account 
of  111  Health 405 


|e.s  his  Right 
'ct,  and  sent 


253 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Ji;ne,  I800-Janu»--,    jOI.     Age,  42. 

Nelson  leaves  the  Mediterranean.  —  The  Journey  Overland  through 
Germany.  —  Arrival  in  England.  —  Separation  from  Lady  Nelson.  — 
Hoists  his  Flag  in  the  Channel  Fleet,  under  Lord  St.  Vincent .    .     .    435 


.    .     271 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

February-June,  1801.    Age,  42. 

The  Expedition  to  the  Baltic  and  Battle  of  Copenhagen.  —  Nelson  re- 
turns to  England 


456 


lllamilton. 

|en  Naples 

Court  to 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

JULT-OCTOBER,  1801.       AOE,  43. 

Nelson  commands  the  "  Squadron  on  a  Particular  Service,"  for  the 
Defence  of  the  Coast  of  England  against  Invasion.  —  Signature  of 
Preliminaries  of  Peace  with  France 505 


1 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


f  ■ 


Ui 


li' 


I ' 


I 

i  .1 


i. 


CHAPTER  xviir. 

OcTonKU,  1801-May,  1803.     Ack,  43-44. 

Helc.isc  from  Artivo  Srrvico  during  tliu  IVacc!  of  Amiens. —  IIoiiui  Life 
ut  Morlun,  —  riiblic  luciUciits       .    5i.>t) 

CIIAPTKU  XIX. 

May,  18()3-Janiiaky,  180;>.     A(iK,  45-40. 

Comm:iii*lcr-in-Cliii>f  in   tlio    Moiiitcrninciiui. — Tlio    Loii^   Watch   off 
Toulon.  —  ()C(<u])atiun8  of  u  Comnian(lcr-in-('liief t)^*7 

CHAPTER   XX. 

Januauy-Auuust,  180.').     A(;k,  46. 

The  Ksrapo  and  Pursuit  of  tlio   Toulon  Fleet.  —  Nelson's   lieturn  to 

Knj,'liin.i 632 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

AucjiJST  19-Ski'Tk.vui;u  1.5,  1805.     Aok,  46. 
Nelson's  li.'UHt  Stay  in  Kngland        .     G77 

CHAPTER  XXn. 

Sei'te.mhek  15-()cTOHEn  19,  1805.     Age,  47. 

The  Antecedents  of  Trafalgar 691 

CHAPTER  XXni. 

OcTOBEK  19-21,  1805.     Aok,  47. 

Trafalgar.  — The  Death  of  Nelson 713 


ll_ 


1 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


44. 


lIlMIU!   l,if(t 


I'llK. 


ai.".) 


4f). 

ii«    Wiitcli    off 


r}!)7 


ii'h   IJctiirn  to 


«:{2 


4G. 


(577 


47. 


691 


713 


i 


Vice-Admiiiai-,  Loud  Nklson Fronthpirce 

From  tho  portrait  in  tlio  j)0.ssessiou  of  Sir  NV,  Jtiddiilpii  Tiirkor, 
JJiirt.  of  BliU'librot)k  IIouho,  Fjirdiam,  IIiintH.  On  tho  back  of  tho 
picture  iH  written,  "Tliis  head  was  skctchctl  from  tho  Hero  during 
his  short  stay  at  Morton,  tho  beginning  of  September,  1805,  by  njo, 
John  Whichelo." 

AuMiKAL,  LoKD  Hood 122 

From  tho  painting  by  L.  F.  Abbott,  in  tlio  Matiouul  I'ortrait 
Gallery. 
Admikal,  Siu  John  jKUVia,  Eaki,  of  St.  Vixcknt    ...     184 
From  an  engraving  by  II.  Kobinson,  after  the  painting  by  John 
IIopi)ner,  in  St  .James's  Palaco. 

Sill  Thomas  TuoLHUiiMiK 2fiO 

F'rom  tho  painting  by  Sir  William  Beeciiey. 

Lady  Nklson 262 

From  a  photograph  by  Air.  E.  Kelly,  of  Plymouth,  of  a  minia- 
ture in  tho  posses8i(m  of  Mrs.  F.  II.  B.  Eccles,  of  SlicrwcU  House, 
Plymouth,  a  great-granddaughter  of  Lady  Nelson.  Believed  to 
have  been  painted  about  tho  time  of  the  Battle  of  tho  Nile. 

Reau-Admiral,  Siu  IIokatio  Nki-sox  ix  1798 272 

From  the  painting  by  L.  F.  Abbott,  in  tho  National  Portrait 
Oallcry. 

Emma,  Lady  IIamiltox 318 

After  a  painting  by  G.  Bomuey. 

Vice-Admiual,  Sir  IIvde  Paukeu .481 

After  the  painting  by  George  Romncy. 

IL   M.    Ships    "Agamemnon,"    "Captain,"    "Vanguard," 

'*  El-EPIIANT,"    AND   "  ViCTOUV."  5.J8 

From  an  engraving  by  J.  Fittlcr,  after  the  painting  by  N.  Pocock. 

Admiral  Collinowood 670 

From  the  painting  by  Henry  Howard,  at  Greenwich  Hospital. 

Captain  Thomas  Masteuman  IIardy 73G 

From  the  painting  by  Bohert  FiVans,  at  Greenwich  Hospital. 

IIORATIA,    AT   TWKNTY-TWO   YEARS   OF    AGE 738 

From  a  miniature  by  Sir  William  Charles  Ross,  in  tiic  possession 
of  Mr  Nelson  Ward. 


1 


I 


li 


Irl; 


l\ 


(I 


i     I 


ThI 
PaI 
BaJ 
Ba 
Ma 
Ma 
Ma 
Bai 
Bat 
Mai 
Bat 
Bat 
Maf 
Mai 
Ma] 
Pla 
Pla 
Pr.A 
Till 
Tu/ 
C 

T 


MAPS  AND  BATTLE  PLANS. 


Page 

Map  of  Northern  Italy,  and  Corsica 102 

The  "Agamemnon"  and  the  "  ^a  Ira"       140 

Partial  Fleet  Action,  March  14,  1795 143 

Battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  Figures  1  and  2  .     .     .     ,  230 

Battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  Figure  3 233 

Map  of  the  Mediterranean 276 

Map  of  Coast-line,  Alexandria  to  Rosetta 293 

Map  of  Aboukir  Bai       296 

Battle  of  the  Nile,  First  Stage       298 

Battle  of  the  Nile,  Second  Stage 301 

Map  of  the  Baltic  and  its  Approaches 468 

Battle  of  Copenhagen,  Plan  Number  1 473 

Battle  of  Copenhagen,  Plan  Number  2 476 

Map  of  the  English  Channel  and  North  Sea  ....  508 

Map  of  Sardinia 576 

Map  of  the  North  Atlantic       675 

Plans  of  Attack,  issued  May,  1805,  Figures  1,  2,  and  3  695 

Plan  of  Attack  for  Trafalgar,  Figure  1 698 

Plan  of  Attack  for  Trafalgar,  Figure  2 702 

The  Attack  at  Trafalgar 720 

Track  Chart,   giving   the   General  Lines  of  Nelson's 
Cruisings,  from  Lieutenant  in  the  Lowestoffe  1777 

to  1805 742 


I 


IS 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  First  Twenty-Five  Years. 


1758-1783. 

IT  is  the  appointed  lot  of  some  of  History's  chosen  few  to 
come  upon  the  scene  at  the  moment  when  a  great  tendency 
is  nearing  its  crisis  and  culmination.  Specially  gifted  with 
qualities  needed  to  realize  the  fulness  of  its  possibilities,  they 
so  identify  themselves  with  it  by  their  deeds  that  they  thence- 
forth personify  to  the  world  the  movement  which  brought  them 
forth,  and  of  which  their  own  achievements  are  at  once  the 
climax  and  the  most  dazzling  illustration.  Fewer  still,  but 
happiest  of  all,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  fame,  are  those 
whose  departure  is  as  well  timed  as  their  appearance,  who  do 
not  survive  the  instant  of  perfected  success,  to  linger  on  sub- 
jected to  the  searching  tests  of  common  life,  but  pass  from  our 
ken  in  a  blaze  of  glory  which  thenceforth  forever  encircles 
their  names.  In  that  evening  light  break  away  and  vanish  the 
ominous  clouds  wherewith  human  frailties  or  tyrant  passions 
had  threatened  to  darken  their  renown ;  and  their  sun  goes 
down  with  a  lustre  which  the  lapse  of  time  is  powerless  to  dim. 
Such  was  the  privilege  of  the  stainless  Wolfe ;  such,  beyond 
all  others,  that  of  Nelson.  Rarely  has  a  man  been  more 
favored  in  the  hour  of  his  appearing ;  never  one  so  fortunate 
in  the  moment  of  his  death. 

Yet,  however  accidental,  or  providential,  this  rarely  allotted 
portion,  this  crowning  incident  of  an  heroic  career,  it  is  after 
all  but  an  incident.  It  the  man  has  not  contrived;  but  to  it 
he  has  contributed  much,  without  which  his  passing  hour  would 
have  faded  to  memory,  undistinpfuished  among  thor-e  of  the 
myriads,  great  and  small,  who  have  died  as  nobly  and  are 

1 


!|  s  i 

I 

I 


1 


;'f, 


1   ! 


\   \  ! 


I  ! 


Hi- 


2 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


forever  forgotten.  A  sun  has  set;  but  before  its  setting  it  has 
run  a  course,  be  it  long  or  short,  and  has  gathered  a  radiance 
which  fixes  upon  its  parting  beams  the  rapt  attention  of  be- 
holders. The  man's  self  and  the  man's  works,  what  he  was 
and  what  he  did,  the  nature  which  brought  forth  such  fruits, 
the  thoughts  which  issued  in  such  acts^  liopes,  fears,  desires, 
quick  intuitions,  painful  struggles,  lofty  ambitions,  hapjn- 
opportunities,  have  blended  to  form  that  luminous  whole, 
known  and  seen  of  all,  but  not  to  be  understood  except  by  a 
patient  effort  to  resolve  the  great  result  into  its  several  rays, 
to  separate  the  strands  whose  twisting  has  made  so  strong  a 
cord. 

Concerning  the  man's  external  acts,  it  will  often  happen  that 
their  true  value  and  significance  can  best  be  learned,  not  from 
his  own  personal  recital,  but  from  an  analytic  study  of  the 
deeds  themselves.  Yet  into  them,  too,  often  enters,  not  only 
the  subtile  working  of  their  author's  natural  qualities,  but  also 
a  certain  previous  history  of  well-defined  opinions,  of  settled 
principles  firmly  held,  of  trains  of  thoiight  and  reasoning,  of 
intuitions  Wrought  into  rational  convictions,  all  of  which  betray 
both  temperament  and  character.  Of  these  intellectual  ante- 
cedents, the  existence  and  development  may  be  gleaned  from 
his  writings,  confirming  the  inference  reached  somewhat 
mechanically  by  the  scrutiny  of  his  actions.  They  play  to  the 
latter  the  part  of  the  soul  to  the  body,  and  thus  contribute  to 
the  rather  anatomical  result  of  the  dissecting  process  a  spiritual 
element  it  would  otherwise  lack.  But  if  this  is  .so  even  of  the 
outward  career,  it  is  far  more  deeply  true  of  the  inner  history, 
of  that  underlying  native  character,  which  masterfully  moulds 
and  colors  every  life,  yet  evades  the  last  analysis  except  when 
the  obscure  workings  of  heart  and  mind  have  been  laid  bare 
by  their  owner's  words,  recording  the  feelings  of  the  fleeting 
hour  with  no  view  to  future  inspection.  In  these  revelations 
of  self,  made  without  thought  of  the  world  outside,  is  to  be 
found,  if  anywhere,  the  clue  to  that  complex  and  often  contra- 
dictory mingling  of  qualities  which  go  to  form  tlie  oneness  of 
the  man's  personality.  This  discordance  between  essential 
unity  and  superficial  diversities  must  be  harmonized,  if  a  true 
conception  of  his  being  is  to  be  formed.  We  know  the  faces 
of  our  friends,  but  we  see  each  as  one.     The  features  can,  if 


I  of 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


re  its  setting  it  lius 
athered  a  radiance 
pt  attention  of  bo- 
orks,  what  he  was 
;  forth  such  fruits, 
>pes,  fears,  desires, 
ambitions,  happy 
luminous  whoh', 
stood  except  by  ;[ 

0  its  several  rays, 
made  so  strong  a 

often  happen  that 
learned,  not  from 
ytic  study  of  the 

1  enters,  not  only 
qualities,  but  also 
inions,  of  settled 
md  reasoning,  of 
11  of  which  betray 
intellectual  ante- 
be  gleaned  from 
lehed  somewhat 
rhey  play  to  the 
us  contribute  to 
ocess  a  spiritual 

so  even  of  the 
inner  history, 
terfully  moulds 
s  except  when 
)een  hiid  bare 
of  the  fleeting 
se  revelations 
;side,  is  to  be 
often  contra- 
he  oneness  of 
^een  essential 
zed,  if  a  true 
ow  tlie  faces 
atures  can,  if 


|wre  will,  be  separately  considered,  catalogued,  and  valued ;  but 

?wrho  ever  thus  thinks  habitually  of  one  he  knows  well  ?     Yet 

to  know  well  must  be  the  aim  of  biography,  —  so  to  present 

the  traits  in  their  totality,  without  suppression  of  any,  and  in 

itheir  true  relative  proportions,  as  to  produce,  not  the  blurred 

%v  distorted  outlines  seen  through  an  imperfect  lens,  but  the 

^^vivid  apprehension  which  follows  long  intimacy  with  its  con- 

iitinual,  though  unconscious,  process  of  correction. 

I     For  such  a  treatment  of  Nelson's  character,  copious,  if  im- 

Iperfect,  material  is  afforded  in  his  extensive  and  varied  corre- 

f  spondence.     From  it  the  author  aims,  first,  to  draw  forth  a 

J  distinct  and  living  image  of  the  man  himself,  as  sketched  there- 

I  in  at  random  and  loosely  by  his  own  hand.      It  is  sought  to 


reach  the  result  by  keeping  the  reader  in  constant  contact,  as 

f  by  daily  acquaintance,  with  a  personality  of  mingled  weakness 

'  and  strength,  of  grave  faults  as  well  as  of  great  virtues,  but 

i  one  whose  charm  was  felt  in  life  by  all  who  knew  it.      The 

second  object,  far  less  ambitious,  is  to  present  a  clear  narrative 

of  the  military  career,  of  the  mighty  deeds  of  arn\s,  of  this 

first  of  British  seamen,  whom  the  gifts  of  Nature  and  the  course 

of  History  have  united  to  make,  in  his  victories  and  in  their 

results,  the  representative  figure  of  the  greatest  sea-power  that 

the  world  has  known. 

It  will  not  be  thoup-ht  surprising  that  we  ^.ave,  of  the  first 
thirty  years  of  Nelson's  life,  no  such  daily  informal  record  as 
that  which  illustrates  the  comparatively  brief  but  teeming 
period  of  his  active  fighting  career,  from  1793  to  1805,  when 
he  at  once,  with  inevitable  directness  and  singular  rapidity, 
rose  to  prominence,  and  established  intimate  relations  with 
numbers  of  his  contemporaries.  A  few  anecdotes,  more  or  less 
characteristic,  have  been  preserved  concerning  his  boyhood  and 
youth.  In  his  early  manhood  we  have  his  own  account,  both 
explicit  and  implied  in  many  casual  unpremeditated  phrases, 
of  the  motives  which  governed  his  public  conduct  in  an  episode 
occurring  when,  scarcely  yet  more  than  a  youth,  he  commanded 
a  frigate  in  the  West  Indies,  —  the  whole  singularly  confirma- 
tory, it  might  better  be  said  prophetic,  of  the  distinguishing 
qualities  afterwards  so  brilliantly  manifested  in  his  maturity. 
But  beyond  these,  it  is  only  by  tlie  closest  attention  and  careful 
gleaning  that  can  be  found,  in  the  defective  and  discontinuous 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


collection  of  letters  which  remains  from  his  first  thirty  years, 
the  indisputable  tokens,  in  most  important  particulars,  of  the 
man  that  was  to  be. 

The  external  details  of  this  generally  uneventful  period  can 
be  rapidly  summarized.  He  was  born  on  the  29th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1758,  the  fifth  son  and  sixth  child  of  Edmund  Nelson,  then 
rector  of  the  parish  of  Burnham  Thorpe,  in  Norfolk,  a  county 
which  lies  along  the  eastern  coast  of  England,  bordering,  the 
North  Sea.  His  mother,  whose  name  before  marriage  was 
Catherine  Suckling,  was  grandniece  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole, 
the  famous  prime  minister  of  Great  Britain  during  twenty  years 
of  the  reigns  of  the  first  two  Georges.  Sir  Robert's  second 
brother  was  called  Horatio ;  and  it  was  from  the  latter,  or  from 
his  son,  that  the  future  hero  took  his  baptismal  name,  which, 
in  a  niore  common  form,  was  also  that  of  Sir  Robert's  younger 
son,  the  celebrated  letter  and  memoir  writer,  Horace  Walpole. 

Of  the  eleven  children  borne  l)y  Nelson's  mother  in  her 
eighteen  wedded  years,  only  two  lived  to  grow  old.  She  her- 
self died  at  forty-two ;  and  her  brother.  Captain  Maurice 
Suckling,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  was  also  cut  off  in  the  jnime  of 
his  age.  As  the  earlier  Nelsons  were  unusually  long-lived,  it 
seeins  probable  that  a  certain  delicacy  of  constitution  was 
transmitted  through  the  Sucklings  to  the  generation  to  which 
the  admiral  belonged.  He  was  himself,  at  various  periods 
through  life,  a  great  sufferer,  and  frequently  an  invalid;  allu- 
sions to  illness,  often  of  a  most  prostrating  type,  and  to  his 
susceptibility  to  the  influences  of  climate  or  weather,  occur 
repeatedly  and  at  brief  intervals  throughout  his  correspond- 
ence. This  is  a  factor  in  his  career  which  should  not  be  lost 
to  mind;  for  on  the  one  hand  it  explains  in  })art  the  fretful- 
ness  which  at  times  appears,  and  on  the  other  brings  ovit  with 
increased  force  the  general  kindly  sweetness  of  his  temper, 
which  breathed  with  slight  abatement  through  such  depressing 
conditions.  It  enhances,  too,  the  strength  of  purpose  that 
trod  bodily  weakness  under  foot,  almost  unconsciously,  at  the 
call  of  duty  or  of  honor.  It  is  notable,  in  his  letters,  that  the 
necessity  for  exertion,  even  when  involving  severe  exposure, 
is  apt  to  be  followed,  though  without  apparent  recognition  of 
a  connection  between  the  two,  bv  the  remark  that  he  has  not 
for  a  long  time  been  so  well.    He  probably  experienced,  as 


niji' 


!^' 


THE  FfRST  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 


first  thirty  years, 
articulars,  of  the 

'iitful  period  can 
29th  of  Septem- 
mul  Nelson,  then 
forfolk,  a  county 
I,  bordering,  the 
e  marriage  was 
iobert  Walpole, 
ing  twenty  years 
Robert's  second 
3  latter,  or  from 
il  name,  which, 
'obert's  younger 
[orace  AValjiole. 

mother  in  her 
old.  She  her- 
iptain  Maurice 
in  the  prime  of 
ly  long-lived,  it 
nstitution  was 
ration  to  which 
arious   periods 

invalid;  allu- 
>'pp,  and  to  his 
weather,  occur 
lis  correspond- 
Id  not  be  lost 
rt  the  fretful- 
rings  out  with 
")f  his  temper, 
ich  depressing 

purpose  that 

iously,  at  the 
tters,  that  the 
'•ere  exposure, 
recognition  of 
it  he  has  not 
:perienced,  as 


have  others,  that  it  is  not  the  greater  hardships  of  the  profes- 
sion, Jiiiich  less  the  dangers,  but  its  uncertainties  and  petty 
vexations,  which  tell  most  severely  on  a  high-stmng  organiza- 
tion like  his  own. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  his  going  to  sea  was  as  follows. 
In  1770  the  Falkland  Islands,  a  desolate  and  then  unimportant 
group,  lying  in  the  South  Atlantic,  to  the  eastward  of  Pata- 
gonia, were  claimed  as  a  possession  by  both  Spain  and  Great 
Britain.  The  latter  had  upon  them  a  settlement  called  Fort 
Egmont,  before  which,  iu  the  year  named,  an  overwhelming 
Spanish  squadron  suddenly  appeared,  and  compelled  the 
British  occupants  to  lower  their  Hag.  The  insult  aroused 
public  indignation  in  England  to  the  highest  pitch ;  and,  while 
peremptory  demands  for  reparation  were  despatched  to  Spain, 
a  number  of  ships  of  war  were  ordered  at  once  into  commis- 
sion. Among  these  was  the  *'Kaisonnable,"  of  sixty-four 
guns,  to  the  command  of  which  was  appointed  Nelson's  uncle. 
Captain  Maurice  Suckling.  The  latter  had  some  time  before 
promised  to  provide  for  one  of  his  sister's  children,  the  family 
being  very  poor ;  and,  the  custom  of  the  day  permitting 
naval  captains,  as  a  kind  of  patronage,  to  take  into  the 
King's  service  on  board  their  o  wn  ships  a  certain  number  of 
lads,  as  midshipmen  or  otherwise,  the  opportunity  of  giving  a 
nephew  a  start  in  life  was  now  in  his  hands.  The  story  is 
that  Horatio,  though  then  but  twelve  years  old,  realized  the 
burden  of  pecuniary  care  that  his  father  was  carrying,  and 
himself  volunteered  the  wish  that  his  uncle  would  take  him  to 
sea.  However  it  happened,  the  suggestion  staggered  Suckling, 
who  well  knew  the  lad's  puny  frame  and  fragile  constitution. 
"  What  has  poor  little  Horatio  done,"  cried  he,  "  that  he,  being 
so  weak,  should  be  sent  to  rough  it  at  sea  ?  But  let  him 
come,  and  if  a  cannon-ball  takes  off  his  head,  he  will  at  least 
be  provided  for."  Under  such  gloomy  foreboding  began  the 
most  dazzling  career  that  the  sea,  the  mother  of  so  many 
heroes,  has  ever  seen.^  , 

^  The  precise  date  of  Nelson's  entering  the  Navy,  which  would  be  that  of  his 
k'iiig  rated  upon  the  books  of  the  "  Raisonnable,"  is  not  stated.  Accepting 
the  times  during  which  he  was  borne  upon  the  books  of  different  ships,  as 
given  by  Sir  Harris  Nicolas  (Letters  and  Despatches  of  Lord  Nelson,  vol.  i. 
p.  4,  note),  and  with  them  calculating  back  from  October  15,  1773,  the  day 


6 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


;•  t 


j  if'F 


so 


Spain,  after  a  short  hesiHH^I      ^T7~! 

other  ships,  was  again  put  o  ,t  „f  "Kauonnable,"  wju        *'' 

of  the  Falkland  MandHowev:'  bT'"''°f-     '"'^  '"oilnt       

■ntroducing  Nelson  to  lis  nvZj'  '""'/"™'i  the  purpose  of 
opportunity  u,ight  not  iuv    offe Td"'  I?-''"^''  »*'-™i«    th 
thus  enibarked,  he,  in  common  w1  I.  .'  ?  ""  ^""''g  when 

?VS;t'S;tS-s5^™:s^-ts^ 

the  usual  even  correctness  of  «    V       "  °^  Collingwood,  nor 

^ori^^rthSit  &r  "-^  '■-^^  '■-e  ii,e «, 

career  to  see  so  little  is  a  fi7  I         '  *"''  "''^  throughout  h?, 
associated  with  thi;  Iri"'!™'' '°.'f™<>uce  two  tZJ^l 
transmitted  to  us     xv^    IL  ^^  '''""'i  his  biom-anho...  i. 
'ook  with  iacXitrLf  2::;"'-'  «"-»  hafrfear  eSt 
stones  relating  to  th^'cMdhood  ofT? ''  "">  "erision,  upon 
can  safely  be  said  that  th?  t  '^'st'nguished  men  ■  buM^ 

keeping,  „ot  merel/with  tl™,™  T  *°  '"'  «'''"  a«3  in  ent  re 
™ling  tenor  of  NeLn'    wLole  «!"■    «"''  """  "'«■  '^e  ^reat 

-.  and  the  eMert^^dlh^f- ^uM  ^^^^^^^^ 

mentioned  bv  NpJ        i,-  ■'^^^ 

I  '".  ..*,  infer  j;,^^  /^  ^  «»*•  »„  M^Arthur  S  of'^ I™  Tof "'' 

the  spring  of  „,'"  »«^™%joim„g  ,h,  ..C1™m  °    «"""'  "'">  "■!»«« 
for  th.«1,:Vf"i,-*'"°'- April.    Thist  ;™ tlibe"'  *'™.  ''"'»"■• 


h      iVll 


THE  FIUST  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 


5  British  demands, 
aisounable,"   with 
an.     Tlie  incident 
(d  the  purpose  oi 
»ich  otherwise  the 
:  «o  young  when 
the  most  success- 
or; nor  did  he,  as 
the  eccentricities 
>t  to  result  from 
d  direct  as  they 
Collingwood,  nor 
'd  Saumarez,  but 
awkward  expres- 
vever,  danger  of 
charged  against 

le  home  life,  of 
throughout  his 
[  two  anecdotes 
iographers  have 
me  learned  to 
derision,  upon 
3d  men ;  but  it 
'n  are  in  entire 
tvith  the  great 
3  elder  brother 
ponies.     Find- 
sly,  they  went 
get  on.    The 

^id  off  from  tlie 
e  books  of   the 
'ich  is  unlikely, 
Jusiness  reached 
Nelson,  vol.  i. 
Raisonnable's  " 
es  with  minute 
y  give,  loosely, 
fis  rating  baekj 
rroniotioD,  was 


fatlier  very  judiciously  replied:    "If  that  be  so,  I   have   of 

30ur.so  nothing  to  say;  but  I  wish  you  to  try  again,  and  I 

leave  it  to  your  honour  not  to  turn  back,  unless  necessary." 

lOn  the  second  attempt,  the  elder   was   more   than   once   for 

Ireturnin"-;    bnt  Horatio  stuck  it  out,  repeating   continually, 

'"llemeniber   it   was   left  to   our   honour,"    and  the  difficult 

journey  was  accomplished. 

The  children  in  this  instance  seem  to  have  felt  that  there 
was  danf^er  in  going  on.  The  other  recorded  occurrence  shows 
in  the  lad  that  inditference  to  personal  benefit,  as  distinguished 
from  the  sense  of  conspicuous  achievement,  which  was  ever  a 
prominent  characteristic  of  the  man.  The  master  of  his 
school  had  a  very  fine  pear-tree,  whose  fruit  the  boys  coveted, 
but  upon  which  none  dared  hazard  an  attempt.  At  last 
Nelson,  who  did  not  share  their  desires,  undertook  the  risk, 
climbed  the  tree  by  night,  and  carried  off  the  pears,  but 
refused  to  eat  any  of  them,  —  saying  that  he  had  taken  them 
only  because  the  others  were  afraid. 

Trivial  though  these  incidents  may  seem,  they  are  so  merely 
because  they  belong  to  the  day  of  small  things.  To  those 
accustomed  to  watch  children,  they  will  not  appear  unworthy 
of  note.  Taken  together,  they  illustrate,  as  really  as  do  his 
greatest  deeds,  the  two  forms  assumed  at  different  times  by 
the  one  incentive  which  always  most  powerfully  determined 
Nelson's  action  through  life, — the  motive  to  which  an  appeal 
was  never  made  in  vain.  No  material  considerations,  neither 
danger  on  the  one  hand,  nor  gain  on  the  other,  ever  affected 
him  as  did  that  idealized  conception  which  presented  itself, 
now  as  duty,  now  as  honor,  according  as  it  bore  for  the  mo- 
ment upon  his  relations  to  the  state  or  to  his  own  personality. 
"  In  my  mind's  eye,"  said  he  to  his  friend  Captain  Hardy,  who 
afterwards  bent  over  him  as  his  spirit  was  parting  amid  the 
tumult  of  his  last  victory,  "  I  ever  saw  a  radiant  orb  suspended 
which  beckoned  me  onward  to  renown."  Nelson  did  not  often 
verge  upon  the  poetical  in  words,  but  to  the  poetry  of  lofty 
aspiration  his  inmost  being  always  answered  true. 

To  the  young  naval  officer  of  a  century  ago,  especially  if 
without  political  or  social  influence,  it  was  a  weighty  advan- 
tage to  be  attached  to  some  one  commanding  officer  in  active 
employment,  who  by  favorable  opportunity  or  through  pro- 


TliK  LIFK  OF  NKLSON 


abuse  in  i„.mv  ,.  '''■'^t^'guished  service  flw      i  f   .   *'''' 

'"""''  '■ai.tain,  ,,h„,  eoul,     „  1°,  "'"  """'  "»■"■  future.^  ]  "  , 

>-■■>".   of  the  "TriuiS-tfi''™  *"""''^™"  to  tie    o'" 
'"»  h.s  .,eM,e>v,  wl,„  „'r2'  »;;'I  to  !'«■  also  l,e  took titl 

-je.«t  1,0 ...  to  th;-,a„""j ;; f:/^'f x"'^  i-ofes^r:;:^ 

°f-wa.s  .„a„,oreve„  tl  e  mvaffl  "".''"'"'■""">''  tl>0  man- 
i"ffs„j«  and  simple  weano?,  „  '','"  '''"^^  <%»  of  S 

*';an  U  i,as  since  LoZT^ay^r  '"""  """'"'^  '""ked 

a.n  s  were  carried;  and  the  A    T*  ''''''<''  cannon  and  small 
tmdor  as  well  as  i^  th^  s M,  S' t;?"^?'  "'  '"«  « 

a  foremast  hand,  the  elemente  „f  i       ''  '°  ''""■°  "Pon  her  as 
y   ^"  «'-■-' '"eimhihed.aloit&SrLri! 


■n/ 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


tunes   of  tlioso  i,i 
I'omotion  was  tlieu 
Ktiitions ;  and  this) 
'f,  tljouj,'h  liable  to 
stimulate  the  zeal 
'"mediately  under 
it'if  future.     Ea,.], 
fc  Jnore  or  less  tlu- 
'-1'Jiu.s   iSuc'klin^y, 
I  with  intelligent 
Jlson.     When  the 
'H'ed  to  the  coni- 
uns,  stationed  as 
^Iso  Jie  took  with 
)ooks  for  the  two 
"»  ^«ing  a  period 
We   i)rofessional 
lit,  and  obtained 
IS   seemed  most 

in  and  the  man- 
»se  days  of  sail- 
sharply  marked 
\  from  the  use 
'  full  equipping 
)  was  in  either 
inon  and  small 
'1  the  peaceful 
to  repel  force 
^^ith  a  reduced 
their  quarter- 
-ers,  a  youth 
mtasked  idle- 
_mproveinent. 
ian  to  a  mer- 
upon  her,  as 
under  condi- 
ihe  crew  and 
powers  most 
itical  knowl- 


fd<,'e,  the  prejudice  which  has  usually  existed,  more  or  less,  in 

|he  merchant  marine  against  the  naval  service,  due  probably 

io  the  more  rigorous  exactions  and  longer  terms  of  enlistment 

in  the  latter,  althcmgh  the  life  in  other  respects  ^s  one  of  less 

lianlshii);  but  in  Nelson's  day  the  feeling  had  been  intensified 

|)y  the  i)ractice  of  impressment,  and  by  the  severe,  almost 

lorutal  discii)line  that  (obtained  on  boanl  some  ships  of  war, 

pirougli  the  arbitrary  use  of  their  powers  by  captains,  then 

^nsuiHciently  controlled  by  law.     In  this  cruise  he  seems  to 

Ihave  spent  a  little  over  a  year  ;  a  time,  however,  that  was  not 

ilost  to  him  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  period  of  service 

itechnically  required  to  qualify  as  a  lieutenant,  his  name  con- 

[ tinning  throughout  on  the  books  of  the  "  Triumph,"  to  which 

[he  returned  in  July,  1772. 

Suckling's  care  next  insured  for  him  a  continuance  of  active, 
I  semi-detached  duty,  in  the  boats  of  the  "  Trium])h,"  —  an 
]  eiiii)loyment  very  different  from,  and  more  responsible  than, 
that  in  which  he  had  recently  been  occupied,  and  particularly 
calculated  to  develop  in  so  apt  a  nature  the  fearlessness  of 
responsibility,  both  professional  and  personal,  that  was  among 
the  most  prominent  features  of  Nelson's  character.  "  The 
test  of  a  man's  courage  is  responsibility,"  said  that  great 
iulmiral  and  shrewd  judge  of  men,  the  Earl  of  St.  Vincent, 
alter  a  long  and  varied  experience  of  naval  officers;  and  none 
ever  shone  more  brightly  under  this  supreme  proof  than  the 
lad  whose  career  is  now  opening  before  us.  It  may  be  inter- 
esting, too,  to  note  that  this  condition  of  more  or  less  detached 
service,  so  early  begun,  in  which,  though  not  in  chief  com- 
mand, he  held  an  authority  temporarily  independent,  and  was 
immediately  answerable  for  all  that  happened  on  the  spot, 
was  tlie  singular  characteristic  of  most  of  his  brilliant  course, 
during  which,  until  1803,  two  years  before  Trafalgar,  he  was 
only  for  brief  periods  commander-in-chief,  yet  almost  always 
acted  apart  from  his  superior.  Many  a  man,  gallant,  fearless, 
and  capable,  within  signal  distance  of  his  admiral,  has,  when 
out  of  sight  of  the  flag,  succumbed  with  feeble  knees  to  the 
burden  of  independent  responsible  action,  though  not  beyond 
his  professional  powers.  This  strength,  like  all  Nature's  best 
gifts,  is  inborn ;  yet,  both  for  the  happy  possessor  and  for  the 
merely  average  man,  it  is  susceptible  of  high  development 


10 


THK  HIE   OF  N,,r.so.V 


f!     ! 


<-'i  these  two  vejus  nf  .. 
the  ■■"■count  i„  ),i»  „,„,  ,,°„,,  '""'"'    !'  "'"1  l*  woll  t„  J 

The  businpsa  wUi.  c 

:fe,r.  ?j:;  -•-"':,•  l;S":r  .■:.r;',£'  ■^■r-- « ;-' '- 1',;:: 

"ei,     A/t  the  most  honour    fn^,.,  •'  "»' tlu^n  constant  Avith  thf.  ij 
weeks  befoi-e  I  m,t  tho  ^  V  -^"''""'''^  ^'<^  '>etter  man  ' '     |  "" 

«-  prejudice  rf^^td    J^SthT"''^'"  ^"  ^  ^^^an-oMVar  so X "^"''^ 

from  Chatham  to  ^eT  ^°'''^.  ^'''«*' ^•''' ^e^^eJs  of    L  1^^ 
J^orth  Foreland    o  ^''^"^  °^  J^o'nlon,  down  .^' *'^'*.^^'^c'iJ'tio,.. 

wJiirh  1.0/  '  '^"'^  confident  of  rnvsHf  ®  '^'''">'  ^i"!  tJ,e 

^vinch  has  many  times  since  been  .?         '-amongst  rocks  and  sh-kI 
way  I  was  trained,  till  the  ex,   diH    ^T^ '^^^-^^  to  me.     In  thK^ 
fitted  out;  when,  althou-l,  nn  """  ^"'''"^''^'^  the  iVortli  V,T 


THE  FIKST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


11 


«   the  g„,„l  loi-t,,,,, 

■iiliir  service,  whil,, 
•'ill  l)e  well  to  jrjv,, 
l)een  written  a  full 
3  'lec-uosfc  uiid  niost 
>«•  th  it  siisceptiM,; 
the  culling  ]ie  was 

tted,  I  was  sent  in  a 
ibl)(;rt,  J'urricr,  nihl 
a-ni('rly  l)(„.n  in  ||„. 
'•  From  this  Vf)ya^'e 
i'^;  and,  if  J  did  iint 

'anian,  witliahorn,!' 
>taiit  with  the  Sca- 
'"•''     it  was  manv 
r>i"-AVar,  so  deep  \mis 
'  to  instil  tliis  ern,- 
ly  ambition  was  f,, 
tliiit  if  I  at(('n<lc.,| 
<1  <leck('d  lonj^-lioal, 
1  «l'ip  iit  Chatliani. 
i  tliat  descri]»tioii, 
lie  Swin,  and  tlio 
•  rocka  and  sands, 
■t  to  me.     In  tliis 
0  North  Pole  was 
o  go  in  tlie  Shiijs. 
r  every  interest  to 
fancied  I  Mas  to 
I ;  which,  findin,-; 
;e  complied  witii, 
moment.     Lord 
indest  friendsiiip 
hoats  wei-e  fit- 
exei-ted  myself 
ipon,  whicirwas 
fancying  I  could 


uggestive  and 
>le  and   even 


iin(Uspensul)lc  may  have  been  his  uncle's  assistaneo  in  forward- 
finK  hi'^  wislies,  it  was  Ins  own  ambition  and  his  own  impulse 
that  even  at  this  early  day  gave  direction  to  his  course,  and 
lobtaincd  ()[)p()rtunities  which  would  scan^ely  have  been  offered 
Ihoontaueously  to  cue  of  his  physical  frailty.     In  this  Arctic; 
^expedition  he  underwent  the  exp(!rien(!es  common  to  all  who 
|t(!Miitt  those  icebotnul  seas.     During  it  occurred  an  incident 
lillustrative  of  Nelson's  re(dilessness  of  personal  danger, — a 
very  different  thing  from  offtcial  recklessness,  which  he  never 
iBliowed  even  in  his  raoments  of  greatest  (hiring  and  highest 
'inspiration.    The  story  is  so  hackneyed  by  frecpient  repetition 
as  to  make   its  relation  a  veariness  to  the  biographer,  the 
more  so  that  the  trait  of  extreme  rashness  in  youth  is  one 
by  no  means  so  rare   as  to  be  specially  significant  of  Nel- 
son's character.     It  will  bo  given  in  the  words  of  his  first 
'  biographers :  — 

'•  TlitMi!  is  also  an  anecdote  recollected  by  Admiral  Lutwidgo, 
which  marked  the  hlial  attention  of  his  gallant  cockswain.  Among 
the  gentlemen  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Carcass,  who  were  not 
rated  midshipmen,  there  was,  besides  young  Nelson,  a  daring  ship- 
mate of  his,  to  whom  ho  had  become  attached.  One  night,  during 
the  mid-watch,  it  was  concerted  between  them  that  they  should  steal 
together  from  the  ship  and  eiulejivour  to  obtain  a  bear's  skin.  The 
clcanu'ss  of  the  nights  in  those  high  latitudes  rendered  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  object  extremely  difficult :  they,  however,  seem  to 
liave  taken  advantage  of  the  haze  of  an  approaching  fog,  and  thus  to 
have  escaped  unnoticed.  Nelson  in  high  spirits  led  the  way  over  the 
frightful  chasms  in  the  ice,  armed  with  a  rusty  musket.  It  was  not, 
however,  Icjug  before  the  adventurers  were  missed  by  those  on  board; 
and,  as  the  fog  had  come  on  very  thick,  the  anxiety  of  Captain  Lut- 
widge  and  his  officers  was  very  great.  Between  three  and  four  in 
the  morning  the  mist  somewhat  dispersed,  and  the  hunters  were  dis- 
covered at  a  considerable  distance,  attacking  a  large  bear.  The 
signal  was  instantly  made  for  their  return ;  but  it  was  in  vain  that 
Nelson's  companion  urged  him  to  obey  it.  He  was  at  this  time 
divideil  by  a  chasm  in  the  ice  from  hirf  shaggy  antagonist,  which 
probably  saved  his  life ;  for  the  musket  had  flashed  in  the  pan,  and 
their  anuimnition  was  expended.  'Never  mind,'  exclaimed  Horatio, 
'  do  l)ut  let  me  get  a  blow  at  this  devil  with  the  butt-end  of  my 
nuisket,  and  we  shall  have  him.'  His  companion,  finding  that 
entreaty  was  in  vain,  regained  the  ship.  The  captain,  seeing  the 
young  man's  danger,  ordered  a  gun  to  be  fired  to  terrify  the  enraged 


12 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


animal.  This  had  the  desired  effect ;  but  Nelson  was  obliged  to 
return  without  his  bear,  somewhat  agitated  with  the  apprehension  of 
the  consequence  of  this  adventure.  Captain  Lutwidge,  though  ho 
could  not  but  admire  so  daring  a  disposition,  reprimanded  him 
rather  sternly  for  such  rashness,  and  for  conduct  so  unworthy  of  the 
situation  he  occupied ;  and  desired  to  know  what  motive  he  could 
have  for  hunting  a  bear?  Being  thought  by  liis  captain  to  liave 
acted  in  a  manner  unworthy  of  his  situation,  made  a  deep  impression 
on  the  high-minded  cockswain  ;  who,  pouting  his  lip,  as  he  was  wont 
to  do  when  agitated,  replied,  '  Sir,  I  wished  to  kill  the  bear,  that  1 
might  carry  its  skin  to  my  father.'  " 


I   I 


•  In    '^1 


i'li 


Upon  his  return  to  England  from  the  Arctic  Seas,  Nelson 
again  by  his  own  choice  determined  his  immediate  future. 
Within  a  fortnight  of  leaving  the  "  Carcass,"  he  was,  through 
his  uncle's  influence,  received  on  board  by  the  captain  of  the 
"  Seahorse,"  of  twenty  guns,  one  of  the  ships  composing  a 
squadron  that  was  just  then  fitting  out  for  the  East  Indies. 
To  quote  himself,  "  Nothing  less  than  such  a  distant  voyage 
could  in  the  least  satisfy  my  desire  of  maritime  knowledge.'' 
During  an  absence  of  three  years  he  for  much  of  the  time,  as 
formerly  in  his  West  India  cruise,  did  the  duty  of  a  seaman 
aloft,  from  which  he  was  afterwards  rated  midshipman,  and 
placed,  this  time  finally,  upon  the  quarter-deck  as  r.n  officer. 
In  the  ordinary  course  of  cruising  in  peace  times,  he  visited 
every  part  of  the  station  from  Bengal  to  Bussorah ;  but  the 
climate,  trying  even  to  vigorous  Europeans,  proved  too  much 
for  his  frail  health.  After  a  couple  of  years  he  broke  down 
and  was  invalided  home,  reaching  England  in  Septend)er,  1776. 
His  escape  from  death  was  attributed  by  himself  to  the  kind 
care  of  Captain  Pigot  of  the  "  Dolphin,"  in  which  ship  he  came 
back.  At  this  period  we  are  told  that,  when  well,  he  Avas  of 
florid  countenance,  rather  stout  and  athletic ;  but,  as  the  result 
of  his  illness,  he  was  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton,  and  for  some 
time  entirely  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs,  —  a  distressing  symp- 
tom, that  returned  upon  him  a  few  years  later  after  liis  Cen- 
tral American  expedition  in  17S0,  and  confirms  the  imjjression 
of  extreme  fragility  of  constitution,  which  is  frequently  indi- 
cated in  other  ways. 

During  this  absence  in  the  East  Indies  Captain  Suckling,  in 
April,  1775,  had  been  named  Comptroller  of  the  Navy, — a 


.i\ 


THE   FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 


13 


Ison  was  obliged  to 
tlie  apjireheusion  of 
iUtwidge,  though  ho 
1,  reprimanded  him 

so  unworthy  of  tho 
at  motive  he  could 
lis  captain  to  have 
le  a  deep  impression 

lip,  as  he  was  wont 
:ill  the  l)ear,  tliat  1 


otic  Seas,  Kelson 

nmediate  future. 

'  he  was,  througli 

lie  captain  of  the 

lips  composing  a 

the  East  Indies. 

a  (hstant  voyage 

ime  knowledge.'' 

1  of  the  time,  as 

uty  of  a  seaman 

iiidshipman,  and 

3k  as  an  officer. 

;imes,  he  visited 

ssorah;  but  the 

poved  too  much 

he  broke  down 

eptend)er,  177G. 

elf  to  the  kind 

3h  ship  he  came 

well,  he  was  of 

It,  as  the  result 

1,  and  for  some 

tressing  synip- 

after  Ids  Cen- 

the  impression 

■eqnently  indi- 


in  Suckling,  in 
the  Navy,  —  a 


\  civil  position,  but  one  that  carried  with  it  power  and  conse- 
i  ciueut  intluence.  This  probably  told  for  much  iu  obtaining  for 
Nelson,  who  was  but  just  eighteen,  and  had  not  yet  passed  the 
examinations  for  his  first  promotion,  an  acting  appointment  as 
lieutenant.  With  this  he  joined  a  small  ship-of-the-line,  the 
'•'  Worcester,"  of  sixty-four  guns,  on  board  which  he  remained 
for  six  months,  engaged  in  convoy  duty  between  the  Channel 
and  Gibraltar,  seeing  from  her  decks  for  the  first  time  the 
waters  of  the  Mediterranean  and  its  approaches,  since  then 
indissolubly  associated  with  his  name  and  his  glory.  He  took 
with  him  a  letter  from  his  uncle  to  the  captain  of  his  new 
ship;  but  while  such  introduction,  coming  from  so  influential 
a  quarter,  doubtless  contributed  powerfully  to  clear  from  his 
path  the  obstacles  commonly  encountered  by  young  men,  Nel- 
son had  gained  for  himself  a  reputation  for  professional 
capacity,  which,  here  as  throughout  his  life,  quickly  won  him 
the  full  confidence  of  his  superiors.  In  later  years,  when  his 
admiral's  flag  was  flying,  he  recorded,  with  evident  pride  in 
the  recollection,  that  while  on  board  the  "  Worcester,"  not- 
withstanding his  youth,  his  captain  used  to  say,  "  He  felt  as 
easy  when  I  was  upon  deck  as  any  officer  of  the  ship."  It  is 
doubtful,  indeed,  whether  Nelson  ever  possessed  in  a  high 
degree  the  delicate  knack  of  handling  a  ship  with  the  utmost 
dexterity  and  precision.  He  certainly  had  not  the  reputation 
for  so  doing.  Codrington  —  a  thorough  Nelsonian,  to  use  his 
own  somewhat  factious  expression  —  used  to  say  in  later  years, 
"Lord  Nelson  was  no  seaman;  even  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
the  profession  his  genius  had  soared  higher,  and  all  his  ener- 
gies were  turned  to  becoming  a  great  commander."  His 
apprenticeship,  before  reaching  command,  was  probably  too 
short ;  and,  as  gaptain,  his  generous  disposition  to  trust  others 
to  do  work  for  which  he  knew  them  fitted,  would  naturally 
lead  him  to  throw  the  manipulation  of  the  vessel  upon  his 
subordiiuates.  But  although,  absorbed  by  broader  and  deeper 
thoughts  of  the  responsibilities  and  opportunities  of  a  naval 
commander,  to  which  he  was  naturally  attracted  by  both  his 
genius  and  his  temperament,  he  was  excelled  in  tecludcal  skill 
by  many  who  had  no  touch  of  his  own  inspiration,  he  never- 
theless possessed  a  thoroughly  competent  knowledge  of  his 
profession   as   a  simple  seaman ;    which,  joined  to  his  zeal, 


14 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I ,  ;  I 


energy,  and  iutmisem^r~Z77,  " ■ — — _ 

ot  the  Kavy,  was  indeed  on  the  hi   7^^'"^'  ^'  Comptroller 
fact  of  relationship  untiUhe  othpT     '  ^"*  ^^^  ««"eea  ed    , 
themselves  satisfied.  '  ^^^"^  "^^"^bers  had  expressed 

H'hile  of  ihn  I'f'ing  more  active  f?in»      i  •     "^  "*^sJiabie 

^^      tly  conceived,  vet  PnW  ^   ^^^^"es  of  naval  condnof 

St::.:.;:-  £•  s^'PiS"  K--^^ 

found,  not  onlv  o„      i  '  Captain  Willinm  t 

frienr]  f^       ^    -^  '^"   admirable  offiL.        V  Locker,  he 

0-   lettors  written  S  ZT\  '"'  ^^'-^  "-'Pt  tt'nl  ? 
.young  man      ne  ^  kelson   vvhilo  qh'i  "winer- 

-"•e«„o„,,:nt    "    '°  ^'^3'   '"«y-ve„Te™'trrSthe 
In  anotla-r  respect  M,  °™ 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


IS 


11  justify  the  confi- 
Of  this  knowledge 
>re  a  board  of  cap- 
issed  his  examina- 
"gr,  as  Comptroller 
t  he  concealed  the 
ers  had  expressed 

3f  Jiis  leaving  the 
«d  Suckling  once 
able  to  exert  his 
Ptij  securing  for 
"ch  many  waited 
Mml  10,  to  the 
'^'Jiis   class  of 
cularly  desirable 
sljips-of-the-line, 
1  a  better  school 
mailer  cruisers  j 
service  hitherto 
'  to  perfect  the 
^ar,  foi'  Jig  jjj^^ 

naval  conduct, 
■i"s  that  should 
erved  his  time 
toMie«Lowe. 
'i  for  us,  as  in 
"1  Locker,  he 
fcleman,  but  a         J 
>  ending  only 
I^attle  of  the 
•ecord,  at  his 
^  tile  numer- 
au  unknown 
eovering  the 
^"    this    one 

Lowestoffe  " 
ined  to  the 
o    Jamaica, 


rhich   was  a  command   distinct   from   that   of  the    eastern 
fjaribbean,  or  Lesser  Antilles,  officially  styled  the  Leeward 
Islands   Station.     Great   Britain   was   then   fully    embarked 
In  the  war  with  her  North  American  colonies,  which  ended 
in  their  independence;  and  the  course  of   events   was   has- 
tening her  to  the  rupture  with  France  and  Spain  that  fol- 
lowed within  a  year.     In  this  protracted  contest   the  chief 
scene  of  naval  hostilities  was  to  be  the  West  Indies;   but 
jeyond  even  the   casualties  of   war,  the   baneful   climate  of 
&hat  region  insured  numerous  vacancies  by  prostration  and 
Jdeath,  with  consequent  chances  of  promotion  for  those  wlio 
fescaped  the  fevers,  and  found    favor   in   the   eyes   of  their 
Icoiniuauder-in-chief.      The   brutal    levity   of    the   old   toast, 
i"A  bloody  war  and  a  sickly  season,"  nowhere  found  surer 
ifullilment  thau  oa  those  pestilence-stricken  coasts.     Captain 
I  Locker's  health  soon  gave  way .     Arriving  at  Jamaica  on  the 
^lOth  of  July,  1777,  we  find  Nelson  in  the  following  month 
writing  to  him  from  the  ship  during  an  absence  produced  by 
*  a  serious  illness,  from  which  fatal  results  were  feared.     The 
letter,  like  all  those  to  Locker,  was  marked  by  that  tone  of 
(|uiek,  eager  sympathy,  of  genial  inclination  always  to  say 
I  the  kindest  thing,  that  characterized  his  correspondence,  and, 
f  generally,  his  intercourse  with   others,  —  traits  that  through 
life  made  him,   beyond    most   men,  acceptable  and   beloved, 
lie  was,  from  first  to  last,  not  merely  one  of  those  whose 
services  are  forced  upon  others  by  s'leer  weight  of  ability, 
because  indispensable,  —  though  this,  too,  he  was,  —  but  men 
I   wanted  him   because,  although  at  times   irritable,  especially 
after  the  wounds  received  in  later  years,  he  was  an  easy  yoke- 
fellow, pleasant  to  doal  with,  cordial  and  ready  to  support 
tlK)se  above  him,  a  tolerant  and  appreciative  master  to  sub- 
ordinates.    It   may   even   be    said   ihat,  in  matters   indiffer- 
ent to  liim,  he  too  readily  reflected  the  feelings,  views,  and 
^vishes   of  those    abouu   him  ;    but   when   they  clashed  with 
his  own  fixed  convictions,  he  was  immovable.     As  he  himself 
said  in  such  a  case,  "I   feel  I  am  perfectly  right,  and  you 
know  upon  those  occasions  I  am  not  famous  for  giving  up  a 
point," 

Of  his  connection  with  the   "  Lowestoffe "  he  himself,  in 
the  short  autobiographical   sketch  before  quoted,   mentions 


16 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


1 


I'llli 


two  cireumstancel^i^ZirTl      ~ — -_ 

^"aining  so  long  'i„    ,  J '  ,„^^°^"   "^«  ^'ery  fact  of  their  ,, 
"Even  a  frigate)  he  savsu""'-^'   '^^^''^'^'^  temperamem 

Jn  this  vessel  I  „,ade   n'ZTnn'^T  ''  '^'^  ^-westoW 
P/iss^^ges  through  the  riSfl^ln  T'^^'*'  ^^^"'  *'"^'  ^-^^^  ^he 
«^"e  Hi,^,^,„.^j^_„     Thi    Slf      "^'  '^^"'"'^^  "^^  <^^^e  north 
"»  dn-ect  sequence    as   to   f        •''™'' ^*  ^^i^^  be  noted  w 
"^■t;n-»ph's3  io,5,;;^,  ^^^^    -""»^',  to  his  handling  of  ^ 

f»d  wo,,d  naturally tn'ib^te  t"''  '''''""''  ''''  ^^^^^'^ 
-  hin^elf  among  ro^ks  a  d'  a  ,   .^hn"  ''^*  "^°»fi^-- 
be  so  "great  a  comfort "  to  him      t^\'\^^^«  afteru^ards  to 
frequent  and  pressing  need  of     1         ^"'  ^^^^''  ^^^'^^r  he  had 
«;onal  judgment  and^seT/,'itnt  J''^^^^^^    ^^^'"^  ^^  P^'o^ 
neuces  stood  him  in  good  stead      a"  f  ^'^^  *^^«^  ear]/ expt 
the  First  Lord  of  the  A  dm'  .u'     ^^  ^^  afterwards  wrote  tn 
a  daring  and  skilful   offi^ t^  ^T  f '^^"  ^^^--^ ' 
If  I  had  been  censured  every  t^meT  ^     ''  '^"^  ^^^^^^'^  •• 

been  able  to  Hsi         ^'»^™me„t  to  ,vhich  very  few  t' 

lie  other  incident  i-ecor,1e^  i     i- 
board  the  'aowestoi^e  "  1  > ''l™  "''^  '"'PPening  while  o, 
e-perament.     .  Whilst  i,t  this"f "  f"'  »  '  "'-'™«v:  ™ 
^H,ch  presaged  my  eharaeter  t/?'t'  ■•""  ''""'  happe'.ed 

'otte;.s;!,  ,;:j  ''f-/ -;  ".e  f,.ig.:;: :  ptS™:f;/^"'  "^ 

he.-,  whieh  he  did  n  f    /"'  ^''""'^'"'^'t  was  o  rde™,  t f'"™ 
liis  return  the  P.  *       'lo,  oiving  to  the  verv T.         *°^^'-d 

^..«.^ny  t      et  U  «a.-boatr:"r"  "T  "-'- -an" It^ 


iJ       , 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 


17 


y  fact  of  their  ig. 
itrate  temperament 
ient]y  active  for  mj- 

to  the  Lowestoffe 
;e  pilot  for  all  the 
Liated  on  the  north 
'  will  be  noted,  was 
s  handling  of  tlie 
irs  of  the  Thames, 
e  that  "  confidence 
was  afterwards  to 
ater  career  he  had 
ir  form  of  profe.s- 

these  early  expe- 
ierwards  wrote  to 
■ding  the  cause  of 
tis  ship  ashore: 
5  i-un  my  ship,  or 
'1',  I  should  loiio. 
in  the  House  of 
^iid  Copenhagen, 
'longed  anxieties 
iviera  of  Genoa, 
ly  steady  nerve 
billed  him  at  a 

very  few  have 

ening  while  on 
illustrative  of 
^ent  happened 
s  no  dishonour 
wing  a  gale  of 

an  American 
ei*ed  to  board 
'•ivy  sea.     On 

in  the  ship 

;er  ran  to  the 

liim,  saying, 

roui-s.'    This 

ii-red  to  my 


r 


f  mind ;  and  I  know  it  is  my  disposition,  that  difficulties  and 

S  dangers  do  but  increase  my  desire  of  attempting  them."     An 

I  action  of  this  sort,  in  its  results  unimportant,  gives  keener 

t  satisfaction  in  the  remembrance  than  do  greater  deeds,  because 

i  more  purely  individual,  —  entirely  one's  own.     It   is   upon 

I  such  as  this,  rather  than  upon  his  victories,  that  Nelson  in 

I  his  narrative  dwells  caressingly.     His  personal  daring  at  St. 

I  Vincent,  and  against  the  gunboats  off  Cadiz,  ministered  more 

I  directly  to  his  self-esteem,  to  that  consciousness  of  high  desert 

I  which  was  dear  to  him,  than  did  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  whose 

honors  he,  though  ungrudgingly,  shared  with  his  "  band  of 

brothers." 

When  the  "  Lowestoffe  "  had  been  a  year  upon  the  station, 
it  became  very  doubtful  whether  Locker  could  continue  in 
her,  and  finally  he  did  go  home  ill.  It  was  probably  due  to 
this  uncertainty  that  he  obtained  the  transfer  of  Nelson,  in 
whom  he  had  become  most  affectionately  interested,  to  the 
"Bristol,"  flagship  of  Sir  Peter  Parker,  the  commander-in- 
chief.  Here,  under  the  admiral's  own  eye,  warmly  recom- 
mended by  his  last  captain,  and  with  a  singular  faculty  for 
enlisting  the  love  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  was  brought 
into  contact,  the  young  officer's  prospects  were  of  the  fairest; 
nor  did  the  event  belie  them.  Joining  the  ''  Bristol "  as  her 
third  lieutenant,  not  earlier  than  July,  1778,  he  had  by  the 
end  of  September  risen  "  by  succession  "  —  to  use  his  own 
phrase  —  to  be  firs':;  a  promotion  by  seniority  whose  rapidity 
attests  the  rate  at  which  vacancies  occurred.  Both  Parker 
and  his  wife  became  very  fond  of  him,  cared  for  him  in  illness, 
and  in  later  years  she  wrote  to  him  upon  each  of  the  occasions 
on  which  he  most  brilli;intly  distinguished  himself  —  after 
St.  Vincent,  the  Nile,  and  Copenhagen.  "Your  mother,"  said 
she  after  the  first,  "could  not  have  heard  of  your  deeds  with 
morn  affection  ;  nor  could  she  be  more  rejoiced  at  your  per- 
soual  escape  from  all  the  dangers  of  that  glorious  day;"  and 
again,  after  the  Nile,  "  Sir  Peter  and  I  have  ever  regarded 
you  as  a  son."  The  letter  following  the  victory  at  Copen- 
hagen has  not  been  published  ;  but  Nelson,  whose  heart  was 
never  reluctant  to  gratitude  nor  to  own  obligation,  wrote  in 
reply  :  "  Believe  me  when  I  say  that  I  am  as  sensible  as  ever 
that  I  owe  my  present  position  in  life  to  your  and  good  Sir 

2 


■■I! 


•I) 


ith 


♦I 


I 


■I  '.I 


hi- 


ll i 


18 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


Peter's  partiality  for  me,  and  friendly  remembrance  of  Maurice 
Suckling," 

This  last  allusion  indicates  some  disinterestedness  in  Par- 
ker's patronage,  and  its  vital  importance  to  Nelson  at  that 
time.  Captain  Suckling  had  died  in  July,  1778,  and  with  him 
departed  the  only  powerful  support  upon  which  the  youn*.'; 
lieutenant  could  then  count,  apart  from  his  own  merits  and 
the  friends  obtained  by  them.  There  was  in  those  days  an 
immense  difference  in  prospects  between  the  aephew  of  the 
Comptroller  of  the  Navy  and  a  man  unknown  at  headquar- 
ters. By  what  leading  principles,  if  any.  Sir  Peter  Parker  was 
guided  in  the  distribution  of  his  favors,  can  scarcely  now  be 
ascertained ;  but  that  he  brought  rapidly  forward  two  men  of 
such  great  yet  widely  different  merit  as  Nelson  and  Colling- 
wood,  is  a  proof  that  his  judgment  was  sound  and  the  station 
one  wher(;  vacancies  were  frequent.  Collingwood,  who  was 
then  a  lieutenant  on  board  a  sloop-of-war,  went  to  the 
"  Lovvestolfe"  in  Nelson's  place.  When  the  latter,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1778,  was  made  comnuinder  into  the  brig  ''Badger,"  the 
other  was  transferred  to  the  vacant  room  in  the  "Bristol;" 
and  when  Nelson,  on  the  11th  of  June,  1779,  became  post-captain 
in  the  "  Ilinchinbrook "  frigate,  Collingwood  again  followed 
him  as  commander  of  the  "  liadger."  Finally,  when  through 
a  death  vacancy  a  better  frigate  offered  for  Nelson,  Colling- 
wood also  was  posted  into  the  "  Hinchinbrook ; "  this  ship 
thus  having  the  singular  distinction  of  conferring  the  highest 
rank  obtaiiKible  by  selection,  and  so  fixing  the  final  position  of 
the  two  life-long  friends  who  led  the  columns  at  Trafalgar,  the 
crowning  achievement  of  the  British  Navy  as  well  as  of  their 
own  illustrious  careers.  The  coincidence  at  the  earlier  date 
may  have  been  partly  factitious,  due  to  a  fad  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief ;  but  it  assumes  a  different  and  very  impres- 
sive aspect  viewed  in  the  light  of  their  later  close  association, 
especially  when  it  is  recalled  that  Collingwood  also  succeeded, 
upon  Nelson's  death,  to  the  Mediterranean  command,  and  was 
there  worn  out,  as  his  predecessor  fell,  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duty  upon  that  important  station,  which  thus  proved  fatal  to 
them  both.  Few  historic  parallels  are  so  complete.  Sir  Peter 
Parker,  living  until  1811,  survived  both  his  illustrious  juniors,, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  followed  Nelson's  coffin,  as  chiet 


moi 

m 


¥\' 


MMM 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


19 


ibrance  of  Maurice 

estedness  in  Par- 
ol :N"e]son  at  tliat 
'78,  and  with  him 
iv^hich  the  younj..' 

own  merits  and 
n  those  days  an 
e  -lephew  of  tlie 
tvn  at  headquar- 
[*eter  Parker  was 

scarcely  now  be 
ivard  two  men  of 
^on  and  Colling- 

and  the  station 
■wood,  who  was 
'!•,  went  to  the 
itter,  in  Decem- 
:  "Badger,"  the 
the  "Bristol;" 
me  post-captain 
again  followed 

when  through 

clson,  Oolling- 
; "  this  ship 
g  the  highest 
il  position  of 

Trafalgar,  the 

ell  as  of  their 
earlier  date 
of  the  coni- 

very  impres- 
association, 

so  succeeded, 

uid,  and  was 

iharge  of  his 

aved  fatal  to 
Sir  Peter 

ious  juniors,. 

Siu,  as  chief 


liourner  at  the  imposing  obsequies,  where  the  nation,  from  the 
Mghest  to  the  lowest,  mingled  the  exultation  of  triumph  with 
ireeping  for  the  loss  of  its  best-beloved. 

%  Of  Nelson's  exterior  at  this  time,  his  early  biographers  liave 
lecured  an  account  which,  besides  its  value  as  a  portrait,  pos- 
Jesses  the  further  interest  of  mentioning  explicitly  that  charm 
If  manner  which  was  one  of  his  best  birth-gifts,  reflecting,  as  it 
iid  the  generous  and  kindly  temper  of  his  heart.    *'  The  personal 
Tppearance  of  Captain  Nelson  at  this  period  of  his  life,  owing 
(o  his  delicate  health  and  diminutive  figure,  was  far  from  ex- 
)ressing  the  greatness  of  his  intellectual  powers.     From  his 
Earliest  years,  like  Cleomenes,  the  hero  of  Sparta,  he  had  been 
jnamoured  of  glory,  and  had  possessed  a  greatness  of  mind. 
Telson  preserved,  also,  a  similar  temperance  and  simplicity  of 
.fanners.    Nature,  as  Plutarch  adds  of  the  noble  Spartan,  had 
Igiven  a  spur  to  his  mind  which  rendered  him  impetuous  in  the 
Pursuit  of  whatever  he  deemed  honourable.     The  demeanour 
>of  this  extraordinary  young  man  was  entirely  the  demeanour 
aof  a  British  seaman ;  when  the  energies  of  his  mind  were  not 
"called  forth  by  some  object  of  duty,  or  professional  interest, 
,|he  seemed  to  retire  within  himself,  and  to  care  but  little  for 
f  the  refined  courtesies  of  polished  life."     No  saving  sense  of 
humor  seems  to  have  suggested  that  the  profane  might  here 
ask,  ''  Is  this  the  British  seaman  ?  "     *'  In  his  dress  he  had  all 
the  (dcanliness  of  an  Englishman,  though  his  manner  of  wear- 
ing it  gave  him  an  air  of  negligence ;  and  yet  his  general  ad- 
dross  and  conversation,  when  he  wished  to  please,  possessed  a 
charm  that  was  irresistible."  ^ 

In  June,  1771),  when  posted  into  the  "  Hinchinbrook,"  Nel- 
son wanted  still  three  months  of  being  twenty-one.  By  the 
custom  of  the  British  Navy,  then  and  now,  promotions  from 
the  grade  of  Captain  to  that  of  Admiral  are  made  l)y  seniority 
only.  Once  a  captain,  therefore,  a  man's  future  was  assured, 
so  far  as  concerned  the  possibility  of  juniors  passing  over  his 
head,  —  neither  favor  nor  merit  could  procure  that ;  his  rank 
relatively  to  others  was  finally  fixed.  The  practical  difficulty 
of  getting  at  a  captain  of  conspicuous  ability,  to  make  of  him 
a  fiag-officer,  was  met  by  one  of  those  clumsy  yet  adequate 
expedients  by  which  the  practical  English  mind  contrives  to 
1  Clarke  aud  M'Aithur,  vol.  i.  p.  31. 


M 


M 


,i  ' 


20 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


reconcile  respect  for  precedent  with  the  demands  of  emer. 
gency.  There  being  then  no  legal  limit  to  the  number  ot 
admirals,  a  promotion  was  in  oUch  case  made  of  all  captaiiiii 
down  to  and  including  the  one  wanted ;  and  Lord  St.  Vincent, 
one  of  the  most  thorough-going  of  naval  statesmen,  is  credited 
with  the  declaration  that  he  would  promote  a  hundred  down 
the  list  of  captains,  if  necessary,  to  reach  the  one  demandoil 
by  the  needs  of  the  country.  Even  with  this  rough-ridiii<; 
over  obstacles,  —  for  the  other  officers  promoted,  howevet 
useful  in  their  former  grade,  not  being  wanted  as  admirals, 
remained  perforce  unemployed,  —  the  advantage  of  reaching 
post-rank  betimes  is  evident  enough ;  and  to  this  chiefly  Nel- 
son referred  in  acknowledging  his  permanent  indebtedness  to 
Sir  Peter  Parker.  With  this  early  start,  every  artificial  im- 
pediment was  cleared  from  his  path  ;  his  extraordinary  ability 
was  able  to  assert  itself,  and  could  be  given  due  opportunity, 
without  a  too  violent  straining  of  service  methods.  He  had, 
indeed,  to  wait  eighteen  years  for  his  flag-rank  ;  but  even  so, 
he  obtained  it  while  still  in  the  very  prime  of  his  energies, 
before  he  was  thirty-nine,  —  a  good  fortune  equalled  by  none 
of  his  most  distinguished  contemporaries.^ 

A  somewhat  singular  feature  of  this  early  promotion  of 
Nelson  is  that  it  was  accorded  without  the  claim  of  service  in 
actual  battle,  —  a  circumstance  that  seems  yet  more  remaik- 
able  when  contrasted  with  the  stormy  and  incessant  warfare  of 
his  later  career.  While  he  was  thus  striding  ahead,  his  equals 
in  years,  Saumarez  and  Pellew,  were  fighting  their  way  up  step 
by  step,  gaining  each  as  the  reward  of  a  distinct  meritorious 
action,  only  to  find  themselves  outstripped  by  one  who  had 
scarcely  seen  a  gun  fired  in  anger.  The  result  was  mainly  due 
to  the  nature  of  the  station,  where  sickness  made  vacancies 
more  rapidly  than  the  deadliest  engagement.  But  while  this 
is  true,  and  must  be  taken  into  the  account,  it  was  character- 
istic of  Nelson  that  his  value  transpired  through  the  simplest 
intercourse,  and  amid  the  commonplace  incidents  of  service. 
Locker  and  Parker  each  in  turn  felt  this.  A  little  later,  while 
he  and  CoUingvood  w'ere  still  unknown  captain'',  the  latter, 
usually  measured  and  formal  in  his  language,  wrote  to  him  in 

1  CoUiiifjwood  was  ueaily  fifty  whoii  he  got  his  (la<?.  Howe  was  forty-five, 
St.  Vincent  iifly-thiee,  Saumarez  forty-four,  Exmouth  (Pellew)  forty-eight. 


i 


|nr 


!     I 


11: 


n 


Hii! 


!f 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


21 


demands  of  einor. 
b  to  the  number  of 
"ade  of  all  captain^ 
'd  Lord  St.  Vincent, 
atesmen,  is  credited' 
te  a  hundred  down 
the  one  demanded 
1  this  rough-ridiiiu 
promoted,  however 
anted  as  admirals, 
mtage  of  reaching 

0  this  chiefly  Kel! 
nt  indebtedness  to 
very  artificial  ini- 
traordinary  ability 

1  due  opportunity, 
ethods.    He  had, 
^nk  ;  but  even  so, 
'  of  his  energies 
equalled  by  none 

fly  promotion  of 
lim  of  service  in 
et  more  remark- 
issant  warfare  of 
ihead,  his  equals 
heir  way  up  step 
net  meritorious 
y  one  who  had 
was  mainly  due 
made  vacancies 
But  while  this 
was  character- 
■h  the  simplest 
nts  of  service, 
tie  later,  while 
''^.  the  latter, 
I'ote  to  him  in 

wo  was  forty-five, 
nv)  forty-eight. 


|hese  singularly  strong  words  :  "  My  regard  for  you,  my  dear 
Kelson,  my  respect  and  veneration  for  your  chari.vcter,  I  hope 
And  believe,  will  never  lessen."  So,  seme  years  afterwards, 
lut  before  lie  became  renowned  or  had  wrought  his  more  bril- 
ant  achievements,  an  envious  brother  captain  said  to  him, 
You  did  just  as  you  pleased  in  Lord  Hood's  time,  the  same 
in  Admiral  Hotham's,  and  now  again  with  Sir  John  Jervis;  it 
akes  no  difference  to  you  who  is  Commander-in-chief."  Tliis 
lower  of  winning  confidence  and  inspiring  attachment  was  one 
f  the  strongest  elements  in  Nelson's  success,  alike  as  a  sub- 
rdinate  and  when  himself  in  chief  command. 
With  his  mind  ever  fixed  upon  glory,  or  rather  upon  honor, 
: the  word  he  himself  most  often  used,  and  which  more  accu- 
rately expresses  his  desire  for  fame ;  honor,  which  is  to  glory 
what  character  is  to  reputation,  —  the  same  hard  fortune  per- 
sisted in  denying  to  him,  during  the  War  of  the  American 
Kevolution,  the  opportunities  for  distinction  which  he  so 
ij ardently  coveted.  In  the  "Badger"  and  in  the  "  Plinchiu' 
i  brook,"  during  the  year  1779,  his  service  was  confined  to 
I  routine  cruising  about  Jamaica  and  along  the  Mosquito  coast 
of  Central  America.  A  gleam  of  better  things  for  a  moment 
shone  upon  him  in  August  of  that  year,  when  the  French  fleet, 
under  Count  D'Estaing,  appeared  in  Haiti,  numbering  twenty- 
two  ships-of-the-line,  with  transports  reported  to  be  carrying 
twenty  thousand  troops.  All  Jamaica  was  in  an  up:  jar  of  ap- 
prehension, believing  an  attack  upon  the  island  to  be  immi- 
nent ;  for  its  conquest  was  known  to  be  one  of  the  great  objects 
of  the  enemy.  Nelson  was  at  the  time  living  on  shore,  the 
"  Hinchinbrook  "  seeminglj  -t  having  returned  to  the  port 
since  his  appointment  to  her,  and  he  eagerly  accepted  the  duty 
of  commanding  the  land  batteries.  The  odds  were  gre.^t,  — 
**  You  must  not  be  surprised  to  hear  of  my  learning  to  speak 
French,"  he  wrote,  laughingly,  to  Locker  in  England,  —  but  if 
so,  the  greater  the  honor  attendant,  whether  upon  succiess  or 
defeat.  D'Estaing,  however,  passed  on  to  America  'o  encoun- 
ter disaster  at  Savannah,  and  Ne  son's  hopes  were  again 
disappointed. 

In  January,  1780,  an  opportunity  for  service  offered,  which 

'  Tliis  appears  certain  from  his  letters  of  July  28  and  August  12,  which 
explicitly  mention  that  shi[)'s  absence. 


r* 


!    fi 


>:    1 


'I   i 


i\ 


22 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


ended  in  no  conspieuon.s  or  permanent  result,  but  nevertheless 
conferred  distinction  upon  one  who,  to  use  his  own  expression, 
was  determined  to  climb  to  the  top  of  the  tree,  and  to  negloit 
no  chance,  however  slight,  that  could  help  him  on.     War  with 
Spain  had  then  been  about  seven    months  declared,  and  the 
British  governor  of  Jamaica  had  sagaciously  determined  tn 
master  Lake  Nicaragua,  and  the  course  of  the  river  San  Juan, 
its  outlet  to  the  Caribbean  Sea.     The  object  of  the  attempt 
was  twofold,  both  military  and  commercial.     The  route  was 
recognized  then,  as  it  is  now,  as  one  of  the  most  important,  it' 
not  the  most  important,  of  those  affording  easy  transit  from 
the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic    by  way  of  the  Isthmus.     To  ;i 
nation  of  the  mercantile  aptitudes  of  Great  Britain,  such  a 
natural  highway  was  necessarily  an  object  of  desire.     In  her 
hands  it  would  not  only  draw  to  itself  the  wealth  of  the  sur- 
rounding  regions,  but  would  likewise   promote  the  develoi)- 
ment  of  her  trade,  both   north  and   south,  along  the  eastern 
and  western  coasts  of  the  two  Americas.     But  the  pecuniary 
gain  was  not  all.     The  military  tenure  of  this  short  and  nar- 
row strip,  supported  at  either  end,  upon  the  Pacific  and  the 
Atlantic,  by  naval  detachments,  all  the  more  easily  to  be  main- 
tained there  by  the  use  of  the  belt  itself,  would  effectually  sever 
the  northern  and  southern  colonies  of  Spain,  both  by  actual  in- 
terposition, and  by  depriving  them  of  one  of  their  most  vital 
lines  of  inter(!ommunication.     To  seek  control  of  so  valuable 
and  central  a  link  in  a  great  network  of   maritime  interests 
was  as  natural  and  inevitable  to  Great  Britain  a  centurv  ago, 
as  it  now  is  to  try  to  dominate  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Suez 
Canal,  which  fulfil  a  like  function  to  her  Eastern  possessions 
and  Eastern  commerce. 

Preoccupied,  however,  with  numerous  and  more  pressing 
cares  in  many  quarters  of  the  world,  and  overweighted  in  a 
universal  struggle  with  outnumbering  foes,  Great  Britain 
could  spare  but  scanty  forces  to  her  West  India  Islands,  and 
from  them  Governor  Bailing  could  muster  but  five  hundred 
men  for  his  Nicaraguan  undertaking.  Nelson  was  directed  to 
convoy  these  with  the  "  Ilinchinbrook  "  to  the  mouth  of  the 
San  Juan  del  Norte,  where  was  the  port  now  commonly  called 
Greytown,  in  those  days  a  fine  and  spacious  harbor.  There 
his  charge  ended ;  but  his  mental  constitution  never  allowed 


Lfl 

^  ofl 

■  sol 


THE   FIRST  TWENTY-KIVE   YEi\^' 


n 


It,  but  neverthelos 
lis  own  expression. 
;i"ee,  and  to  neglect 
lim  on.     War  with 
declared,  and  tlio 
sly  determined  to 
le  river  San  Juan. 
!ft  of  the  attempt 
.     The  route  Wiis 
most  important,  if 
easy  transit  from 
'  Isthmus.     To  ii 
it  Jiritain,  such  ;i 
f  desire.     In  hov 
wealth  of  the  sur- 
lote  the  develop- 
long  the  eastern 
it  the  pecuniary 
i  short  and  nar- 
Pacific  and  the 
asilyto  be-  niain- 
effectually  sever 
)th  by  actual  in- 
their  most  vital 
I  of  so  valuable 
[•itime  interests 
eentury  ago, 
and  the  Suez 
rn  possessions 


m 


more  pressing 
weighted  in  a 
Treat   Britain 
^  Islands,  and 
five  hundred 
IS  directed  to 
mouth  of  the 
iiionly  called 
rbor.     There 
ever  allowed 


him  to  look  upon  a  military  task  as  well  done  while  anything 
remained  to  do.  In  the  spirit  of  his  famous  saying,  fifteen 
years  later,  "Were  ten  ships  out  of  eleven  taken,  1  would 
never  call  it  well  done  if  the  eleventh  escaped,  if  able  to  get 
at  her ''  he  determined  to  go  with  the  troops.  With  his 
temperament  it  was  impossible  to  turn  his  back  upon  the 
little  body  of  soldiers,  whose  toilsome  advance  up  tlu;  tropical 
stream  might  be  aided  and  hastened  by  his  ready  seamen. 

The  first  objective  of  the  expedition  was  Fort  San  Juan,  a 
powerful  work  controlling  the  river  of  the  same  name,  and 
thereby  the  only  natural  water  transit  between  the  sea  and 
Lake  Nicaragua.  Upon  the  possession  of  this,  as  a  position 
of  vantage  and  a  safe  depot  for  supplies  and  reinfor(!ements, 
Bailing  based  his  hopes  of  future  advance,  both  west  and 
south.  Nelson  tooL  with  him  forty-seven  seamen  and  ma- 
rines from  his  ship's  company ;  the  former,  aided  by  some 
Indians,  doing  most  of  the  labor  of  forcing  the  boats  against 
the  current,  through  shoal  and  tortuous  channels,  under  his 
own  constant  supervision  and  encouragement.  A  small  out- 
post that  withstood  their  progress  was  by  him  intrepidly 
stormed,  sword  in  hand,  by  sudden  assault ;  and  upon  reach- 
ing Fort  San  Juan  he  urgently  recommended  the  same  sum- 
mary method  to  the  officer  commanding  the  troops.  The 
latter,  however,  was  not  one  of  the  men  who  recognize  the 
necessity  for  ex(!eptional  action.  Ilogular  approaches,  though 
the  slower,  were  the  surer  way  of  reducing  a  fortified  place, 
and  entailed  less  bloodshed.  Professional  rule  commonly 
demanded  them,  and  to  professional  rule  he  submitted. 
Nelson  argued  that  through  delays,  which,  however  incurred, 
were  now  past  discussion,  the  expedition  had  reached  its 
destination  in  April,  at  the  end  of  the  healthy,  dry  season, 
instead  of  shortly  after  its  beginning,  in  January.  Conse- 
quently, owing  to  the  fall  of  the  water,  much  additional 
trouble  had  been  experienced  in  the  advance,  the  men  were 
pro})ortionately  weakened  by  toil  and  exposure,  and  the  wet 
months,  with  their  dire  train  of  tropical  diseases,  were  at 
hand.  Therefore,  though  more  might  fall  by  the  enemy's 
weapons  in  a  direct  attack,  the  ultimate  loss  would  be  less 
than  by  the  protracted  and  sickly  labors  of  the  spade ;  while 
with  San  Juan  subdued,  the  force  could  receive  all  the  care 


24 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


possible  ill  such  .a  climate,  and  under  the  best  conditions  await 
the  return  of  good  weather  for  further  progress. 

In  military  enterprises  there  will  fre(inently  arise  the  ques- 
tion, Is  time  or  life  in  this  case  of  the  greater  value  ?  Those 
regularly  ordered  and  (careful  procedures  which  most  econo- 
mize the  blood  of  the  soldier  may,  by  their  inevitable  delays, 
seriously  imperil  the  obje(tts  of  the  campaign  as  a  whole;  or 
they  may  even,  while  less  sanguinary,  entail  indirectly  a 
greater  loss  of  men  than  do  prompter  measures.  In  such 
doubtful  nuitters  Nelson's  judgment  was  usually  sound ;  and 
his  instinct,  which  ever  incdined  to  instant  and  vigorous 
action,  was  commonly  by  itself  alone  an  accurate  guide,  in 
a  profession  whose  prizes  are  bestowed  upon  quick  resolve 
more  often  than  upon  deliberate  consultation.  The  same  in- 
tuition that  in  his  prime  dictated  his  instant,  unhesitating 
onslaught  at  the  Nile,  depriving  the  French  of  all  opportunity 
for  further  prej)aration,  —  that  caused  him  in  the  maturity  of 
his  renown,  before  Copenhagen,  to  write,  "every  hour's  delay 
makes  the  enemy  stronger ;  we  shall  never  be  so  good  a  match 
for  them  as  at  this  moment,"  — that  induced  him  nt  Trafalgar 
to  modify  his  deliberately  prepared  {dan  in  favor  of  one  vastly 
more  hazardous,  but  which  seized  and  held  the  otherwise  fleet- 
ing chance,  —  led  him  here  also  at  San  Juan,  unknown,  and 
scarcely  more  than  a  boy,  to  press  the  policy  of  immediate 
attack. 

The  decision  was  not  in  his  hands,  and  he  was  overruled ; 
whereupon,  with  liis  usual  readiness  to  do  his  utmost,  he 
accepted  the  course  he  disapproved,  and,  without  nursing  a 
grievance,  became  at  once  active  in  erecting  batteries  and 
serving  the  guns.  "When  unfortunate  contentions,"  says  one 
dispassionate  narrator,  "had  slackened  the  ardour  for  public 
service.  Captain  Nelson  did  not  suffer  any  narrow  spirit  to 
influence  his  conduct.  He  did  more  than  his  duty:  where 
anything  was  to  be  done,  he  saw  no  difficulties."  Great  as 
his  merits  were,  he  was  never  insensible  to  them ;  and,  in  the 
sketch  of  his  career,  furnished  by  him  to  his  chief  biographers, 
he  records  his  exploits  with  naive  self-satisfaction,  resembling 
the  sententious  tablets  of  Eastern  conquerors  :  "  I  boarded,  if 
"^  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  an  outpost  of  the  enemy, 
situated   on  an  island  in   the  river;  I  made  batteries,  and 


: '  If 


TIIK   FIHST  TWKNTV-FIVK   YKAllS 


ait 


aftci'vvartls  fought  thorn,  and  was  a  i)rin('ii)al  cause  of  our 
success."  lUit  this  simple,  ahnost  (diilillike,  delight  in  his 
own  perfonuances,  which  continually  crops  otit  in  his  corre- 
spondence, did  not  exaggerate  tlu'ir  deserts.  Major  I'olson, 
coinnumding  the  land  forces,  wrote  to  Governor  Dalling  :  "I 
want  words  to  express  the  obligations  I  owe  to  Captain 
Nelson.  He  was  the  tirst  on  every  service,  whether  by  day 
or  night.  There  was  not  a  gun  tired  but  was  pointed  by  him, 
or  by  Captain  Despard,  Chief  Engineer."  Dalling,  after  some 
delay,  wrote  in  tl;e  same  sense  to  the  Minister  of  War  in  Lon- 
don, warmly  recoaimending  Nelson  to  the  notice  of  the  home 
(lovernment. 

While  the  siege  was  in  progress.  Nelson  re(;eived  word  of 
)  id  appointment  to  a  better  ship,  the  "Janus,"  of  forty-four 
guns,  and  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  join  her.  He  left 
Fort  San  Juan  only  the  day  before  it  surrendered,  and  re- 
turned to  Jauiaica ;  but  his  health  now  gave  way  wholly,  and 
his  command  of  the  "  Janus,"  for  the  most  part  merely  nomi- 
nal, soon  came  to  an  end  altogether.  Dalling  had  truly  said, 
"  Captain  Nelson's  constitution  is  rather  too  delicate  for  ser- 
vice in  this  northern  ocean."  ^  Before  starting  on  the  expe- 
dition, he  had  himself  written  to  his  friend  Locker  :  "  If  my 
health  is  not  much  better  than  it  is  at  present,  I  shall  cer- 
tainly come  home  after  this  trip,  as  all  the  doctors  are  against 
my  staving  so  long  in  this  country.  You  know  my  old  com- 
])lainfc  in  my  breast :  it  is  turned  out  to  be  the  gout  got  there. 
I  have  twice  been  given  over  since  you  left  this  country  with 
that  cursed  disorder,  the  gout."  In  such  weakness  he  lived 
and  worked  through  a  month  of  a  short  campaign,  in  which, 
of  the  "  Hinchinbrook's  "  crew  of  two  hundred,  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  were  buried  in  his  time  or  that  of  his  successor, 
Collingwood,  —  a  mortality  which  he  justly  cites  as  a  further 
proof  of  the  necessity  for  expedition  in  such  climates.  But, 
though  he  survived,  he  escaped  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth. 
Worn  out  by  dysentery  and  fatigue,  he  was  carried  ashore  in 
his  cot,  and  soon  after  taken  to  Sir  Peter  Parker's  house, 
where  Lady  Parker  herself  nursed  him  through.     Her  kind- 

^  The  Caribbean  was  formerly  thus  styled  in  contradistinction  to  the  South 
Scii,  the  Paci*^^,  which  was  so  called  because  its  first  discoverers  saw  it  to  the 
south  from  the  Isthmus. 


^-;; 


..'! 


1 1 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


h 


ness  to  liim  and  his  own  debility  are  touchingly  shown  by  a 
note  written  from  the  mountains,  where  he  was  carried  in 
his  convalescence:  "Oh,  Mr.  Ross,  what  would  I  give  to  be 
at  Port  Royal!  Lady  Parker  not  here,  and  the  servants  Jet- 
ting me  lay  as  if  a  log,  and  take  no  notice."  By  September, 
1780,  it  was  apparent  that  perfect  restoration,  without  change 
of  climate,  was  impossible,  and  in  the  autumn  having  been 
somewhat  over  three  years  on  the  station,  he  sailed  for  home 
in  the  "  Lion,"  of  sixty-four  guns,  Captain  Cornwallis,^  to 
whose  careful  attention,  as  formerly  to  that  of  Captain  Pigot, 
he  gratefully  attributed  his  life.  The  expedition  with  which 
ho  had  been  associated  ended  in  failure,  for  although  a  part 
of  the  force  r)ushed  on  to  Lake  Nicaragua,  sickness  compelled 
the  abandonment  of  the  conquests,  which  were  repossessed  by 
the  Spaniards. 

Arriving  in  England,  Nelson  went  to  Bath,  and  there  passed 
through  a  period  of  extreme  suffering  and  tedious  recovery. 
"  I  have  been  so  ill  since  I  have  been  here,"  says  one  of  his 
letters,  "  that  I  was  obliged  to  be  carried  to  and  from  bed, 
with  the  most  excruciati'^g  tortures."  Exact  dates  are  want- 
ing; but  he  seems  to  have  been  under  treatment  near  three 
months,  when,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1781,  he  wrote  to 
Locker,  in  his  often  uncouth  style :  "  Although  I  have  not 
quite  recovered  the  use  of  my  limbs,  yet  my  inside  is  a  new 
man;"  and  again,  three  weeks  later,  "I  have  now  the  perfect 
use  of  all  my  limbs,  except  my  left  arm,  which  I  can  hardly  tell 
what  is  the  matter  with  it.  From  the  shoulder  to  my  fingers' 
ends  are  as  if  half  dead."  He  remained  in  Bath  until  the 
middle  of  March,  latterly  more  for  the  mild  climate  than  be- 
cause feeling  the  necessity  of  prosecuting  his  cure;  yet  that 
his  health  was  far  from  securely  re-established  is  evident,  for 
a  severe  relapse  followed  his  return  to  London.  On  the  7th 
of  May,  1781,  he  writes  to  his  brother:  "You  will  say,  why 
does  not  he  come  into  Norfolk  ?  I  will  tell  you  :  I  have  en- 
tirely lost  the  use  of  my  left  arm,  and  very  near  of  my  left 
leg  and  thigh."     In  estimating  Nelson's  heroism,  the  sickly 

1  Comwallis  was  an  officer  of  marked  gallantry  and  conduct,  who  distin- 
guished himself  on  several  occasions,  as  captain,  daring  the  War  of  1778,  and 
as  ndmiral  during  the  wars  of  the  Frencli  Revolution.  He  was  brother  to 
Lord  Cornwallis,  who  surrendered  at  Yorktown,  in  178L 


f 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 


87 


fragility  of  his  bodily  frame  must  be  kept  in  memory ;  not  to 
excuse  shortcomings  of  nerve  or  enterprise,  for  there  were 
none,  but  to  exalt  duly  the  extraordinary  mental  energy 
which  rather  mocked  at  difticulties  than  triumphed  over  them. 
"While  yet  an  invalid  he  had  again  applied  for  employment, 
and,  as  the  war  was  still  raging,  was  appointed  in  August, 
1781,  to  the  "  Albemarle,"  a  small  frigate  of  twenty-eight 
guns.  He  was  pleased  with  the  ship,  the  first  commissioned 
by  himself  at  home,  with  a  long  cruise  in  prospect;  and,  to- 
gether with  his  expressions  of  content  with  her,  there  appears 
that  manifestation  of  complete  satisfaction  with  his  officers 
and  orew,  with  those  surrounding  him  as  subordinates,  that 
so  singularly  characterized  his  habit  of  mind.  -I  have  an 
exceeding  good  ship's  company.  Not  a  man  or  officer  in 
her  I  would  wish  to  change.  ...  I  am  perfectly  satisfied 
with  both  officers  and  ship's  company."  Down  to  the  month 
before  Trafalgar,  when,  to  the  bidding  of  the  First  Lord  of 
the  Admiralty  to  choose  his  own  officers,  he  replied,  "Choose 
yourself,  my  lord ;  the  same  spirit  actuates  the  whole  pro- 
fession, you  cannot  choose  wrong,"  there  is  rarely,  it  might 
almost  be  said  never,  anything  but  praise  for  those  beneath 
liim.  With  the  "  Agamemnon,''  "  We  are  all  well ;  indeed, 
nobody  can  be  ill  with  my  ship's  company,  they  are  so  fine  a 
set."  At  the  Nile,  "  I  had  the  happiness  to  command  a  band 
of  brothers;  therefore  night  was  to  my  advantage.  Each 
knew  his  duty,  and  I  was  sure  each  would  feel  for  a  French 
ship.  My  friends  readily  conceived  my  plan."  His  ships  in 
the  Mediterranean,  in  1803,  "  are  the  best  commanded  and 
the  very  best  manned  "  in  the  navy.  So  his  frequent  praise 
of  others  in  his  despatches  and  letters  has  none  of  the  formal, 
]ierfunctory  ring  of  an  official  paper ;  it  springs  evidently 
from  the  warmest  appreciation  and  admiration,  is  heartfell;, 
sliowing  no  deceptive  exterior,  but  the  true  native  fibre  of 
the  man,  full  of  the  charity  which  is  kind  and  thinketh  no 
evil-  It  was  not  always  so  toward  those  above  him.  Under 
the  timid  and  dilatory  action  of  Hothara  and  Hyde  Parker, 
under  the  somewhat  commonplace  although  exact  and  ener- 
getic movements  of  Lord  Keith,  he  was  restive,  and  freely 
showed  what  he  felt.  On  the  other  hand,  around  Hood  and 
Jervis,  who  commanded  his  professional  respect  and  esjeem, 


n 


;^ 


I'l 


I 


'i 


1: 


■I 

:! 


28 


THE  LIFE  OF   NELSON 


I    1 


>\ 


he  qiiickiy  threw  the  sai'ie  halo  of  excellence,  arising  from 
his  tendency  to  idealize,  that  colored  the  medium  through 
which  he  invariably  saw  the  men  whom  he  himself  com- 
manded. The  disposition  to  invest  those  near  to  him  with 
merits,  which  must  in  part  at  least  have  been  imaginary,  is 
a  most  noteworthy  feature  of  his  character,  and  goes  far  to 
explain  the  attraction  he  exerted  over  others,  the  enthusiasm 
which  ever  followed  him,  the  greatness  of  his  success,  and 
also,  unhappily,  the  otherwise  almost  inexplicable  but  en- 
during infatuation  which  enslaved  his  later  years,  and  has 
loft  the  mijst  serious  blot  upon  his  memory. 

Though  thus  pleased  with  his  surroundings,  his  own  health 
continued  indifferent.  He  excuses  himself  for  delay  in  corre- 
spondence, because  "  so  ill  as  to  be  scai-ce  kept  out  of  bed." 
In  such  a  state,  and  for  one  whose  frame  had  been  racked  and 
weakened  by  three  years  spent  in  the  damp  heat  of  the  trop- 
ics, a  winter's  trip  to  the  Baltic  was  hardly  the  best  prescrip- 
tion ;  but  thither  the  "  Albemarle  "  was  sent,  —  "  it  would 
almost  be  supposed,"  he  wrote,  "to  try  my  constitution."  He 
was  away  on  this  cruise  from  October  to  December,  1781, 
reaching  Yarmouth  on  the  17th  of  the  latter  month,  with  a 
large  convoy  of  a  hundred  and  ten  sail  of  merchant-ships,  all 
that  then  remained  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  that  had  started 
from  Elsinore  on  the  8th.  "They  behaved,  as  all  convoys 
that  ever  I  saw  did,  shamefully  ill ;  parting  company  every 
day."  After  being  several  days  v/ind-bound  in  Yarmouth. 
K'-.  lIs,  he  arrived  in  the  Downs  on  the  first  day  of  1782.  The 
bitter  cold  of  the  North  had  pierced  him  almost  as  keenly  as 
it  did  twenty  years  later  in  the  Copenhagen  expedition.  "  I 
believe  the  Doctor  has  saved  my  life  since  I  saw  yo-i,"  he 
wrote  to  his  brother.  The  ship  was  then  ordered  to  Ports- 
mouth to  take  in  eight  months'  provisions, — a  sure  indication 
that  she  was  intended  for  a  distant  voyage.  Nelson  himself 
surmised  that  she  would  join  the  squadron  of  Sir  Kichard 
Bickerton,  then  fitting  out  to  reinforce  the  fleet  in  the  East 
Indies.  Had  this  happened,  he  would  have  been  on  hand  to 
hear  much  and  perchance  see  something  of  one  of  his  own 
professional  forerunners,  the  grent  French  Admiral  Suffren,  as 
well  as  of  the  hitter's  doughty  antagonist.  Sir  Edward  Hughes  ; 
lor  Bickerton  arrived  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  last  of  the 


♦  1 


'81 


THE  riRST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


29 


five  pitched  battles  between  those  two  hard  fighters.  Un- 
luckily, a  severe  accident  had  befallen  the  "Albemarle,"  —  a 
large  East  Indiaman  having  dragged  down  upon  her  during 
a  heavy  gale  in  the  Downs.  The  injuries  received  by  this 
collision  were  so  extensive  that  the  ship  was  under  repairs 
at  Portsmouth  for  six  weeks,  during  which  time  Bickerton 
sailed. 

While  thus  detained  in  one  of  the  principal  dockyards  and 
naval  stations  of  the  kingdom,  another  large  detachment,  be- 
longing to  the  Channel  fleet,  assembled  before-.  Nelson's  eyes. 
It  comprised  twelve  sail-of-the-line,  under  Admiral  Barring- 
ton  ;  and  among  these  was  the  "  Foudroyant,"  the  most  famous 
ship  of  her  time,  then  commanded  by  Captain  John  Jervis, 
with  whom,  as  the  Earl  of  St.  Vincent,  Nelson  was  afterwards 
closely  associated ;  but  the  young  frigate  captain  did  not  now 
come  in  contact  with  his  stately  superior,  wlio  in  later  years 
so  highly  valued  and  loved  him.  It  was  for  him  still  the  day 
of  small  things.  Though  thus  thrown  in  the  midst  of  the  din 
and  bustle  of  extensive  naval  preparations,  he  had  not  the 
fortune  to  be  directly  connected  with  them  ;  and  consequently 
no  occasion  arose  for  becoming  known  to  admirals  who  could 
recognize  his  worth,  and  give  him  the  opportunities  without 
which  distinction  cannot  be  achieved.  It  is,  however,  a  sig- 
nificant and  instructive  fact  that,  while  thus  persistently  dis- 
sociated from  the  great  operations  then  in  progress,  and 
employed  wholly  in  detached  service,  Nelson's  natural  genius 
for  war  asserted  itself,  coiitrolling  the  direction  of  his  thoughts 
and  interests,  and  fixing  them  to  that  broad  field  of  his  profes- 
sion from  which  he  was  as  yet  debarred.  "The  height  of  his 
ambition,"  an  ac(piaintance  of  this  period  tells  us,  "  was  to 
command  a  line-of-battle  ship ;  as  for  prize  money,"  for  which 
frigates  offered  the  best  chances,  "  it  never  entered  his 
thoughts."  A  few  m')nths  later,  while  still  in  the  "  Albe- 
marle," it  was  said  of  him  by  Lord  Hood,  the  most  original 
tactician  of  the  day,  that  he  knew  as  much  about  naval  tactics 
as  any  officer  in  the  fleet.  When  this  high  encomium  was  be- 
stowed, Nelson  had  barely  passed  his  twenty-fourth  birthday. 

Meanwhile  the  "  Albemarle  "  was  again  ordered  upon  con- 
voy duty,  this  time  to  Quebec.  This  destination  also  was 
distasteful  on  account  of  the  climate.    "  I  want  much  to  get 


i  I 


i\ 


) 


I! 


'.■ti 


'<\'<- 


t  t 


(I 


.  'II- 


I 


[1         Ir 


30 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


off  from  this  d cl  voyage,"  he  wrote.     "  Mr.  Adair,"  an 

eminent  London  surgeon,  who  the  year  before  had  treated  him 
for  the  paralysis  of  his  limbs,  "  has  told  me  that  if  I  was  sent 
to  a  cold  damp  climate  it  would  make  me  worse  than  ever." 
He  himself  had  scruples  about  applying  for  an  exchange,  and 
tlie  efforts  of  some  friends  who  interfered  proved  useless.  The 
"  A.lbemarle  "  started  with  a  convoy  of  thirty-odd  vessels  on 
the  10th  of  April,  1782 ;  and  after  a  short  stop  at  Cork,  an- 
chored at  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  on  May  27,  whence  she 
reached  Quebec  July  1.  Three  days  later  she  again  sailed  on 
a  cruise  that  lasted  over  two  months,  spent  chiefly  r.bout 
Boston  Bay  and  Cape  Cod.  During  this  time  several  enemy's 
vessels  were  taken  or  destroyed ;  but,  with  the  bad  luck  that 
so  often  followed  Nelson  in  the  matter  of  prize-money,  none 
of  the  captures  reached  port,  and  the  cruise  was  pecuniarily 
unprofitable.  It  afforded  him,  however,  an  opportunity  for 
displaying  conduct  and  gaining  deserved  reputation,  which  he 
valued  more  highly.  On  the  14th  of  August  the  sudden  lifting 
of  a  fog  showed  the  "  Albemarle  "  within  gunshot  of  a  French 
squadron,  of  four  ships-of-the-line  and  a  frigate,  that  had  just 
come  out  of  Boston.  A  close  chase  followed,  lasting  nine  or 
ten  hours ;  but  Nelson  threw  off  the  heavy  ships  by  running 
among  the  shoals  of  George's  Bank,  which  he  ventured  to  do, 
trusting  to  the  cool  head  and  aptitude  for  pilotage  acquired  in 
earlier  life.  The  frigate  followed  warily,  watching  for  a 
chance  to  strike  at  advantage  ;  but  when  the  ships-of-the-line 
had  been  dropped  far  enough  to  be  unable  to  help  their  con- 
sort, the  British  vessel  hove-to  ^  in  defiance,  and  the  enemy 
fell  back  upon  his  supports. 

Shortly  after  this  escape,  so  many  of  the  ship'^  company 
fell  ill  with  scurvy  that  Nelson  decided  to  go  back  to  Quebec, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  17th  of  September.  "  For  eight 
weeks,"  he  wrote,  "  myself  and  all  the  officers  lived  upon  salt 
beef ;  nor  had  the  ship's  company  had  a  fresh  meal  since  the 
7th  of  April"  The  fears  for  his  health  that  he  had  expressed 
before  sailing  from  England  had  happily  proved  groundless, 
and  a  month's  stay  in  port  which  now  followed,  at  the  most 
delightful  and  invigorating  of  the  American  seasons,  wrought 


wonders  for  him. 


His  letters  to  Locker  state  that  the  voyage 
1  That  is,  stopped. 


ill 


I 


THE  FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


31 


agreed  with  him  better  than  he  had  expected ;  while  from  the 
St.  Lawrence  he  wrote  to  his  father,  "  Health,  that  greatest  of 
blessings,  is  what  I  never  truly  enjoyed  until  I  saw  Fair 
Canada.  The  change  it  has  wrought,  I  am  convinced,  is  truly 
wonderful."  This  happy  result  had  been  due,  in  part  at 
least,  to  surroundings  that  told  favorably  upon  his  sensitive 
nervous  system,  and  not  to  the  bracing  climate  alone.  He  had 
been  actively  occupied  aJoat,  and  had  fallen  desperately  in  love 
with  a  fair  Canadian,  around  whom  his  ardent  imagination 
threw  that  glamour  of  exaggerated  charm  in  which  he  suw  all 
wlio  were  dear  to  him,  except  his  wife.  Her  he  seems  from 
the  first  to  have  looked  upon  with  affection  indeed,  but  with- 
out rapture  or  illusion.  The  Canadian  affair  came  near  ending 
in  an  imprudent  offer,  from  which  he  was  with  difficulty  de- 
terred by  a  cool-headed  friend.  The  story  runs  that,  the  ship 
being  ordered  to  New  York  and  ready  for  sea,  he  had  bidden 
her  good-bye  and  gone  on  board,  expecting  to  sail  next  day ; 
but  that,  unable  to  bear  the  approaching  separation,  he  re- 
turned to  the  city,  and  was  on  his  Avay  to  the  lady's  home 
when  his  friend  met  him. 

Tearing  himself  away  from  his  mistress  by  a  violent  effort. 
Kelson,  on  the  20th  of  October,  sailed  for  New  York.  Arriv- 
ing on  the  13th  of  November,  he  found  there  a  large  part  of 
the  West  India  fleet,  under  Lord  Hood,  who  had  been  second 
in  command  to  Rodney  on  the  occasion  of  the  latter's  cele- 
brated victory  over  De  Grasse  in  the  previous  April.  Rodney 
liad  since  then  been  recalled  to  England,  while  Hood  had  gone 
to  Boston  to  look  after  a  division  of  the  beaten  French  fleec, 
wliich  was  there  refitting.  He  was  now  on  his  return  to  the 
islands,  wiiere  the  enemy  was  expected  to  make  a  vigorous 
aggressive  campaign  tie  following  spring.  Extensive  prepa- 
rations were  in  fact  on  foot  for  the  reduction  of  Jamaica,  fi-us- 
trated  six  months  before  by  De  Grasse's  mishap.  Nelson 
thus  found  himself  again  in  tantalizing  contact  Avith  the  stir- 
ring circumstance  that  preludes  hostilities,  in  which  he  him- 
self had  little  hope  to  share  ;  for  the  *'  Albemarle  "  belonged 
to  the  North  American  station,  where  all  active  naval  opera- 
tions had  ceased  with  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  the  year 
bot'ore.  He  went,  therefore,  to  Hood,  and  begged  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  his  squadron.     In  vain  did  Admiral  Digby,  his  own 


I 


I 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


/  :, 


! 


'    i 


1 1 


commander-in-chief,  tell  him  that  he  was  on  a  good  station  for 
prize-money.  "  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  but  the  West  Indies^  is  the 
station  for  lionour." 

Digby  was  reluctant  to  part  with  a  frigate,  as  all  admirals 
were ;  but  Hood,  either  from  an  intuitive  faculty  for  judging 
men,  or  from  his  conversations  with  Nelson  eliciting  the 
latter's  singular  knowledge  of  the  higher  part  of  his  profes- 
sion, wished  to  push  an  officer  of  so  much  promise,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  the  transfer  of  the  "Albemarle"  to  his 
squadron.  "  I  am  a  candidate  with  Lord  Hood  for  a  line-of- 
battle  ship,"  wrote  Nelson  to  Locker  ;  "  he  has  honoured  me 
highly,  by  a  letter,  for  wishing  to  go  off  this  station  to  a 
station  of  service,  and  has  promised  me  his  friendship."  A 
few  months  later  he  wrote  again:  "My  situation  in  Lord 
Hood's  fleet  must  be  in  the  highest  degree  flattering  to  any 
young  man.  He  treats  me  as  if  I  were  his  son,  and  will,  I 
am  convinced,  give  me  anything  I  can  ask  of  him."  This 
was  really  the  beginning,  the  outstart,  of  Nelson's  great 
career ;  for  Hood's  interest  in  him,  then  aroused,  and  deep- 
ened by  experience  to  the  utmost  confidence  and  appreciation, 
made  itself  felt  the  instant  the  French  Revolutionary  War 
began.  Nelson  then  came  at  once  under  his  orders,  went 
with  liim  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  there  speedily  made  his 
mark,  being  transferred  from  admiral  to  admiral  with  ever- 
growing tokens  of  reliance.  Despite  the  lapse  of  time,  and 
the  long  interval  of  peace,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 
there  is  a  direct  connection  of  cause  and  effect  between  his 
transfer  to  Hood's  fleet,  in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  and  tho 
battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  in  1797,  when  he  emerged  from 
merely  professional  distinction  to  national  renown,  standing 
head  and  shoulders  above  all  competitors.  In  tlie  four  da}  j 
that  followed  his  arrival  in  New  York,  Nelson  took  the  tide 
at  the  flood,  and  was  borne  on  to  fortune.  Yet  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  instant  and  happy  decisions,  we  may  not  see  tho 
mere  casting  of  a  die,  the  chance  result  of  an  irreflective  im- 
pulse. The  determination  to  change  into  Hood's  squadron, 
with  its  powerful,  far-reaching  effect  upon  his  future,  was  in 
necessary  logical  sequence  to  Nelson's  whole  habit  of  thought, 
and  wish,  and  previous  preparation.  He  was  swept  into 
the  current  that  carried  him  on  to  fame  by  the  irresistible 


THE   FIRST  TWENTV-FIVE   YEARS 


88 


tendency  of  his  own  conscious  will  and  cherished  purpose. 
Opportunity  flitted  by ;  he  was  ready,  and  grasped  it. 

At  this  turning-point  the  commendable  diligence  of  his 
principal  biographers  has  again  secured  for  us  a  striking  de- 
scrijition  of  the  young  oaptain's  personal  appearance,  and  oi' 
the  impression  produced  by  his  manner  upon  an  interested 
acquaintance,  who  afterwards  became  a  warm  friend  and  ad- 
mirer as  well  as  a  frequent  correspondent.  The  narrator  — 
then  Prince  William  Henry,  afterwards   King  William  IV. 

crave  tlie  following  account,   apparently  at  some   period 

between  1805,  when  Nelson  fell,  and  1809,  when  the  first 
edition  of  Clarke  and  M'Arthur's  Life  ap[)eared.  "I  was 
then  r,  midshipman  on  board  the  Barfleur,"  Lord  Hood's  flag- 
ship, "lying  in  the  Narrows  off  Staten  Island,  and  had  the 
watch  on  deck,  when  Cai^tain  Nelson,  of  the  Albomarle,  came 
in  his  barge  alongside,  who  appeared  to  be  the  merest  boy  of 
a  captain  I  ever  beheld;  and  his  dress  was  worthy  of  atten- 
tion. He  had  on  a  full-laced  uniform;  his  lank  unpowdered 
hair  was  tied  in  a  stiff  Hessian  tail,  of  an  extraordinary 
length ;  the  old-fashioned  flaps  of  his  waistcoat  added  to  the 
general  quaintness  of  his  figure,  and  produced  an  appearance 
which  particularly  attracted  my  notice  ;  for  I  had  never  seen 
anything  like  it  before,  nor  could  I  imagine  who  he  was,  nor 
what  he  came  about.  IMy  doubts  were,  however,  removed 
when  Lord  Hood  introduced  me  to  him.  There  was  some- 
thing irresistibly  pleasing  in  his  address  and  conversation; 
and  an  enthusiasm,  when  speaking  on  professional  subjects, 
tliat  showed  he  was  no  common  being."  The  Countess  of 
jMinto,  in  her  Life  of  Lord  INIinto,  speaks  of  Nelson's  "  shock 
head  "  at  tlie  time  (1794)  when  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  at 
the  housa  of  INIinto,  then  Sir  Gilbert  Elliott,  and  Viceroy  of 
Corsica;  a  trivial  detail,  but  confirmatory,  so  far,  of  the 
picture  drawn  by  the  prince.  The  latter  continued :  "  Nelson, 
after  this,  went  with  us  to  the  West  Indies,  and  served  under 
Lord  Hr>od's  flag  during  his  indefatigable  cruise  off  Cape 
Traucjois.  ...  I  found  him  warmly  attached  to  my  father 
[King  George  III.],  and  singularly  humane.  He  had  the 
honour  of  the  King's  service  and  the  independence  of  the 
IJiitish  navy  particularly  at  heart;  and  his  mind  glowed  with 
this  idea  as  much  when  he  was  simply  captain  of  the  Albe- 

3 


rV 


84 


THE  LIFE  OF  N^'.LSOy 


h ,, 


M 


rf 


\<'  i 


4 


marie,  and  had  obtained  none  of  the  honours  oi  his  Country, 
as  when  he  was  afterwards  decorated  with  so  uiuch  well- 
earned   distinction." 

The  war  of  1778  was  now  fast  drawing  to  its  close;  the 
preliminaries  of  peace  being  signed  in  January,  llS'o,  though 
not  ratified  till  the  following  September,  lluod  cruised  off 
Cap  Frau9ois,  a  naval  station  of  tlis  French  at  the  west  end 
of  Haiti,  to  intercept  the  fleet  from  Boiston,  which  was  under- 
stood to  be  on  its  way  to  the  Caribbean;  but  the  enemy, 
lertrning  his  whereabouts,  went  through  the  Moua  Passage, 
east  of  the  island,  thus  avoiding  a  meeting,  and  was  next 
heard  of  by  the  liritish  as  being  off  Cura9ao,  far  to  the  south- 
ward. Xelson,  therefore,  had  no  op])ortunity  to  show  his 
prowess  in  battle ;  and  a.«  only  three  letters  remain  covering 
this  uneventful  period,  little  is  known  of  his  movements, 
oxcept  tha^.  he  made  an  abortive  attempt  to  recapture  Turk's 
Island  from  ttie  French  with  a  small  force  of  ships  he  was 
able  to  gather  at  short  notice.  An  interesting  indication  of 
the  spirit  which  animated  him  transpires  in  the  first  of  the 
three  letters  mentioned.  He  had  veceived  unexpected  ordt.rs 
to  wait  in  New  York  after  Hood's  leaving.  "I  was  to  have 
sailed  with  the  fleet  '  is  day,  but  for  some  private  reasons, 
when  my  ship  was  under  sail  from  New  York  to  join  Lord 
Hood,  at  Sandy  Hook,  I  was  sent  for  on  shore,  and  told  I  was 
to  be  kept  forty-eight  hours  after  the  sailing  of  the  fleet.  It 
is  much  to  my  private  advantage,"  allowing  more  latitude  for 
picking  up  prizes,  without  having  to  share  with  the  other 
ships,  "but  I  had  much  rather  have  sailed  with  the  fleet." 
"Money,"  he  continues,  "is  the  great  object  here,"  on  the 
North  American  Station,  "nothing  else  is  attended  to,"  —  a 
motive  of  action  which  he  always  rejected  witt  disdain, 
although  by  no  means  insensible  to  the  value  of  money,  nor 
ever  thoroughly  at  his  ease  in  the  matter  of  income,  owing 
largely  to  the  lavish  liberality  with  which  he  responded  to 
the  calls  upon  his  generosity  or  benevolence.  A  year  later 
he  wrote  in  the  same  strain :  "  I  have  closed  the  v/ar  without 
a  fortune  ;  but  I  trust,  and,  from  the  attention  that  has  been 
paid  to  me,  believe,  that  there  is  not  a  speck  in  my  character. 
True  honour,  I  hope,  predominates  in  my  mind  far  above 
riches." 


I'l  '••■ 


THE   FIRST   TWKXTY-FIVK   YEARS 


85 


When  news  of  tlio  pe;ici!  readied  the  West  Indies,  Hood 
was  ordered  to  return  with  his  ileet  to  England.  Nelson 
went  home  at  the  saine  time,  being  directed  lirst  to  acconi- 
iKiny  I'rinee  William  Henry  in  a  visit  to  JIavana.  Tlie 
'•Albemarle"  reached  Spilhead  on  the  Uoth  of  Jam,  17<Si{, 
and  was  paid  off  a  week  later,  her  captain  going  on  half-i»ay 
until  the  following  April.  The  cruise  of  nearly  two  years' 
duration  closed  with  this  characteristic  comment:  "Not  an 
oiticer  has  been  changed,  except  the  second  lieutenant,  since 
the  Albemarle  was  commissioned  ;  therefore,  it  is  needless 
to  say,  I  am  liapi)y  in  my  ship's  company."  And  again  lu; 
writi'S :  ''My  ship  was  paid  off  last  week,  and  in  such  a 
manner  that  must  Hatter  any  ofiicer,  in  i)articu]ar  in  these 
turbulfiit  times.  The  whole  shi^)'s  comjiauy  offei-jd,  if  1 
could  got  a  shij),  to  enter  for  lier  immediately."  Nelson  was 
keenl}  alivt!  to  the  impolicy  and  injury  to  the  ser.dce  in- 
volved in  th(!  frequent  changes  of  oilicers  and  men  from  shi[) 
to  shi}).  '•  The  disgust  of  the  seamen  to  tlu'  Navy,"  he  wrote 
immediately  after  leaving  the  "Albemarle,"  "'is  all  owing  to 
the  infernal  plan  of  turning  them  c^-^'r  from  ship  to  ship,  so 
that  men  cannot  be  attached  to  their  cilicers,  or  the  officers 
care  twopence  about  them."  This  element  of  personal  attach- 
ment is  never  left  out  of  calculation  safely. 

Nelson  was  now  Vicailv  Lweucy-five.  In  direct  achievement 
he  had  ai^complished  little,  and  to  most  he  was  unknown  ;  but 
he  did  not  deceive  himself  in  believing  that  his  reputation 
was  established,  and  his  promise,  as  a  capable  man  of  action, 
understood  by  those  who  knew  him,  and  especially  by  the 
brilliant  admiral  under  whom  he  had  last  served.  Within  a 
week  of  his  release  from  the  ship  Hood  carried  him  to  Court, 
and  presented  him  to  the  King, — an  evident  proof  of  his 
;i] "probation  ;  and  Nelson  notes  that  the  sovereign  was  exceed- 
iii'^ly  attentive.  The  next  few  months  were  spent  in  Lon- 
don, or  at  his  old  home  in  Norfolk,  to  which  and  to  his 
f.uiiily  he  was  always  fondly  attached.  Toward  the  end  of 
\)!t()ber  he  obtained  a  leave  of  absence,  in  order  to  visit 
FiMuee  and  acfpure  the  French  lanj.'uage.  His  impressions  of 
that",  country,  as  far  as  he  weni, --from  Calais  to  St.  Omer, 
—  arc  given  in  livtdy  enough  style  in  a  few  letters  ;  but  they 
(lifter  little  from   what    might   be  expected  from  any  very 


;;  ... 


:iii 


THE  LIFE  OF  NKLSON 


(K 


i!  / 


young  luai)  deeply  tingocl  with  insular  prejudice.  "I  hate 
their  country  and  their  manners,"  ho  wrote,  soon  after  his 
return;  and  his  bicgvaphurs  uc-e  quite  right  in  saying  that 
ho  had  been  brought  up  in  the  old  anti-Gallican  school,  with 
prejudices  not  to  b''  eradicated  by  a  flying  visit.  }Ie  duly 
records  his  disgust  with  two  IJritish  naval  captains,  one  of 
whom  was  afterwards  among  his  most  valued  and  valuable 
friends,  for  wearing  epaulettes,  at  that  time  confined  to  the 
French  service.  "1  hold  them  a  little  rZ/ea//,"  he  said,  "for 
l)utting  on  any  part  of  a  Frenchman's  uniform." 

It  is  more  interesting  to  notice  that  his  impressionable 
fancy  was  again  taken  by  an  atti'active  young  Englishwoman, 
the  daughter  of  a  clergyman  named  Andrews,  living  at  St. 
Omer.  "Two  very  beautiful  young  ladies,"  he  writes  to 
Locker  and  to  his  brother;  "I  must  take  care  of  my  heart,  I 
assure  you."  "  My  heart  !£•  quite  secured  against  the  French 
beauties;  I  almost  wish  I  could  say  as  much  for  an  English 
young  lady,  the  daughter  of  a  clergynum,  with  whom  I  am 
just  going  to  dine,  and  spend  the  day.  She  has  such  accom- 
plishments that,  had  I  a  million  of  money,  I  am  sure  I  should 
at  this  moment  make  her  an  offer  of  them."  "The  most 
accomplished  woman  my  eyes  ever  beheld,"  he  repeats,  a 
month  later.  The  sentimental  raptures  of  a  ^^oung  man  about 
a  handsome  girl  have  in  themselves  too  mucli  of  the  common- 
place to  justify  mention.  What  is  remarkal)le,  and  suggests 
an  explanation  of  the  deplorable  vagary  of  his  later  year;:,  is 
that  his  attachment  to  his  wife,  even  in  the  davs  of  court- 
ship,  elicited  no  such  extravagance  of  admiration  as  that  into 
which  he  freely  lapses  in  his  earlier  fancies,  and  3'et  more  in 
his  last  absorbing  passion.  Respect  and  tenderness  for  her 
he  certainly  felt  and  expressed;  but  there  is  no  indication 
that  she  ever  enkindled  his  ardent  imagination,  or  filled  for 
him  the  place  of  an  ideal,  which  his  mental  constitution 
imperatively  demanded  as  an  object  of  worship.  The  present 
attachment  went  so  far  with  him  that  he  wrote  to  his  uncle 
William  Suckling,  asking  for  an  allowance  to  enable  him  to 
marry.  "  If  nothing  can  be  done  for  me,"  said  he,  gloomily, 
"I  know  what  I  have  to  trust  to.  Life  is  not  worth  preserv- 
ing without  happiness;  and  I  care  not  where  I  may  linger 
out  a  miserable  existence.     I  am  prepared  to  hear  your  refusal, 


iiJ  > 


t 


THE    FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


87 


iuitl  have  fixed  my  resolution  if  that  should  liappen.  ...  I 
pray  you  may  never  know  the  pangs  which  at  this  instant 
tear  my  Iieart."  If,  as  is  said  by  the  gentleman  into  whose 
hands  tliis  letter  passed,  Suckling  consented  to  help  him,  as 
lie  certainly  did  at  the  time  of  his  actual  marriage,  it  seems 
probable  that  the  lady  refused  him. 


i  ' 


li^ 


ciiArxER  ir. 

TiiK   CiirisK  OF    Tirr,  "Bdiir.As."  —  CuSTiiovr.usY    (i\  r.ii  riir,    I".ni-oi:i  i; 
.Miosr  (iK  Tin;    Kavicatidn  At  r. — Ui;Tn!\  td    Knci.and.  —  Kkiiki.' 

MI'.NT     r.NTII.    Tin;    UL  IIIKKAK    ok     TIIK      FuKNCII      liKVULt'TION.  —  Ar- 
l'UlNTi:i)    K)   IDMMAM)   TIIK    "A(;AMi;.MNON,"    Gi. 

17S4-17U.'5.     A(iK,  l'0-34. 


I  . 


J  J 


WIIATEVKK  the  cause,  Xelsoii's  visit  to  France  ended 
prenuiturely  and  abruptly.  JCarly  in  January,  1784, 
after  an  absence  of  two  months,  lie  went  back  to  EngUmd, 
announcing  to  his  friends  that  his  coming  was  only  tem- 
porary, partly  on  business,  partly  for  treatment;  for  his 
delicate^  health  again  occasioned  him  anxiety.  "  The  frost, 
thaidc  God,  is  broke,"  he  wrote  ;  "  cold  weather  is  death  to 
me."  But  even  vvhile  speaking  confidently  of  his  speedy 
return  to  the  Continent,  he  dropped  a  hint  that  ho  was  dis- 
posed to  resume  tlie  active  pursuit  of  his  i)rofession,  although 
on  leaving  the  "  Albemarle,"  six  months  before,  he  had  said 
that  he  could  not  afford  to  live  afloat,  in  peace  times,  in  the 
style  then  prevalent.  "  My  stay  in  England  will  be  but  very 
short,  without  the  I'irst  TiOrd  in  the  Admiralty  thinks  proper 
to  employ  me.  I  shall  offer  my  services."  lie  did  see  Lord 
Howe,  at  that  time  First  Lord,  asking  him  for  a  ship;  and 
he  renewed  his  cordial  relations  with  Hood,  then  living  in 
London.  On  the  18th  of  March  Howe  appointed  him  to  the 
command  of  the  frigate  "  l>oreas."  Occupation  in  peace, 
with  a  reduced  establishment,  was  not  easy  to  get,  and  his 
brother,  an  inveterate  wirepuller,  nmst  needs  know  to  whose 
favor  Xelson  owed  it.  "You  ask,"  replied  the  hero,  ''by 
what  interest  did  I  get  a  ship?  I  answer,  having  served 
with  credit  was  my  recommendation  to  Lord  Howe.  Any- 
thing in  reason  that  I  can  ask,  I  am  sure  of  obtaining  from 
his  justice."  The  statement  was  no  more  than  fair  to  Howe  ; 
but  in  his  knowledge  of  the  merits  of  Nelson,  whose  claim 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  "BOREAS" 


30 


lay  rather  in  evident  promise  than  in  conspicuous  perform- 
ance we  can  probably  trace  the  friendly  intervention  of  Lord 

Hood. 

Nelson's  wish  was  that  the  "  Boreas  "  should  go  to  the  East 
Iiulios.  To  this  he  inclined,  apparently,  because  the  station 
was  to  be  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Cornwallis,  in 
whoso  ship  he  had  returned  from  Jamaica  as  an  invalid  in 
17J<(),  and  to  whom  on  that  occasion  he  was  indebted  for  the 
most  friendly  care.  He  was  not  long  allowed  to  indulge  this 
hoj)e,  for  live  days  after  roreiving  his  appointment  he  wrote 
that  the  ship  was  bound  to  the  Leeward  Islands,  and  that  he 
had  been  asked  to  take  as  passengers  the  wife  and  family  of 
the  commander-in-chief,  Sir  Richard  Hughes,  who  had  already 
gone  out.  Li  a  small  vessel,  for  such  the  "Boreas"  was,  the 
request,  which  he  could  not  well  refuse,  gave  Nelson  cause  of 
reasonable  discontent,  entailing  crowding  and  a  large  outlay 
of  money.  "I  shall  be  pretty  well  filled  with  lumher"  he 
wrote  ;  and  later,  on  the  voyage  out,  "  I  shall  not  be  sorry  to 
part  with  them,  although  they  are  very  pleasant,  good  people; 
but  they  are  an  incredible  expense."  The  incident,  annoying 
tliough  it  was,  was  not  without  compensations.  After  arriving 
on  the  station,  he  soon  became  involved  in  a  serious  difference 
with  Sir  Kichard  Hughes ;  and  the  latter,  though  a  weak  man 
and  in  the  wrong,  might  have  acted  more  peremptorily,  had 
he  not  laid  himself  under  such  obligations.  On  the  other  hand, 
Lady  Hughes,  many  years  later,  shortly  after  Nelson's  death, 
committed  to  writing  some  recollections  of  his  personal  traits 
and  actions  during  the  passage,  so  characteristic,  even  though 
trivial,  that  we  could  ill  have  spared  them. 

<'  I  was  too  much  affected  when  we  met  at  Bath,"  wrote  she 
to  ]\rr.  ]\[atcham,  Nelson's  brother-in-law,  "  to  say  every  par- 
ticular in  which  was  always  displayed  the  infinite  cleverness 
and  goodness  of  heart  of  our  dearly  beloved  Hero.  As  a 
woman,  I  can  only  be  a  judge  of  those  things  that  I  could 
comprehend  —  such  as  his  attention  to  the  young  gentlemen 
who  had  the  happiness  of  being  on  his  quarter-deck.  It  may 
reasonably  be  supposed  that  among  the  number  of  thirty,  there 
must  be  timid  as  well  as  bold;  the  timid  ho  never  rebuked, 
but  always  wished  to  show  them  he  desired  nothing  of  them 
that  he  would  not  instantly  do  himself :  and  I  have  known  him 


)l 


40 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I   i 


say,  *  Well,  Sir,  I  am  going  a  race  to  the  masthead,  and  beg  I 
may  meet  you  there.'  No  denial  could  be  given  to  such  a  wish, 
and  the  poor  fellow  instantly  began  his  march.  His  '^ordship 
never  took  the  least  notice  with  wliat  alacrity  it  was  done,  but 
when  he  met  in  the  top.  instantly  began  speaking  in  the  most 
cheerful  manner,  and  saying  how  much  a  person  was  to  be 
pitied  that  could  fancy  there  was  any  danger,  or  even  anything 
disagreeable,  in  the  attempt.  After  this  excellent  example,  I 
liave  seen  the  timid  youth  lead  another,  and  rehearse  his  cap- 
tain's words.  In  like  manner,  he  every  diiy  went  into  tlie 
school-room,  and  saw  them  do  their  nautical  business,  and  at 
twelve  o'clock  he  was  the  first  upon  deck  with  his  quadrant. 
Ko  one  tliere  could  be  behindhand  in  their  business  when  their 
captain  set  them  so  good  an  example.  One  other  circumstance 
I  ".lUst  mention  v/hich  will  close  the  subject,  which  was  the 
day  we  landed  at  Barbadoes.  We  Avere  to  dine  at  the  Gover- 
nor's. Our  dear  captain  said,  •  You  must  permit  me.  Lady 
Hughes,  to  carry  one  of  my  aid-de-camps  with  me  ; '  and  when 
he  presented  him  to  the  Governor,  he  ^aid,  '  Your  Excellency 
must  excuse  me  for  bringing  one  of  my  midshipmen,  as  I  make 
it  a  nde  to  introduce  them  to  all  the  good  company  I  can,  as 
chey  have  few  to  look  up  to  besides  myself  during  the  time 
t\\Qy  are  at  sea.'  This  kindness  and  attention  made  the  young 
people  adore  him ;  and  even  his  wishes,  could  they  have  been 
known,  would  have  been  instantly  complied  with." 

Tlie  charm  and  wisdom  of  such  a  bearing  is  patent ;  but  it 
was  the  natural  character  t)f  the  man  that  thus  shone  out,  and 
no  mere  result  of  conscientious  care.  To  the  last,  through  all 
his  ill-health,  anxiety,  and  sufferings,  the  same  genial  sweet- 
ness of  manner,  the  outcome  of  an  unaffected,  cordial  good-will 
to  all,  was  shown  to  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him. 
Captain  Duff,  who  met  iiim  for  the  first  time  three  weeks  before 
Trafalgar,  and  who  f  ^ll  in  the  battle,  wrote  to  his  wife  in  almost 
the  same  words  as  Lady  Hughes :  "  You  ask  me  about  Lord 
Xelson,  and  how  I  like  him.  I  liave  already  answered  that 
(piestion  as  every  person  must  do  that  ever  served  under  him. 
Ho  is  so  good  aiul  j)ieasant  a  man,  that  we  all  wish  to  do  what 
he  likes,  without  any  kind  of  orders.  I  liave  been  myself  very 
lucky  with  most  of  my  admirals,  but  I  really  think  tlie  present 
the  pleasantest  I  have  met  with."     There  do,  it  is  true,  occur 


THE  CllUISE  OF  THE   "BOREAS" 


41 


le,  occur 


in  Nelson's  letters  occasional,  though  very  rare,  exi)ressions  of 
that  passing  annoyance  with  individuals  which  is  inseparable 
from  the  close  and  long-continued  contact  of  ship  life.  Thus, 
shortly  before  leaving  the  "  Boreas,"  he  writes :  "  I  begin  to  be 
veiy  strict  in  my  Ship.  Whenever  I  may  set  off  in  anothei-, 
I  shall  be  indifferent  whether  I  ever  speak  to  an  Officer  in  her, 
l)ut  upon  duty."  One  wonders  what  passing  and  soon  forgotten 
breeze  was  responsible  for  this  most  un-Nelson-like  outburst. 
But  to  the  end  it  remained  true  that  between  the  officers  and 
ciows  under  Nelson's  command  and  their  chief,  there  was 
uhv'oys  that  cordial  regard  which  can  only  spring  from  the 
hearty  sympathy  of  the  commander  with  those  beneath  him. 

While  thoughtful  and  considerate,  even  to  gentleness,  for 
the  weak  and  dependent,  the  singular  energy  tliat  quickened 
Nelson's  frail  and  puny  frame  showed  itself  on  occasion  in 
instant  resentment  of  any  official  slight  to  himself  or  his  ship, 
ov  injury  to  the  interests  of  the  country.  During  the  "  Bo- 
leas's  "  stay  at  Madeira,  the  British  Consul  neglected  to  return 
liis  visit,  on  the  plea  that  the  Government  allowed  him  no  boat. 
Nelson  declined  any  further  intercourse  with  him.  While 
lying  in  the  Downs,  he  learns  that  sixteen  British  seamen  are 
detained  by  force  on  board  a  Dutch  Indiaman.  He  requires 
tlieir  delivery  to  him;  and  when  their  effects  were  withheld, 
on  the  alleged  ground  of  their  being  in  debt  to  the  ship,  he 
stops  all  intercourse  between  it  and  the  shore,  sending  an  armed 
cutter  to  enforce  his  order.  "  The  Admiralty,"  he  wrote, 
"  have  fortunately  approved  my  conduct  in  the  business,"  and 
added  grimly,  "a  thing  they  are  not  very  guilty  of  where  there 
is  a  likelihood  of  a  scrape."  When  entering  the  liarbor  of  Fort 
Ikoyal,  Martinique,  the  principal  French  island  in  the  Lesser 
Antilles,  the  officer  at  the  citadel  neglected  to  hoist  the  colors, 
a  ceremonial  observance  customary  when  a  ship  of  war  ap- 
proached. Nelson  at  once  demanded  an  explanation  and 
received  ample  amends ;  the  offending  party  being  placed  under 
arrest.  To  the  governor  of  some  of  the  British  West  India 
islands,  he  wrote  making  suggestioris  for  the  better  discharge 
of  certain  duties,  in  whi(Oi  both  of  them  were  interested.  Ife 
ref'eivt3d,  it  is  said,  a  testy  message  that  "old  generals  were 
not  in  the  habit  of  taking  advice  from  joung  gentlemen."  "I 
liave  the  honour,  Sir,"  replied  Nelson,  "  of  being  as  old  as  tlie 


•  <J 


1'! 


llh 


a 


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I 


i 


-  ! 


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!    I 


[{ 


I; 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


prime  minister  of  Englan.,  and  think  myself  as  capable  of 
commanding  one  of  his  innjesty's  ships  as  that  minister  is  of 
governing  tae  state  ; "  and  throughout  he  held  to  the  stand  he 
had  taken. 

The  most  remarkable  instance,  however,  of  this  promptness 
to  assert  the  dignity  and  rights  of  his  official  position,  allow- 
ing no  man  to  despise  his  youth,  occurred  very  soon  after  his 
arrival  upon  the  station,  and  brought  him  to  a  direct  issue  with 
his  commander-in-chief,  —  if  not,  indeed,  with  an  authoritative 
precedent  set  by  so  great  a  man  as  Lord  Rodney.  Young 
though  he  still  was  in  years,  —  only  twenty-six,  —  Nelson  was 
by  date  of  commission  the  senior  captain  in  the  small  squadron, 
of  some  half-dozen  vessels,  to  which  the  economies  of  the  ad- 
ministration had  reduced  the  Leeward  Islands  station.  Being 
thus  next  in  rank  to  the  admiral,  the  latter,  who  made  his 
headquarters  at  Barbadoes  in  the  southern  part  of  the  station, 
sent  him  to  the  northern  division,  centring  about  the  island  of 
Antigua.  Having  remained  in  harbor,  as  was  usual,  during  the 
hurricane  months,  Nelson  cruised  during  the  winter  and  until 
February,  1785,  when  some  damage  received  compelled  the 
"  Boreas  "  to  put  into  Antigua  for  repairs.  Here  he  found  a 
vessel  of  the  squadron,  whose  own  captain  wasof  course  junior 
to  him,  flying  a  Commodore's  broad  pendant,  which  asserted 
the  official  presence  of  a  captain  superior  to  himself  in  rank 
and  command,  and  duly  qualified  to  give  him  orders.  He  at 
once  asked  the  meaning  of  this  irom  the  ship's  proper  com- 
mander, and  was  informed  by  him  that  Captain  Moutray,  an 
old  officer,  twenty  years  his  senior  on  the  post  list,  and  then 
acting  as  Commissioner  of  the  Novy,  a  civil  office  connected 
with  the  dockyard  at  Antigua,  had  directed  it  to  be  hoisted, 
and  claimed  to  exercise  control  over  all  men-of-war  in  the 
harbor,  during  the  admiral's  absence. 

Nelson  was  not  wholly  unprepared  for  this,  for  Hughes  had 
notified  him  and  the  other  captains  that  Moutray  was  author- 
ized by  himself  to  take  this  step.  Being  then  away  from  the 
island,  he  had  replied  guardedly  that  if  Commissioner  Moutray 
was  2}ut  into  coinmission,  he  would  have  great  pleasure  in 
serving  under  him,  —  thus  reserving  his  decision  to  the 
moment  for  action.  He  now  took  the  ground  that  an  officer 
not  commissioned  afloat,  but  holding  only  a  civil  appointment, 


.11    :,  ' 

1 

THE   CRUISE  OF  THE   "BOREAS" 


43 


could  not  exercise  naval  command,  — that  an  order  authorizing 
him  to  do  so  was  invalid,  —  that  to  entitle  him  to  such  com- 
mand he  must  be  put  into  military  commission  by  being 
attached  to  a  ship  in  commission.  He  therefore  flatly  declined 
i»  obey  Moutray's  orders,  refusing  to  admit  his  claim  to  be 
considered  a  commodore,  or  entitled  to  military  obedience, 
unless  he  produced  a  commission.  This  he  held  to  when 
Moutray  gave  him  a  written  ordei  to  put  himself  under  his 

command. 

On  technical  points  of  this  kind  Nelsoi;  was  a  clear  and 
accurate  thinker,  and  in  the  admiral  he  had  to  do  with  a 
muddle-headed,  irresolute  superior.  Hughes  had  already  been 
badly  worried  and  prodded,  on  matters  concerning  his  own 
neglected  duties,  by  his  unquiet  young  subordinate,  who  was 
never  satisfied  to  leave  bad  enough  alone,  but  kept  raising 
knotty  points  to  harass  an  easy-going  old  gentleman,  who 
wanted  only  to  be  allowed  to  shut  his  eyes  to  what  went  on 
under  his  nose.  He  was  now  exasperated  by  Nelson's  con- 
tumacy, but  he  was  also  a  little  afraid  of  him,  and  supported 
liis  own  order  by  no  more  decisive  action  than  laying  the  case 
before  the  Admiralty,  who  Informed  Nelson  that  he  should 
have  referred  his  doubts  to  the  admiral,  instead  of  deciding 
for  himself  in  a  matter  that  concerned  "the  exercise  of  the 
functions  of  his  [the  admiral's]  appointment."  This  was 
rather  begging  the  question,  for  Nelson  expressed  no  doubts, 
either  to  Hughes  or  in  his  explanatory  letter  to  the  Admiralty. 
The  latter  in  turn  shirked  thus  the  decision  of  the  question,  — 
for,  if  Nelson  was  right,  Hughes's  order  was  illegal  and  not 
entitled  to  obedience ;  if  he  was  wrong,  he  had  been  guilty  of 
flagrant  insubordination,  and  should  have  been  sharply  dealt 
with.  The  Government  probably  thought  that  the  admiral 
had  blundered  in  undertaking  to  give  military  authority  to  a 
civil  official,  —  a  step  so  generally  disastrous  in  experience 
that  it  is  now  explicitly  forbidden  by  the  regulations  of  most 
navies.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  twenty  years  later,  when 
commander-in-chief  in  the  Mediterranean,  Nelson  directed  the 
captains  of  ships  cruising  in  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  to  consult 
on  all  occasions  with  the  Commissioner  of  the  Navy  resident 
in  Gibraltar,  as  well  as  to  receive  his  advice,  if  proffered, — 
adding  that  the  comiuissioner's  opinion  of  their  conduct  would 


m 


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44 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


have  great  weiglit  with  liimself;  but  he  did  not  jmt  them 
under  Ins  orders.* 

I'easoning  from  Xelson's  position,  as  the  pendant  was  flying 
■without  proper  authority  on  board  a  ship  under  his  immediate 
command,  he  should,  as  senior  captain  afloat,  have  gone 
further  and  hauled  it  down.  Of  his  authority  to  do  so  he 
felt  no  doubt,  as  is  evident  from  his  letter  to  the  Admiralty  ; 
but  his  motive  for  refraining  was  characteristic.  He  was 
unwilling  to  wound  INEoutray;  just  as,  before  Trafalgar,  in 
direct  disregard  of  the  Admiralty's  orders,  he  allowed  an 
admiral  going  home  under  charges  to  take  with  him  his  flag- 
ship, a  vessel  of  the  lirst  force  and  likely  to  be  sorely  needed 
in  the  approaching  battle,  because  he  was  reluctant  to  add  to 
the  distress  the  ofticer  was  undergoing  already.  "  I  did  not 
choose  to  order  the  Commissioner's  pendant  to  be  struck,  as 
Mr.  IMoutray  is  an  old  oflicer  of  high  military  character ;  and 
it  miglit  hurt  his  feelings  to  be  supposed  wrong  by  so  young 
an  oflicer."  Tiie  cpiestion  solved  itself  shortly  by  the  Com- 
nussioner's  returning  to  England;  but  the  controversy  seems 
to  have  made  no  change  in  the  friendly  and  even  affectionate 
relations  existing  between  him  and  his  wife  and  Nelson.  For 
IVrrs.  ]Moutr;iy  the  latter  had  formed  one  of  those  strong  ideal- 
izing attachments  which  sprang  up  from  time  to  time  along 
his  path.  "  You  may  be  certain,"  he  writes  to  his  brother  at 
the  very  period  the  discussion  was  pending,  "  I  never  passed 
English  Harbour  without  a  call,  but  alas  !  I  am  not  to  have 
much  comfort.  INly  dear,  sweet  friend  is  going  home.  I  am 
really  an  A))ril  day ;  happy  on  her  account,  but  truly  grieved 
were  I  only  to  consider  myself.  Her  ecpial  I  i.eier  saw  in  any 
country  or  in  any  situation.  If  mj'^  dear  Kate  [his  sister]  goes 
to  Hath  next  winter  slie  will  be  known  to  he  for  my  dear 
fiiend  promised  to  make  herself  known.  What  an  acquisition 
to  any  female  to  bo  ac(piainted  with,  what  an  example  to  take 
])atteri;  from."  "  ^Fy  sweet,  amiable  friend  sails  the  20th  for 
Englaml.  I  took  my  leave  of  her  three  days  ago  with  a  heavy 
heart.  "What  a  treasure  of  a  woman."  Keturning  to  Antigua 
a  few  weeks  Inter,  he  writes  again  in  a  sentimental  vein  very 
Yiuv.  in  him  :  "Tliis  country  appears  now  intolerable,  my  dear 
friend  being  absent.     It  is  barren  indeed.     English  Harbour  I 

1  Nicolas,  vol.  V.  p.  356. 


THE   CRUISE  OF  THE  "BOREAS" 


4.-) 


racter :  and 


liate  the  sight  of,  and  Windsor  I  detest.  I  went  once  up  the 
hill  to  look  at  the  spot  where  I  spent  more  happy  days  than 
in  any  one  spot  in  the  world.  E'en  the  trees  drooped  their 
heads,  and  the  tamarind  tree  died  :  —  all  was  melancholy  :  the 
road  is  covered  with  thistles;  let  them  grovv  I  shall  never 
pidl  one  of  them  up."  His  regard  for  this  attractive  woman 
seems  to  have  lasted  through  his  life ;  for  she  survived  him, 
and  to  her  Collingwood  addressed  a  letter  after  Trafalgar, 
giving  some  particulars  of  Kelson's  death.  Her  only  son  also 
(lied  under  the  hitter's  immediate  command,  ten  years  later, 
when  serving  in  Corsica. 

The  chief  interest  of  the  dispute  over  Moutray's  position 
lies  not  in  the  somewhat  obscure  point  involved,  but  in  the 
illustration  it  aifords  of  Nelson's  singular  independence  and 
tenacity  in  a  matter  of  principle.  Under  a  conviction  of  right 
lie  throughout  life  feared  no  responsibility  and  shrank  from 
no  consecpiences.  It  is  diflticult  for  the  non-military  mind  to 
realize  how  great  is  the  moral  effort  of  disobeying  a  superior, 
whose  order  on  the  one  hand  covers  all  responsibility,  and  on 
tlie  other  entails  the  most  serious  personal  and  professional 
injury,  if  violated  without  due  cause  ;  the  burden  of  proving 
which  rests  upon  the  junior.  For  the  latter  it  is,  justly  and 
necessarily,  not  enough  that  his  own  intinitions  or  convictions 
were  honest :  he  has  to  show,  not  that  he  meant  to  do  right, 
but  that  he  actually  did  right,  in  disobeying  in  the  particular 
instance.  Under  no  less  rigorous  exactions  can  due  military 
subordination  be  maintained.  The  whole  bent  of  advantage 
and  lifelong  training,  therefore,  draws  in  one  direction,  and  js 
withstood  by  nothing,  unless  either  strong  ])ersonal  character 
sujiplies  a  motive,  or  established  professional  standing  permits 
a  uv.in  to  presume  u|)on  it,  and  to  exerciise  a  certain  right  to 
independence  of  action.  At  this  time  Nelson  was  practically 
\niknown,  and  in  refusing  compliance  with  an  order  he  took  a 
lisk  that  no  other  captain  on  the  station  would  have  assumed, 
;is  was  shown  by  their  failure  a  few  months  later  to  support 
their  convictions  in  an  analogous  controversy,  upon  which 
Nelson  had  entered  even  before  the  IMoutray  business.  In 
both  cases  he  staked  all  upon  legal  points,  considered  by  liim 
vital  to  the  welfare  of  the  navy  and  the  country.  The  spirit 
was  identically  the  same  that  led  him  to  swing  his  ship  out  of 


^1 


n   ' 

r   ' 

lil 

i 

M 

J      :    ' 
I         i 


I 


; 


I 


40 


TllK    LIKK   OF   N'KLSON 


the  line  at  Cape  St.  Vincent  without  waiting  for  signals. 
After  that  day  and  the  Nile  lie  <'ould  afford  to  take  liberties, 
and  sometimes  took  them  with  less  justifieation  than  in  his 
early  career. 

When  the  JNEoutray  question  arose,  Nelson  was  already 
engaged  in  a  more  far-reaching  dispute,  not  only  with  his 
commander-in-chief,  but  with  the  colonial  authorities  and 
the  popular  sentiment  of  the  West  India  Islands.  Like 
most  mei.  great  and  small,  he  shared  the  prepossessions  of 
his  day  and  generation;  differing,  ho"'ever,  from  oihers, 
in  that  he  held  his  opinions  as  principles,  from  asserting 
which  he  was  not  to  be  deterred  by  the  ill-will  or  dislike 
of  those  immediately  about  him.  Upon  arriving  in  the 
West  Indies  he  found  flourishing  a  system  of  trade  ex- 
tremely beneficial  to  the  islands,  but  which  his  education 
condemned  as  hurtful  to  Great  JJritain,  as  it  certainly  was 
contrary  to  then  existing  laws  that  had  for  a  century  i)re- 
vious  regulated  the  commcntci  of  the  kingdom.  In  1784, 
a  year  only  had  elapsed  since  the  United  States  had  been 
formally  recognized  as  independent,  thereby  becoming,  in 
l>ritish  estimation  as  well  as  in  their  own,  a  nation  foreign 
to  the  IJritish  flag.  l>y  the  Navigation  Laws,  first  estab- 
lished by  Cromwell,  but  continued  under  the  restored  mon- 
archy without  serious  modificatit)n  until  1791,  trade  with  the 
Colonies  was  reserved  to  vessels  built  in  CJieat  Ilritain  or  her 
dependencies,  and  manned  in  three-fourths  part  by  IJritish 
subjects.  Tiie  chief  object  and  advantage  of  the  law  were 
conceived  to  be,  not  merely  a  monoi)oly  of  the  trade,  —  con- 
cerning the  economical  wisdom  of  which  serious  doubts  began 
to  be  felt,  — but  the  fostering  of  the  liritish  merchant  service 
as  a  nursery  of  seamen,  upon  whoni,  in  time  of  war,  the  navy 
could  draw.  The  military  strength  of  the  Empire  was  thought 
to  be  involved  in  the  enforcement  of  the  Navigation  Act.^ 

Uefore  the  United  States  declared  their  indei)(>ndence,  they, 
as  British  colonies,  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  trading  with  their 

1  Thus  Colliiif;\voo(l,  viiivly  iitliiT  tluui  solifrinnl  irstraiiii'il  in  his  huigunj^'e, 
widti!  to  lltighcs  :  "  it  is  iVoiii  tlio  iilea  tliiit,  the  •^icatiicss  ami  siipciiority 
(if  till'  iJiitisli  navy  very  iiiiu'.h  di'pciuls  niion  inTscrviiij,'  inviolate  the  Act  of 
Navigation,  cxclinling  lorfigneis  I'loni  access  to  tlie  colonics,  that  I  am  in- 
cluccil  to  make  this  representation  to  you."     Nicolas,  vol.  i.  p.  172. 


I  II 


TlIK   CUriSE   OF  THE   "BOUEAS' 


Irllow-i'oloiiists  under  what  was  then  the  common  Hag;  and 
tlie  nearness  of  the  two  regions  contributed  to  tlio  advantage 
of  both  in  this  traffic,  in  whi(;li  the  continental  eommuuities 
were  tlie  chief  sujjpliers  of  many  articles  essential  to  the 
islands,  notably  provisions  and  lumber.  This  mutual  inter- 
course and  ile[)endence  promoted  a  sympathy  which  was 
scarcely  disgnised  in  uho  West  Indies  during  the  War  of 
Independence;  indeed,  !Nelson  wrote  that  many  of  the  in- 
habitants were  as  arrant  rebtds  as  those  who  had  renounced 
their  alh'giiUjce,  Uiuler  these  conditions,  when  peace  was 
restored,  th(!  old  relations  were  readily  resnmed;  and  as  there 
had  really  been  considerable  inconvenience  and  loss  to  the 
islanders  from  the  deprivation  of  American  i)roducts,  the 
renewal  was  eagerly  promoted  by  ])opular  sentiment.  The 
local  authorities,  as  usual  and  natural,  yielded  to  the  pressure 
art)und  them,  and  in  tjulin;  disregard  of  the  known  policy  of 
the  home  government  permitted  American  vessels  to  trade 
ojjcidy  under  their  own  colors.  In  Jamaica  the  governor 
had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  authorize  formally  a  free  trade, 
(luring  ])lcasure,  with  the  Ignited  States,  contrary  to  the 
e.\[)licit  orders  of  his  superiors  in  Great  ]>ritain.  ^^  here 
scruples  were  felt  or  hesitation  was  shown,  advantage  was 
taken  of  the  exceptions  of  the  law,  which  allowed  vessels  in 
distress  to  sell  so  much  of  their  cargoes  as  would  pay  for 
necessary  repairs.  With  the  tendency  of  (commerce  to  evade 
restrictions  by  liberal  strctcliing  of  the  conscience,  the  mer- 
chant-ca})tain  and  the  colonial  oilicer  found  little  difficulty  in 
arranging  that  the  damage  should  be  great  enough  to  cover 
the  sale  of  the  whole  lading. 

7\fter  laying  up  in  Antigua  during  the  liurricane  season  of 
17Sf,  Nelson  was  summoned  to  IJarbadoes  in  November,  with 
the  other  'aptains,  to  receive  orders  for  the  winter's  cruising. 
These,  when  issued,  were  found  to  direct  only  the  examina- 
tion of  anchorages,  and  the  gatlujring  of  information  about 
supplies  of  wood  and  water.  Nelson's  attention  luul  l)een 
drawn  already  to  the  Anu'rican  traffic;  and  he,  with  his  friend 
Collingwood,  Avho  was  again  on  the  station,  went  to  the 
atlnnral,  and  urged  that  it  was  the  duty  of  ships  of  war  to 
enforce  the  Navigation  Laws.  Tliti  admiral  professed  igno- 
rance  of  these;    and   Nelson  himself   renuirks   that   British 


"i" 


;■  • 


pi' 


' 


I 

HI 


1 

1    . 

"1 

ill 'K 11/ 

? 

\  'i 

( 

1 

I 

-.1 

1     :■ 

1 

,1 

I 

i  i 

If- 

r  f         ■ 


0      SI 


H 


III     ! 


il 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


vessels  up  to  tliiit  time  had  been  so  mucli  cheaper  built  than 
others,  that  they  iiad,  without  artiticial  protection,  naturally 
absorbed  their  ovvii  colonial  trade,  —  the  question,  tl.>erefore, 
had  dropped  out  of  sight  till  it  was  revived  by  American 
competition.  A  (^opy  of  the  Act  being  then  produced,  Hughes 
gave  an  order  re(|[uiring  his  vessels  to  cnfon^o  it;  making 
special  mention  of  the  changed  relations  of  the  United  States 
to  Great  Britain,  whereby  they  were  "to  be  considered  as 
foreigners,  and  excluded  from  all  commerce  with  the  islands 
in  these  seas." 

With  these  insl/ miction'  ^Tel  on  saile^l  again  for  the  north, 
•where  the  ""r^in  1  "ar'U,  .vit't  ihoseof^Montserrat,  Nevis,  and 
St.  Christopher,  wcic  luii  nder  his  especial  charge,  —  the 
sloop  "  Kattler,"  oap.  M  Wiif^^d  Collingwood,  a  brother  of 
the  well-known  admiral,  bein^  ih  ociated  with  the  "Boreas." 
At  first  the  two  officers  confined  their  action  to  warning  off 
American  vessels,  and  at  times  forcing  them  to  leave  ports 
where  they  had  anchored ;  but  they  found  that  either  the 
vessels  returned  during  the  absence  of  the  ships  of  war,  or 
that  permissions  to  land,  upon  what  they  thought  trivial 
grounds,  were  given  by  the  Customs'  ofticials,  in  virtue  of  the 
exceptions  to  the  law  above  mentioned. 

There  matters  stood  until  the  11th  of  January,  1785,  Nelson 
acting  by  the  authority  of  the  comnumder-in-chief,  but  exer- 
cising his  own  discretion,  and  with  forbearance,  in  carrying 
out  his  instructions.  On  the  day  named  he  received  another 
order  from  the  admiral,  modifying  the  first  upon  the  grounds 
of  a  more  mature  consideration,  and  of  "  the  opinion  of  the 
King's  Attorney-General "  in  the  islands.  Nelson  was  now 
directed,  in  case  of  a  foreign  merchant-ship  coming  within  the 
linuts  of  his  station,  to  cause  her  to  anchor  near  his  own 
vessel  and  to  report  her  arrival,  and  situation  in  all  respects, 
to  the  governor  of  the  colony  where  lis  then  was;  "and  if, 
after  such  report  shall  have  been  made  and  received,  the  gov- 
ernor or  his  representative  shall  think  proper  to  admit  the 
said  foreigner  into  the  port  or  harbour  of  the  island  where 
you  may  be,  you  are  on  no  dccount  to  hivder  or  'prevent  such 
foreign  vessel  from,  (jolng  in  accordiiig/i/,  or  to  interfere  any 
further  in  her  suhseijueut  2*>'<>f'ee(Iinf/s." 

Here  the  admiral  not  only  raised,  but  also  decided,    the 


lO 


THE  CRUISK  OF  TllK  "BOllKAS" 


49 


irtue  of  the 


noiiit  us  to  whether  the  enfon^eineut  of  the  >;avij,Mtiui)  Act 
rested  willi  luival  oftieers,  or  wiis  vested  only  in  the  civil 
authoriti  s  of  the  ishmds.  Ne\5on  was  convinced  that  an 
essentii'  art  of  the  dnty  uf  sliiph  of  \var,  an  I  especially  when 
l)oace  tov  from  thch:  so  nuch  of  their  military  fnnctiun,  was 
to  afford  o  tlie  coniP'c-ee  of  the  nation  pro  r  protection,  of 
which  ;i  lecessr'ry  feature,  according  to  tlie  ideas  oi  the  age, 
was  th.;  interdiction  of  foreign  traders.  A  seaman,  he  plau- 
sibly nvgued,  could  decide  ')etter  than  an  unprofessional  man 
tlie  (piestions  of  injuries  and  distress  npon  which  the  un- 
lawfid  traffic  largely  hinged.  "In  judging  of  their  distress, 
no  person  can  know  better  than  the  sea  officers,"  he  wrote  to 
Ilu'dies.  "  The  governors  may  be  im[)osc(l  u[)on  by  false 
(h'clarations ;  we,  who  are  .n  the  spot,  cannot."  He  was 
aware,  also,  that  a  petition  for  relaxing  the  Act  in  favor  of 
the  American  trade  with  the  West  Indies  liad  been  referred 
to  the  home  government,  by  which  it  had  been  explicitly 
rejected.  Strengthened  by  this  knowledge,  but  actuated,  after 
all,  chietiy  by  his  invariabh?  resoluteness  to  assume  responsi- 
bility where  lie  felt  he  was  riglit,  he  replied  to  the  admiral's 
letter  ith  a  clear  statement  of  the  facts,  concduding  with  the 
words  :  "  Whilst  I  ha^^e  the  honour  to  command  an  English 
man-of-war,  I  never  shall  allow  myself  to  be  subservient  to 
the  will  of  any  Governor,  nor  co-operate  with  him  in  doing 
!//t';/(il  ocfti.  ...  If  1  rightly  understand  your  order  of  the 
l".)th  of  De(!ember,  it  is  founded  npon  an  Opinion  of  the  King's 
Attorney-General,  viz. :  '  That  it  is  legal  for  Governors  or 
tlieir  representatives  to  admit  foreigners  into  the  ports  of 
tluMr  government,  if  they  think  lit.'  How  the  King's 
Attorney-General  conceives  he  has  a  right  to  give  an  illegal 
opinion,  which  I  assert  the  above  is,  he  must  answer  for.  I 
know  the  Navigation  Laws."  As  he  summed  up  the  matter  in 
a  letter  to  his  friend  Locker :  "  Sir  Ricdiard  Hughes  was  a 
delicate  business.  I  must  either  disobey  my  orders,  or  dis- 
obey Acts  of  Parliament,  wliich  the  admiral  Avas  disobeying. 
I  determined  upon  the  former,  trusting  to  the  uprightness  of 
my  intention.  In  short,  I  wrote  the  Admiral  that  I  should 
decline  obeying  his  orders,  till  I  had  an  op])ortunity  of  seeing 
and  talking  to  him,  at  the  same  time  making  him  an  apology." 
Hughes'L  firft  impulse  was  to  supersede  his  recalcitrant 


i't 


i 


t 


■•\ 


V 


r. 
i- 

'I'  If 


60 


THE  LIFE  OF   NELSON 


suboi'dimite,  ;iiul  bring  liim  to  triiil.  lie  loiirned,  liowuver, 
that  iiiiiiiy  of  tlu!  otlier  eiiptiuiis,  ol"  wliom  the  court  must  be 
I'ormc'd,  sliiired  his  junior's  views,  although  they  slinink,  with 
the  subniissivenoss  of  military  men,  from  the  decisive  aet  of 
disobedience.  The  result  of  a  trial  must  therefore  be  doubt- 
ful. Jle  was,  moreover,  a  iiddler,  us  Nelson  continually 
styled  him,  shifting  back  and  forth,  from  opinion  to  opinion, 
and  to  be  relied  upon  for  only  one  thing,  —  to  dodge  respon- 
sibility, if  possible.  Conseiiuently,  no  othcial  action  was 
taken ;  the  commander-in-chief  contented  himself  with  wash- 
ing his  hands  of  all  accountability.  He  hail  given  orders 
which  would  clear  himself,  in  case  Melson's  conduct  was 
censured  in  England.  If,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  approved, 
it  would  redound  to  the  credit   of  the  station. 

The  matter  was  soon  brought  to  a  test.  The  governors  and 
all  the  ollicials,  particularly  of  the  Custom  House,  resented 
the  action  of  the  naval  ofHcers ;  but  the  vigilance  of  the  latter 
so  seriously  interrujjted  the  forbidden  trailic  under  American 
colors,  that  recourse  was  had  to  giving  Ih-itish  registers  to 
the  vessels  concerned,  allowing  them  to  trade  under  British 
Hags.  This,  however,  was  equally  contrary  to  the  Navigation 
Act,  which  forbade  r>ritish  registry  to  foreign-built  ships, 
except  when  prizes  taken  in  war;  and  the  disguise  was  too 
thin  to  baffle  men  like  Collingwood  and  Xclson.  The  latt<M' 
reported  the  practice  to  the  home  Governni'-ut,  in  order  that 
any  measures  deemed  necessary  might  be  taken.  Meanwhile 
he  patiently  persisted  in  turning  away  all  vessels,  not  IJritish 
huilt,  which  he  encountered,  confining  himself  for  the  time  to 
this  merely  passive  prevention ;  but  finding  at  last  that  this 
was  not  a  sufficient  deterrent,  he  gavi.-  notice  that  a^tev  the 
1st  of  ]\Iay.  178/),  he  would  seize  all  American  vessels  tradiuL; 
to  the  islands,  "let  them  be  registered  by  whom  they  might." 
Accordingly,  on  the  2d  of  ]May  he  arrested  an  American- 
built  schooner,  owned  in  Philadelphia  and  manned  entirely 
by  Americans,  but  having  a  l>ritisli  register  issued  at  the 
island  of  St.  Christopher. 

The  Crown  lawyer  was  now  called  upon  to  prosecute  the 
suit.  He  expressed  grave  doubts  as  to  a  naval  captain'> 
power  to  act  by  virtue  sim])ly  of  his  commission,  the  sole 
authority  alleged  by  the  captor;  and,  although  ho  jjroceeded 


THE   CKL'ISE  OF  THE   "BOUEAS" 


&1 


with  tlio  case,  his  manner  so  betrayed  his  uncertiiinty  that 
Nelson  lelt  it  necessary  to  plead  for  himself.  To  the  con- 
fusion of  all  o]»poneuts  the  jutlge  deeided  in  his  favor,  saying 
he  had  an  umluubted  right  to  seize  vessels  transgressing  the 
Navigation  Laws.  The  principle  thus  established,  Nelson  on 
the  2'M  of  the  same  month,  at  the  island  of  Nevis,  upon  the 
same  grounds,  seized  four  vessels,  —  one  of  which  liad  been 
ifgistered  at  J)ominiea  by  Governor  Urde,  a  naval  captain 
senior  in  rank  to  himself,  and  with  whom  he  came  into 
unpleasant  contact  upon  several  occasions  in  hJs  hiter  life. 

There  was  no  serious  question  as  to  the  condenniation  of 
the  four  last  seizures,  the  facts  being  clear  and  the  principle 
settled  ;  ^  but  the  rage  of  the  iuhpbitants  of  Nevis  led  them 
to  seek  revenge  upon  Nelson  for  the  injury  they  could  no 
Idiiger  prevent.  He  had  summoned  the  masters  of  the  ships 
iiu  board  the  "lioreas,"  and,  after  satisfying  himself  that  the 
vessels  were  not  entitled  to  Uritish  registers,  had  sent  marines 
t(i  hold  them,  and  to  prev(»nt  essential  witnesses  from  leaving 
tlieni,  until  the  cases  were  tried.  Upon  these  cinnimstances 
was  based  an  accusation  of  assault  and  imprisonment,  the 
i.iasters  swearing  that  they  had  made  their  statements  under 
lioilily  fear.  Writs  were  issued  against  Nelson,  damages 
luiiig  laid  at  four  thousand  pounds,  a  sum  which  to  him  meant 
ruin.  Although  he  asserted  that  there  was  absolutely  no  truth 
ill  the  charges,  which  are  certainly  in  entire  contradiction 
to  the  general,  if  not  invariable,  tenor  of  liis  life  and  conduct, 
lie  was  advised  by  the  Crown  lawyers  not  to  subject  himself  to 
trial,  as  in  the  state  of  public  feeling  he  could  not  expect  a 
laic  verdict.  To  avoid  arrest,  he  was  forced  to  confine  him- 
sill'  to  the  ship  for  seven  weeks,  during  which  the  marshal 
luaile  several  attempts  to  serve  the  writ,  but  without  success. 
On  the  day  that  the  ease  of  the  seized  ships  came  up,  ho  was 
alilc  to  be  present  in  court  only  by  the  safe  conduct  of  the  judge. 

1  NcIsdH's  letters  are  oontnidietory  on  this  y)oint.  In  a  letter  to  T^ocker  of 
Miirh  3,  178(5,  li(;  says,  "  Bct'iirc  the  lust  vessi'l  was  tried  I  had  seized  four 
dih.is;"  wliereas  in  the  formal  and  detailed  narrative  drawn  u])  —  without 
iliiii',  hut  later  than  the  letter  to  Locker  —  lie  says  the  first  vessel  was  tried 
:iihl  t'onilenined  May  17,  the  other  four  seized  iMay  23.  (Nicohis,  vol.  i.  iip, 
177,  178.)  The  auth<U'  has  followed  the  latter,  because  from  the  partieidarity 
of  dates  it  seems  to  have  been  compiled  from  memoranda,  that  of  Locker 
w ;  it  ten  from  memory,  —  both  nearly  a  year  after  the  events. 


■i  < 


THE   LIFK  OF  NKLSON 


C      I 


Two  (lays  altei-  the  seizure  of  the  four  vessels,  Sir  Kicliurtl 
Jliiglie.s,   who  WHS   making  a  tour  of  the  station  under  liis 
conuiiand,  arrived  at  Nevis;  but  he  had  no  support  to  give 
Ins  zealous  lieutenant.     "He  did   not  appear  to  be  pleased 
witli  my  e()ndu(!t,"   wrote  Nelson  to  Jioeker.     **  At  least  he 
did  not  ai)i)n)ve  it,  but  told  me   I  should  get  into  a  scrape. 
Seven  weeks  I  was  ke[)t  a  elose  prisoner  to  my  ship;  nor  did 
I  ever  learn  that  the  admiral  took  any  ste|)S  for  my  release. 
He  did  not  even  acquaint  the  Admiralty  Hoard  how  cruelly 
I  had  been  treated  ;  nor  of  the  attempts  which  had  been  made 
to  take  me  out  of  my  ship  by  force,  and  that  indignity  offered 
under  the  fly  of  his  Hag."     "  I  had  the  governor,  the  Custonis, 
all  the  planters  upon   me;  suliscriptions   were  soon  tilled  to 
prosecute;    and  my  admiral  stood  neuter,  although  his  flag 
was  then  in  the  roads."     To  this  lack  of  countenance  on  the 
part  of  his  sui)erior,  and  dire(;t  persecution  by  those  injuri- 
ously affected  by  his  action,  there  was  added  a  general  social 
ostracism,   to   which   he   frecjuently   alludes,  and   which  was 
l)articularly   emi)hasized   by  its  contrast    with   the  habits  of 
hospitality   prevalent   among  the  small  and  wealthy  planter 
community.     One  friend,  however,  stood  by  him,  and  offeretl 
to  become  his  bail  in  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  pounds, — Mr. 
Herbert,  the  President  of  Nevis,  and  one  of  the  wealthiest 
men  in  the  island.     He  had,  Nelson  said,  suffered  more  than 
any  one  else  from  the  interruption  of  the  trade,  but  he  con- 
sidered  that   the   young   captain   had    done   only   his    duty. 
Possibly  there  may  have  been  a  warmer  feeling  underlying 
this  esteem,  for  he  was  the  uncle  of  the  lady  whom  Nelson 
afterwards  married,  and  to  whom  he  seems  to  have  been  pay- 
ing attention  already. 

Desi»ite  his  indomitable  pluck  and  resolve,  the  confinement, 
uncertainty,  and  contention  told  heavily  on  Nelson's  health 
and  spirits.  His  temper  was  too  kindly  and  social  not  to  feel 
the  general  alienation.  It  could  not  affect  his  purpose;  but 
the  sense  of  right-doing,  which  sustained  him  in  that,  did  not 
make  his  road  otherwise  easier.  It  is,  indeed,  especially  to 
be  noticed  that  there  was  not  in  him  that  hard,  unyielding 
fibre,  upon  which  care,  or  neglect,  or  anxiety  makes  little 
impression.  He  was,  on  the  contrary,  extremely  sympathetic, 
even  emotional ;  and  although  insensible  to  bodily  fear,  lie 


TIIK   CUriSK   OF  THE  "BOREAS" 


M 


\v;is  by  no  means  so  to  censure,  or  to  risk  of  other  misfortune. 
To  thi.s  susceptibility  to  worry,  strou-;  witness  is  borne  by  an 
cxpit'ssion  of  his,  used  at  tlie  very  time  of  which  we  are  now 
writiu"'.  One  of  his  friends  —  C;4)tuin  I'ole  of  the  Navy  — 
hiid  detained  and  sent  in  a  neutral  vessel  for  breach  of  bel- 
li.'crent  rights.  After  long  legal  i)roceedings,  extending  over 
live  years,  slie  was  condemned,  and  proved  to  be  a  very  valu- 
ahlt^  jiri/.o  to  the  captors.  "  Our  friend  Charles  Tole,"  he 
writes,  "  has  been  fortunate  in  his  trial ;  but  the  lottery  is  so 
very  much  against  an  oflicer,  that  never  will  I  knowingly 
involve  myself  in  a  douijtful  cause.  Prize-money  is  doubtless 
very  acceptable  ;  but  my  nund  would  have  suffered  so  much, 
that  no  pe(!uniary  compensation,  at  so  late  a  period,  would 
liave  made  me  amends."  Contrasting  this  utterance  with  the 
resolution  shown  by  him  at  this  time,  in  fighting  what  he 
considered  the  cause  of  his  country  in  the  West  Indies,  it  can 
be  seen  how  much  stronger  with  him  was  the  influence  of 
(hity  than  that  exercised  by  any  considerations  of  merely 
material  advantage.  In  the  one  he  could  find  support;  in 
the  other  not.  IJut  in  neither  case  was  he  insensible  to  care, 
nor  could  he  escape  the  physical  consequences  of  anxiety 
upon  a  delicate  franu»  and  nervous  organization.  Of  this,  his 
harassment  in  the  pursuit  of  the  French  fleet  in  1798,  during 
r.onaparte's  Egyptian  expedition,  gave  a  very  conspicuous 
illustration. 

With  such  a  tem))erament,  being  now  very  much  in  the 
position  of  an  individual  fighting  a  corporation,  he  appealed 
to  the  home  Government;  addressing,  on  the  29th  of  June, 
ITS."),  a  memorial  to  the  King,  setting  forth  the  facts  of  the 
ease,  as  already  given,  adding  that  his  health  was  much 
impaired,  and  asking  for  assistance,  lie  received  a  reply  to 
this  in  the  following  September,  informing  him  that  the  King 
liad  directed  that  he  should  be  defended  by  the  Crown  law- 
yers. This  implied  approval  of  his  course  was  succeeded,  in 
November,  by  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
tlirowgh  the  usual  official  ch  nnels  of  the  Admiralty,  acquaint- 
ing him  that  the  Governnunt  was  "of  opinion  that  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Leo'/ard  Islands,  and  officers  under 
him,  have  shown  a  very  commeiulable  zeal,  in  endeavouring 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  very  illicit  practices  which  were  carrying 


|: 


i    V 


54 


TIIK   LIFK   or  NELSON 


on  in  the  ishaucls,  in  open  violation  of  the  law,  and  to  the 
great  detriment  of  the  navigation  and  trade  of  his  Majesty's 
dominions."  Verily,  Hughes  had  his  reward.  Here  he  was 
commended  in  express  terms  for  doing  that  which  he  had 
been  too  prudent  to  do,  for  zeal  which  he  had  never  shown, 
for  maintaining  a  law  which  he  had  given  orders  not  to  main- 
tain. "I  own  I  was  surprised,"  wrote  Nelson,  "that  the 
commander-in-chief  should  be  thanked  for  an  act  which  he 
did  not  order,  but  which,  if  I  understand  the  meaning  of 
words,  by  Ins  order  of  the  29th  December,  17S4,  he  ordered  not 
to  be."  "  To  the  end  of  the  station,^  his  order  of  the  29th  of 
December  was  never  repealed,  so  that  I  always  acted  with  a  rod 
over  me."  How  heavily  the  responsibility  he  assumed  was  felt 
b3''otlurs,  is  clearly  shown  in  another  statement  made  by  him. 
"  The  Captains  Collingwood  were  the  only  officers,  with  myself, 
who  ever  attempted  to  hinder  the  illicit  trade  with  America; 
at}(l  I  stood  s'nujlij  with  rrsj/cct  to  seb:nig,  for  the  other  officers 
were  fearful  of  being  brought  into  scrapes. "' 

Backed  by  the  royal  ai)proval,  and  with  his  legal  expenses 
guaranteed,  Nelson's  course  was  now  smooth.  He  continued 
in  all  parts  of  the  station  to  suppress  tlie  contraband  trade, 
aiid  his  unpoinilarity,  of  course,  also  continued ;  but  excite- 
ment necessa-ily  subsided  as  it  became  clear  that  submission 
was  unavoidable,  and  as  men  adapted  themselves  to  tlie  new 
conditions.  The  whole  procedure  now  looks  somewhat  bar- 
barous and  blundering,  but  in  no  essential  principle  differs 
from  the  metiiods  of  protection  to  which  the  world  at  present 
seems  again  tending.  It  is  not  for  us  to  throw  stones  at  it. 
The  results,  then,  were  completely  successful,  judged  by  tlie 
standards  of  the  time.  ''  At  this  moment,"  wrote  Nelson 
some  few  months  later,  "  there  are  nearly  lifty  sail  employed 
in  the  trade  between  the  Islands  of  8t,  Kitts,  Nevis,  and 
America,  which  are  truly  British  built,  owned,  and  navigated. 
Had  I  been  an  idle  spectator,  my  firm  belief  is  that  not  a 
single  vessel  would  have  belonged  to  tliose  islands  in  the 
foreign  trade."  His  own  action  was  further  endorsed  by  the 
ministry,  which  now  gave  captains  of  ships-of-war  much  more 

1  This  word  is  used  by  Nelson,  apparently,  ns  e([iuvalcnt  to  "season,"  — 
the  eruisinj,'  period  in  the  West  Indies.  "The  luUnirul  wishes  to  remain  un- 
utlier  station,"  h*-'  writes  eisewhero. 


' 


THE  CRUISK  OF  THE  "  BOllKAS " 


extensive  powers,  thereby  justifying  his  contention  tluit  it 
was  within  their  office  to  enforce  the  Navigation  Act.  Nor 
was  tliis  increased  activity  of  the  executive  brancli  of  the 
"•overniuent  the  only  result  of  Nelson's  persistence.  His 
sRf'acious  study  of  the  whole  question,  under  the  local  con- 
ditions of  the  West  Indies,  led  to  his  making  several  sug- 
gestions for  more  surely  carrying  out  the  spirit  of  the  Law; 
and  these  were  embodied  the  next  year  in  a  formal  Act  of  the 
Legislature. 

With  so  vivid  a  career  as  that  of  Nelson  ahead,  the  delay 
imposed  by  this  wrangling  episode  is  somewhat  dreary  ;  but 
it  undeniably  shows  his  characteristics  in  the  strongest  light. 
Duty,  not  ease;  honor,  not  gain;  the  ideal,  not  the  material, 

—  sucli,  not  indeed  without  frailty  and  blemish,  were  ever 
liis  motives.  And,  while  he  craved  his  reward  in  the  ap- 
])roval  and  recognition  of  those  around  and  above  him,  he 
could  find  consolation  for  the  lack  of  them  in  his  own  sense 
of  right-doing.  ''  That  thing  called  Honour,"  he  writes  to  a 
friend  soon  after  the  "  IJoreas "'  cruise,  ''is  now,  alas!  tiiouglit 
of  no  more.  My  integrity  cannot  be  mended,  I  hope  ;  but 
iiiy  fortune,  God  knows,  has  grown  worse  for  the  service ;  so 
nuu'h  for  serving  my  country.  Lut  I  have  invariably  laid 
down,  and  followed  close,  a  jilan  of  what  ought  to  be  upper- 
most in  the  breast  of  an  officer:  that  it  is  much  bettor  to 
serve  an  ungrateful  Country  than  to  give  up  his  own  fame. 
Posterity  will  do  him  justice;  a  uniform  conduct  of  honour 
anil  integrity  seldom  fails  of  bringing  a  man  to  the  goal  of 
fame  at  last." 

Tliis  struggle  with  Sir  Ri(;hard  Hughes,  in  which  Nelson 
took  tlie  undesirable,  and  to  a  naval  ofHcer  invidious,  step  of 
(lisol)eying  orders,  showed  clearly,  not  only  the  loftiness  of 
his  motives,  but  the  distinguishing  features  which  constituted 
tlie  strength  of  his  character,  both  i)ersonal  and  military. 
'I'hfre  was  an  acute  perception  of  the  riglit  thing  to  do,  an 
ciifire  readiness  to  assume  all  the  responsibility  of  doing  it, 
and  above  all  an  accurate  judgment  of  tiie  best  way  to  do  it, 

—  to  act  with  impunity  to  himself  and  with  most  chances  of 
su<'('('ss  to  liis  cause.  Its  analogy  to  a  military  situation  is 
striking.  There  was  a  w^ong  (condition  of  things  to  be 
righted — a  vic^tory  to  b(>  won.     To  achieve  this  a  great  risk 


i^ 


ir> 


«.'^'     -,-.^ 


63 


rilK  LIFK  OF  NELSON 


must  be  taken,  and  he  was  willing  to  take  it ;  but  in  so  doing 
he  made  such  choice  of  his  ground  as  to  be  practically  unas- 
sailable—  to  attain  his  end  without  lasting  harm  to  himself. 
'J'liat  Nelson  would  have  manag(;d  better  had  lie  been  ten 
years  older  is  very  probable.  Likely  enough  he  betrayed 
some  of  the  carelessness  of  sensibilities  which  the  inexperi- 
ence of  youth  is  too  apt  to  show  towards  age ;  but,  upon  a 
careful  review  of  the  whole,  it  appears  to  the  writer  that  his 
general  course  of  action  was  distinctly  right,  judged  by  the 
standards  of  the  time  and  the  well-settled  principles  of 
military  obedience,  and  that  he  pursued  an  extremely  diffi- 
cult line  of  conduct  with  singular  resolution,  with  sound 
judgment,  and,  in  the  main,  with  an  unusual  amount  of  tact, 
without  which  he  (tould  scarcely  Iiave  failed,  however  well 
purposing,  to  lay  himself  open  to  serious  conseciuences.  Cer- 
tainly he  achieved  success. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  legal  warfare,  and  of  the  jjre- 
0(!cupations  arising  from  it,  that  Nelson  lirst  met  the  lady 
win  became  his  wife.  She  was  by  birth  a  Miss  Frances 
AV'oolward,  her  mother  being  a  sister  of  the  Mr.  Herbert 
already  mentioned  as  l^resident  of  the  Council  in  Nevis.  She 
was  born  in  tlie  first  half  of  IToS,'  and  was  therefore  a  few 
months  older  than  Nelson.  In  177U  she  had  married  Dr. 
Josiah  Nisbet,  of  Nevis,  and  the  next  year  was  left  a  widov/ 
with  one  son,  who  bore  his  father's  full  name.  After  her 
huhband's  death,  being  apparently  portionless,  she  came  to 
live  with  Herbert,  who  looked  u})on  and  treated  her  as  his 
own  child,  although  he  also  had  an  only  daughter.  AVhen 
Nelson  first  arrived  at  Nevis,  in  tlanuar}^,  1785,^  she  was 
abs(!nt,  visiting  friends  in  a  neighboring  island,  so  that  they 
did  not  then  meet,  —  a  circumstance  somewhat  fortunate  for 
us,  'oocause  it  led  to  a  description  of  him  being  sent  to  her  in 
a  letter  from  a  lady  of  Herbert's  faniil}',  not  improbably  her 


1  F.iidy  Nelson's  >,(iiiil)stono  in  Littloham  Clmrdiyanl,  Exmontli,  roads  tlint 
sill'  (lied  May  6,  1831,  "  ajjcd  7;?."  Slic  would  then  liavo  hncn  born  before 
:\ray  fi,  1758.  The  Annual  Ke^'iMer  for  18:]1  gives  May  4,  as  the  date  of  her 
death,  and  her  age  68. 

2  Prior  to  May,  1785,  the  only  sto])s  of  the  "Boreas"  'it  Nevis  were  Jan- 
nary  fi-8,  February  1-t,  and  Jlaicji  11-15.  (lioreas's  Log  in  Nieolas's 
Letters  and  Desiiatches  of  Lord  Nelson,  vol.   vii.  Addenda,  pp.  viii,  ix.) 


COURTSHIP 


57 


cousin,  Miss  Herbert.  Nelson  had  then  become  a  somewhat 
conspicuous  factor  in  the  c(jntracted  interests  of  the  ishind 
society,  owing  to  the  stand  he  had  already  publicly  assumed 
with  reference  to  the  contraband  trade.  People  were  talkinj,' 
about  him,  although  he  had  not  as  yet  enforced  the  extreme 
measures  whicdi  made  him  so  unpopular.  "  We  have  at  last," 
so  ran  the  letter,  '•  seen  the  little  captain  of  the  lioreas  of 
whom  so  nuu^h  has  been  said.  He  came  u[)  just  before  din- 
ner, much  heated,  and  was  very  silent;  but  seemed,  according 
to  the  old  adage,  to  think  the  more.  He  declined  drinking 
any  wine;  but  after  dinner,  when  the  president,  as  usual, 
gave  the  three  foUowing  toasts,  '  the  King,'  <  the  Queen  and 
Koyal  Family,'  and  'Lord  Hood,'  this  strange  man  regularly 
iillcd  his  glass,  and  observed  that  those  were  always  bumper 
toasts  with  him  ;  which,  having  draidi,  he  nniformly  passed 
the  bottle,  and  relapsed  into  his  former  taciturnity.  It  was 
impossible,  during  this  visit,  for  any  of  us  to  make  out  his 
real  character ;  there  was  such  a  reserve  and  sternness  in  his 
behaviour,  with  occasional  sallies,  though  very  transient,  of 
a  superior  mind.  JJeiiig  jdaced  by  him,  I  endeavoured  to 
rouse  his  attention  by  showing  him  all  the  civilities  in  my 
power;  but  I  drew  out  little  more  thar  'Yes,'  ond  'No.'  Jf 
you,  Fanny,  had  been  there,  we  think  you  would  have  made 
something  of  him,  for  you  have  been  in  the  habit  of  attending 
to  tliese  odd  sort  of  people." 

Mrs.  Nisbet  very  (piickly  made  something  of  him.  Little 
direct  description  has  been  transmitted  to  ns  concerning  the 
looks  or  characteristics  of  the  woman  who  now,  at  the  time 
when  marriage  was  possible  to  him,  had  the  misfortune  to 
,'i])i)ear  in  the  line  of  succession  of  Nelson's  early  fancies,  and 
to  lUtract  the  too  easily  aroused  admiration  and  affection  of  a 
man  whose  attachment  she  liad  not  the  inborn  power  to  bind. 
That  Nelson  was  naturally  inconstant,  beyond  the  volatility 
inherent  in  youth,  is  sufficiently  disproved  by  the  strength  a. id 
ciKlurance  of  his  devotion  to  the  one  woman,  in  whom  he  eitluu- 
found  or  imagined  the  (pialities  that  appealed  to  the  heroic 
side  of  his  character.  How  conipletely  she  mastered  all  uhe 
approaches  to  his  heart,  and  retained  her  supremacy,  once 
established,  to  the  end,  is  evidenced  by  the  whole  tenor  of  his 
correspondence  with  her,  by  his  mention  of  her  in  letters  to 


R' '' 


'   \- 


«8 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


others,  by  the  recorded  expressions  lie  used  in  speaking  to  or 
ahout  her.  Respite  all  that  he  certainly  knew  of  her,  and 
nuich  more  that  it  is  unreasonable  to  doubt  he  must  have 
known  of  her  history,  there  is  no  mistaicing  the  profound 
emotions  she  stirred  in  his  S[)irit,  which  show  themselves  con- 
tinually ill  spontaneous  outbreaks  of  passionate  fondness  and 
extravagant  admiration,  whose  ring  is  too  true  and  strong  for 
doubt  concerning  their  reality  to  find  a  ])lace. 

Many  men  are  swayed  by  strong  and  wayward  impulses  ; 
but  to  most  the  fetters  imposed  by  social  conventions,  by  in- 
herited or  implanted  standards  of  seeml'ness  and  decorum, 
suffice  to  steady  them  in  the  path  of  outward  propriety.     Of 
how  great  and  absorbing  a  passion  Lord  Nelson  was  capable 
is  shown  by  the  immensity  of  the  sacrifice  that  he  made  to  it. 
Principle  apart,  —  and  principle  wholly  failed  him,  —  all  else 
that  most  appeals  to  man's  self-respect  and  regard  for  the 
esteem  of  others  was  powerless  to  exert  control.     Loyalty  to 
friendship,  the  sanctity  which  man  is  naturally  fain  to  see  in 
the  woman  he  loves,  and,  in  Xelson's  own  case,  a  peculiar  re- 
luctance to  wound  anotlicr,  —  all  these  were  trampled  under 
foot,  and  ruthlessly  piled  on  the  holocaust  which  he  offered  to 
her  whom  he  worshipped.     He  could  tling  to  the  winds,  as 
others  cannot,  considerations  of  interest  or  expediency,  as  he 
Hung   them   over   and  over  in  his  professional   career.     My 
motto,  he  said  once  and  again,  is  "  All  or  nothing."     The  same 
disregard  of  consccpiences  that  hazarded  all  for  all,  in  battle 
or  for  duty,  broke  through  the  barriers  within  whicli  prudence, 
ropiitatioii,  decency,  or  even  weakness  and  cowardice,  confine 
the  actions  of  lesser  men.     And  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  admitted  great  stain  upon  Xelson's  fame,  which  it  would 
be  wicked  to  deny,  lies  liot  in  a  general  looseness  of  life,  but 
in  the  notoriet}' of  one  relation, — a  notoriety  due  chiefly  to 
the  reckless  singleness  of  heart  whicli  was  not  ashnmed  to 
own  its  love,  hut  rntlier  gloried  in  the  public  exhibition  of  a 
fiiith  in  the  worthiness  of  its  object,  and  a  constancy,  which 
never  wavered  to  the  hour  of  his  death. ^     The  pitifulness  of 

1  Tlie  Jiutlioi'  is  satisliel,  from  cnsiial  i'\]in'ssi(tiis  in  Xelson's  letters  I" 
l/xly  Hiunilton,  tluit  iiis  funious  two  ye;iis'  (■onlinenient  to  fiie  slii]),  180:!- 
iSO.'),  nnd,  to  a  li  ss  extent,  tlie  siniilur  seclusion  luiietis-i'd  in  the  Hultic  aihl 
Hi    n'->,,  ,,s,  iiroeeedud,  in  laiye  [lart  lit  least,  iVoni  a  romantic  and  chivaliou. 


I  I 


5  I     ..  1  ' 


COURTSHIP 


5-.) 


it  is  to  sec  the  incongruity  between  such  faith,  such  devotion, 
and  the  distasteful  inaderpiacy  of  their  object. 

To  answer  the  demands  of  a  nature  capable  of  such  energetic 
niiuiifi'station  —  to  fulfil  the  imagination  of  one  who  could  so 
cast  himself  at  the  feet  of  an  ideal  —  was  beyond  the  gentle, 
woll-ordered,  and  somewhat  prosaic  charms  with  which  alone 
Mrs.  Nisbet  was  invested  by  Nelson,  even  when  most  loverlike 
in  tone.  "INfy  greatest  wish,"  he  writes  iu  the  first  of  his 
letters  to  her  that  has  been  preserved,  "  is  to  be  united  to  you  ; 
and  the  foundation  of  all  conjugal  happiness,  real  love  and 
(stoem,  is,  I  trust,  what  you  believe  I  possess  in  the  strongest 
(lc;4r('(>  toward  you."  Fifteen  juonths  later,  and  but  a  short 
t  iiiic  before  their  wedding,  he  says  again  :  *'  His  Koyal  High- 
ness often  tells  me,  he  believes  I  am  married ;  for  he  never 
saw  a  lover  so  easy,  or  say  so  little  of  the  object  he  has  a  regard 
tor.  AVhen  I  tell  him  I  certainly  am  not,  he  says,  '  Then  he 
is  sure  I  must  have  a  great  esteem  for  you,  and  that  it  is  not 
what  is  (vidgarly),  I  do  not  much  like  the  use  of  that  word, 
called  love.'  H?  is  right :  my  love  is  founded  on  esteem,  the 
(iiily  foundation  that  can  make  the  passion  last."  But  general 
maxims,  even  when  less  disputable  than  this,  do  not  admit  of 
universal  ap])Hcation  ;  and  if  an  affection  was  to  hold  its  own 
in  a  nature  enthusiastic  and  imaginative  as  that  of  Nelson,  it 
Ii:i(l  need  to  strike  root  deeper  tlian  that  surface  soil  indicated 
by  mere  esteem,  at  least  when  the  latter  rests  simply  upon  an 
assemblage  of  upright  and  amiable  qualities,  and  not  upon  that 
ioico  of  character  which  compels  dependence  as  well  as  appre- 
ciation. At  their  last  parting  he  solemnly  avowed  that  his 
esti'em  was  not  lessened;  while  he  was  destined  also  to  afford 
a  conspicuous  illustration  of  how  enduring  a  passion  may 
Honi'ish  where  no  just  title  to  esteem  exists. 

The  ])rogross  of  his  wooing  was  rapid  enough.  On  the  12th 
.if  .May  he  first  mentions  their  meeting;  on  the  28th  of  June 
li(>  writes  to  his  brother :  ^^ Entrenoiis. — Do  not  be  surprised 
til  hear  I  am  a  Bou'dicf,  for  if  at  all,  it  will  be  before  a  month. 
Do  not  toll."  On  the  11th  of  8o])tomber  is  dated  his  first 
h'lier  to  her,  already  quoted,  in  which  he  addresses  her  as 
'•  My  dear  Fanny,"  and  alludes  to  the  understanding  existing 

n^iilvc  to  IcMvc  no  room  for  doubt,  in  tin;  mind  of  Lady  Ilainiltou  or  of  the 
woilil,  tlmt  111'  was  cntirclv  I'liillifnl  to  lior. 


Ii    !• 


I 

i 

:    j 

1 

1 

\   - 

1  ': 

t   ". 

i 

m 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


between  tlioin.     At  the  expiration  of  six  months  he  wrote,  for- 
nuilly  annoinicing  his  engagement,  to  Mr.  William  Suckling, 
his  mother's  brother.     He  anticipates  the  hitter's  doubts  as  to 
the  permanence  of  this  fancy :  "  This  Horatio,  you  will  say,  is 
for  ever  in  love  ;  "  but  lie  considers  that  six  months  without 
change  settles  that  (aiestion.     "  My  present  attachment  is  ol 
l)retty  long  standing;  i/at  1  was  determined  to  be  fixed  before 
I  broke  this  matter  to  any  person."     He  then  explains  the  sit- 
uation,—  thi't  the  ladj^  herseli  has  little  or  nothing;  that  Mr. 
Herbert,  though  ricdi,  is  not  likely  to  help  the  young  couple 
much,  and  he  asks  his  uncle's  assistance.     This  Suckling  con- 
sented to  give,  and  for  several  years  continued  liberally  to 
extend,     liut  still,  impatient  though   Nelson  always  was  to 
complete  whatever  he  had  on  hand,  various  causes  delayed  the 
wedding  for  another  year.     Even  with  Suckling's   help  the 
question  of  means  was  pressing;  and  while,  with  pardonable 
self-justification,  he  gloried  to  his  betrothed  that  **the  world 
is  convinced  tiiat  I  am  superior  to  pecuniary  considerations  in 
my  public  and  private  life,  as  in  both  instances  I  might  havo 
been  ri»d»,"  he  nevertheless  owned  to  regrettiiig  that  he  -'had 
not  given  greater  attention  to  making  money."     JJesides,  ns 
he  wrote  to  Lis  brother,  ''What  should  I  do  carrying  a  wife 
in  a  ship,  aiul  when  1  marry  I  do  not  mean  to  part  with  my 
wile."     Th(i  cruising  duty  of  the  "JJoreas"  took  her  froin 
port   to  j)ort  of   tlie   limited  area  embraced  in  the  Leeward 
Islands  Station,  and  Xevis  was  among  the  least  important  of 
tlu!  points  demanding  his  attention.     He  was,  therefore,  fre- 
quently   away  from   his    b(  Lrothed   during   this    period,  and 
absence  rather  fanned  than  cooled  the  impetuous  ardor  whicli 
he  carried  into  all  his  undertakings.     Whether  it  were  the 
pursuit  of  a  love  affair,  or  tlie  chase  of  an  enemy's  fieet,  de- 
lays served  only  to  increase  the  vehemence  with  which  Kelson 
chafed  against  ditliculties.     "  Duty,"  he  tells  Mrs.  Kisbet,  "is 
the  great  business  of  a  sea  ollic(  r,  — all  ju'ivate  considerations 
must  give  way  to  it,  however  ])ainful  it  is  ;  "  but  he  owns  In; 
wishes  "  the  American  vessels  at  the  Devil,  and  the  whole 
contiiuMit  of  America  to  hoc  t,"  beouise  they  detai    him  from 
her  si(l(\ 

'I'liere  is  no  singularity  in  the  ex[)erience  that  obstacles  tciMl 
rather  to  iuHame  than  to  check  a  lover's  eagerness.     What  is 


I 


COURTSHIP 


01 


noteworthy  in  Nelson's  letters  at  this  time  is  tlu;  utter  absence 
i)i  any  illusions,  of  any  tendency  to  exaggerate  and  glorify  the 
(lualities  of  the  woman  who  for  the  nonce  possessed  his  heart. 
There  is  not  a  sign  of  the  perturbation  of  feeling,  of  the  stir- 
riu"'  of  the  soul,  that  was  afterwards  so  painfully  elicited 
by  another  influonce.  "  The  dear  object,"  he  writes  to  his 
brother,  *'you  must  like.  lier  sense,  polite  manners,  and,  to 
you  I  may  say,  beauty,  you  will  mu(di  admire.  She  possesses 
sense  far  superior  t')  half  the  people  of  our  acipiaintanee,  and 
her  manners  are  Mrs.  Moutray's."  The  same  calm,  measured 
tone  pervades  all  his  mention  of  her  to  others.  His  letters  to 
herself,  on  the  other  hand,  are  often  ])leasing  in  the  (piiet, 
simple,  and  generally  unaffected  tendcn-ness  which  inspires 
them.  In  a  more  ordinary  man,  destined  to  more  common- 
place fortunes,  they  might  well  be  regarded  as  promising  that 
enduring  wedded  love  which  strikes  root  downward  and  bears 
fruit  upward,  steadily  growing  in  depth  and  devotion  as  the 
years  roll  by.  IJut  Nelson  was  not  an  ordinary  num,  and 
from  that  more  Innnble  happiness  a  childless  marriage  further 
debarred  him.  He  could  rise  far  higher,  and,  alas!  descend 
far  lower  as  he  followed  the  radiant  vision,  — the  image  of  hi" 
own  mind  rather  than  an  external  reality,  —  the  ideal,  which, 
whether  in  fame  or  in  love,  beckoned  him  onward.  Thi;  calm, 
cv(Mi,  and  wholly  matter-of-fact  appreciation  of  his  wife's  esti- 
nialile  traits  can  now  be  seen  in  the  light  of  his  after  career, 
anil  its  douhtful  augury  descried  ;  for  to  idcali/e  was  an  es- 
sential attribnt;*  ot  his  temperament.  Her  failure,  even  in  tlie 
iicyday  of  courtship,  to  arouse  in  him  any  extravagance  of 
emotion,  any  illusive  exaltation  of  her  merits,  left  va(;ant  that 
tliioni!  in  his  mind  which  could  ho-  permanently  occupied  only 
1)\-  a  highly  wrought  excellence,  —  even  though  that  wei-e  the 
purely  subjci^tive  creation  of  his  own  enthusiasm.  This  hold 
Lady  Nelson  never  gained  ;  and  the  long  absence  from  17t)o 
to  1707,  during  the  opening  peritxl  of  tlie  war  of  the  French 
Revolution,  i)robably  did  to  death  an  affection  wlL>-h  owed 
what  languid  life  it  retained  chiefly  to  ])ropinquity  and  cus- 
tom. IJoth  Saumarez  and  Codrington,  who  served  under  iiini. 
speak  ])assingly  of  the  lightness  ^\ith  which  his  family  ties 
sat  upon  Ncdson  in  the  years  following  his  short  stay  at  home 
in  171)7.     The  house  was  empty,  swept,  and  garnished,  when 


•I- 


^1 


'? 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


tlie  siuiple-niiiuled,  if  lion-lioiirted,  seaman  came  uiulor  tln^ 
H[)ell  of  one  wliose  fascinations  had  ov(!ri)0\vert'(l  the  resistance 
of  a  cool-headed  man  of  tlie  worhl,  leading  him  in  his  old  age, 
with  open  eyes,  to  do  what  every  jjvepossession  and  every 
reasonable  conviction  of  his  life  condenuied  as  folly. 

In  the  summer  of  1780  Sir  Richard  Ilnghes  was  recalled  to 
England.  During  tiio  later  part  of  liis  association  with 
>ielson,  the  strain  which  had  characterized  their  earlier  rela- 
tions had  not  only  disai)peared,  but  had  been  succeeded  by 
feelings  ai)i)roaching  cordiality.  The  Government's  approval 
of  his  subordinate's  action,  and  of  himself  as  credited  with 
sui»porting  it,  had  removed  that  element  of  ai)[)rehensioii 
which  in  timid  men  induces  irritation;  and  Hughes,  who. 
though  irresolute,  was  naturally  kindly,  had  been  still  farther 
placated  by  the  prize-money  falling  to  him  from  the  vessels 
condemned  through  the  Z(!al  of  Nelson.  The  latter,  who  never 
harbored  malice,  easily  forgave  the  past,  and  resi)onded  to  this 
change  of  tone.  "  1  have  l)een  upon  the  best  terms  with  the 
Admiral,"  ho  wrote  from  JJarbadoes  to  his  intended  wife  in 
April,  178(5,  "and  I  declare  I  think  I  could  ever  remain  so. 
He  is  always  remarkably  kind  and  civil  to  ev(n'y  one;"  and 
-gain,  a  few  days  earlier,  "The  admiral  is  highly  pleased  witli 
my  conduct  here,  as  you  will  believe,  by  sending  me  such  fine 
lines  with  a  white  hat.  I  well  know  I  am  not  of  abilities  to 
deserve  what  he  has  said  of  me  :  but  I  take  it  as  they  are 
meant,  to  -'..'low  his  regard  for  me;  and  his  politeness  anil 
attention  to  ne  are  great :  nor  shall  I  forget  it.  I  like  the 
man,  although  not  all  his  acts."  He  then  directs  that  the 
lines  shall  not  be  shown  to  any  one,  "  as  the  compliment  is 
paid  to  me  at  the  expense  of  the  otticors  of  the  squadron,"  an 
injunction  tlioroughly  characteristic  of  the  man's  kindly  con- 
sideration for  others.  It  was  creditable  to  Hughes  that,  after 
being  ao  braved,  and  his  instructions  set  at  naught  by  his 
junior,  he  had  candor  enough  to  see  and  acknowledge  his 
nierit ;  but  the  fact  still  remained  that  in  the  hour  of  trial  ho 
had  failed  Nelson,  nor  did  the  latter,  though  he  forgave,  for- 
get it.  As  he  wrote  to  Locker  in  Se]>tember,  17SG,  after  the 
admiral's  departure,  "  Instead  of  being  suj)ported  by  niy 
admiral,  I  was  obliged  to  keep  hiin  up,  for  he  was  frighteneil 
at  this  business ;  "  of  whi(;h  business  he  truly  said,  emphasi/- 


I  ►. 


LEFT  SENIOR  OFFIPER   IN  THE   WEST   INDIES 


(V] 


iiij,',  but  not  at  all  ox.'iij:goratini,',  tlio  gravity  of  tlio  rospon.si- 
liility  he  had  taken  in  dofianoo  of  lii.s  superior :  ''After  loss  of 
licalth  and  risk  of  fortune,  another  is  thanked  for  what  I  did 
against  his  orders.  Elthn'  I  drsfrn-d  to  be  sriit  out  of  the 
furrin',^  or  at  least  to  have  had  some  little  notice  taken  of 
me. 

Nelson  indeed,  in  the  West  Indies,  as  an  unknown  captain, 
liad  done  that  which  as  a  junior  admiral  he  did  later  at  Coixmi- 
li;i:4*'U,  at  a  moment  far  more  critical  to  Great  Britain.  ]>y 
his  own  unusual  jiowers  of  iiajjulse  and  resolve  he  had  en- 
loreed,  as  far  as  was  possible  against  the  passive,  inert  lethargy 
—  not  to  say  timidity  —  of  his  sui)prior,  the  course  of  action 
which  at  the  moment  was  essential  to  the  interests  of  his 
country.  Truly  great  in  his  strength  to  endure,  he  knew  not 
th(!  jierturbations  nor  the  vacillations  that  fret  the  temper, 
uiitl  cripple  the  action,  of  smaller  men  ;  and,  however  harassed 
;uul  distressed  externally,  the  calmness  of  a  clear  insight  and 
an  unshaken  purpose  guided  his  footsteps,  unwavering,  in  the 
path  of  duty,  through  all  opposition,  to  the  goal  of  success. 
It  is  rejiorted  that  an  officer  of  the  "  IJoreas,"  speaking  to  him 
of  llie  vexations  and  odium  he  had  undergone,  used  the  word 
'•  pity.''  Nelson's  reply  showed  the  jjrofound  contidencc  which 
thrii\igliout  had  animated  him,  keenly  as  he  had  undoubtedly 
itlt  lli(^  temporary  anxicti(>s.  "I'ity,  did  you  say?  I  shall 
live.  Sir,  to  be  envied;  and  to  that  i)oint  I  shall  always  direct 
my  cours.e." 

Ily  the  departure  of  Sir  Richard  Ituglies  Nelson  was  left 
senior  officer  upon  the  station  until  his  own  return  home,  a 
twi'lvemonth  later.  In  November  he  renewed  his  ac(puiint- 
ancc  with  Prince  William  Henry,  whom  he  had  known  as  a 
inidsiiipman  in  1782,  and  Avho  now  came  to  the  Leeward 
Minds  a  post-captain,  in  command  of  the  frigate  "Pegasus." 
The  two  young  men  were  not  far  ajiart  in  age,  and  an 
intimacy  between  them  soon  arose,  whiili  ended  only  with  the 
(Icatli  of  Nelson.  The  latter  had  a  profound  reverence  for 
nnalty,  both  as  an  institution  and  as  represented  in  its  mem- 

'  Tln'  autlior  has  itnlii'izinl  tlipso  \voril.->  bcnausc  they  aconratoly  express  the 
jiM  ]iciii(lty  that  military  law  wmiM  Inive  rP(|iiiri'(l  of  Xelson,  hail  ho  not 
sliiiwii  Mih'r|iiati'  <;rounils  for  his  (lisobedieiice.  They  measure,  tliereibre,  the 
iv^iMiii^ibilily  he  shouhhu d,  ami  the  rewanl  he  vle.served. 


■v 


'.» 


:    'A 

I", 

i   ll 


.i| 


<   U 


M 


'   It  1 


04 


TIIK    LIFK   OF    NKLSOX 


'B    •    i  V 


.  fi 


l)(!rs;  aiul  to  this,  in  tlio  jji-cscnt  ciisc,  was  aiUU'd  u  utmng 
pLTsoiuil  est(!t'iii,  based  upon  the  zeal  and  otHeieiiey  in  tlic  dis- 
cimrge  ol"  uHicial  duties,  wliicli  lu'  rccogni/ed  in  one  whose 
rank  would  assure  him  ijuiiunity  for  any  mere  indirterenec 
The  prince,  on  the  other  hand,  <iuickly  yiehled  to  the  churni 
of  Nelson's  intercourse,  so  vlviilly  felt  by  most  who  knew 
him,  and  to  the  contagious  enthusiasm  which  animated  his 
conversation  when  talking  of  his  profession.  This,  also,  his 
ardent  imagination  endowed  with  itossibilities  and  aspirations, 
not  greater,  inchuul,  than  its  deserts,  but  which  only  the  intui- 
tions of  a  genius  like  his  could  realize  and  vivify,  imijartin^;- 
to  slower  temperaments  something  of  his  own  fire.  To  this 
association  the  jtrince  afterwards  attributi'd  the  awakening  of 
that  strong  interest  in  maritime^  affairs  which  he  retained  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  The  two  friends  dined  alternately  ono 
with  the  other,  and.  in  their  association  of  some  six  months  at 
this  time,  they  together  fought  over  all  the  naval  battles  that 
during  the;  rec"nt  war  had  illustrated  the  waters  through 
whicdi  they  were  then  cruising. 

The  incessant  energy  (lis}»layed  by  Xelson,  and  the  agitations 
through  which  he  passed  during  the  three  years  of  this  stay 
u[)on  the  West  Indian  station,  again  i)ro(lu(!ed  distressing  sym[)- 
toms  in  his  general  health.  To  use  his  own  words,  the  activity 
of  the  mind  was  *'too  much  for  my  puny  constitution."  "  I  am 
worn  to  a  skeleton,''  he  writes  to  Mr.  Sue.kling  in  July,  178(5; 
and  three  months  later  to  Locker,  "  I  have  becui  since  June  so 
very  ill  that  I  have  oidy  a  faint  recollection  of  anything  which 
I  did.  ]My  complaint  was  in  my  breast,  such  a  one  as  I  had 
going  out  to  Jamaica  [in  1777].  The  ])o(!tor  thought  I  was 
in  a  consumption,  and  (juite  gave  me  up."  This  fear,  how- 
ever, proved  unfounded  ;  nor  does  there  appear  at  any  time  to 
have  been  any  serious  trouble  with  his  lungs. 

On  the  lltli  *  of  i^^arch,  17S7,  the  nuirriage  of  Captain 
Nelson  to  Mrs.  Nisbet  took  place  at  Nevis.  I'rince  William 
Henry,  whose  rule  it  was  never  to  visit  in  any  private  housi', 
made   an   exception  on   this  occasion,  having   exacted   from 

^  Sir  Iliiriis  Nicolas  (Xclson's  Despatches  ami  Letters,  vol.  i.  p.  217)  irivi's 
]\riir('h  12  lis  till.'  day  ot"  the  weildiiii,',  ujion  tlie  f,M'ouii(l  of  a  letter  of  Luly 
Nflsoii's.  IfiT  iiK'iitioii  of  tlio  (Into  is,  liowever,  latlier  casual  ;  ami  Marcli  11 
isuivcii  ill  (lie  jiarisli  register  oftlie  churcli  in  Xevis. 


f  this  stav 


TIIUKATKNING  ASPECT  OF  AFFMItS   IN   HOLLAND       (W> 


Nelson  a  i)romise  that  the  wedding  should  wait  until  he 
could  be  present ;  and  he  gave  away  the  bride.  Three 
months  later,  on  the  7th  of  June,  the  "  Hore.as  "  sailed  for 
EiM'land,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  anchored  f>,t  Spithead. 
Wiiether  Mrs.  Nelson  accompanied  him  in  t..  .lip  does  not 
appear  certainly;  but  from  several  expressions  in  his  letters 
it  seems  most  probable  that  she  did.  Five  days  after  his  ar- 
rival he  sent  a  message  from  her  to  Locker,  iii  terms  which 
indicate  that  she  was  with  him. 

A  newly  married  man,  who  had  just  concluded  a  full  cruise 
of  such  arduous  and  unremitting  exertions,  might  reasonably 
have  wished  and  expected  a  period  of  relaxation ;  but  the 
ictun:  ol'  the  "Boreas"  coincided  with  a  very  disturbed  state 
ot  Kuropean  politics.  In  the  neighboring  republic  of  Holland 
two  parties  were  striving  for  the  mastery  ;  one  of  which  was 
closely  attached  to  France,  the  other,  that  of  the  Stadtholder, 
to  Great  Britain.  In  1785  the  former  had  gained  the  upper 
liaiul ;  and,  by  a  treaty  signed  on  Christmas  Day  of  that  year, 
a  di'cided  preponderance  in  the  councils  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces had  been  given  to  France.  The  enfeebled  condition  of 
the  latter  country,  however,  had  allowed  little  prospect  of 
pciinuicnce  to  this  arrangement ;  and  in  the  summer  of  1787, 
;ui  insult  offered  by  the  French  party  to  the  wife  of  the  Stadt- 
lioldcr  led  to  a  fondble  intervention  by  the  King  of  Prussia, 
whose  sister  she  was.  Louis  XVI.  prepared  to  support  his 
partisans,  and  notified  his  purpose  to  Great  Britain ;  where- 
uiiou  the  latter,  whose  traditional  policy  for  over  a  century 
liad  been  to  resist  the  progress  of  French  influence  in  the  Low 
Countries,  replied  that  she  could  not  lemain  a  quiet  spectator, 
and  at  once  began  to  arm.  "The  Dutcdi  business,"  wrote 
Nelson,  "  is  becoming  every  day  more  serious  ;  and  I  hardly 
tliink  we  can  keep  from  a  war,  without  giving  forever  the 
\vci>,dit  of  the  Dutch  to  the  French,  and  allowing  the  Stadt- 
lioldcrship  to  be  abolished, — things  which  I  should  suppose 
lianlly  possible."  Already  his  eager  spirit  was  panting  for 
the  fray.  "  If  we  are  to  have  a  bustle,  I  do  not  want  to  come 
on  shore  ;  I  begin  to  think  I  am  fonder  of  the  sea  than  ever." 
Only  five  months  married  ! 

The  threatening  aspect  of  affairs  necessitated  the  "  Boreas  " 
being  kept  in  commission,  —  the  more  so  because  the  economies 

5 


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Photographic 

Sdences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M5S0 

(716)  •72-4503 


^ 


66 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


\y 


■    I 


introdured  by  Mr.  Pitt  into  the  administration  of  the  two 
military  services  had  reduced  the  available  naval  force  below 
that  which  France  could  at  once  send  out.  "  The  Boreas  is 
kept  in  readiness  to  go  to  sea  with  the  squiiiron  at  Spithead," 
wrote  Nelson ;  "  but  in  my  poor  opinion  we  shall  go  no  further 
at  present.  The  French  have  eight  sail  in  Brest  water  ready 
for  sea :  therefore  I  think  we  shall  not  court  the  French  out 
of  port," —  a  singular  illustration  of  the  unreadiness  of  Great 
Britain  in  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  French  Kevolu- 
tion.  He  looks  for  war,  however,  the  following  summer.  As 
not  only  ships,  but  men  also,  were  urgently  needed,  the  impress 
service  was  hastily  organized.  His  friend  Locker  was  sum- 
moned from  his  long  retirement  to  superintend  that  work  in 
Exeter,  and  the  "  Boreas  "  was  ordered  to  the  Thames  on  the 
same  business,  arriving  on  the  20th  of  August  at  the  Nore. 
There  her  duty  was  to  board  passing  vessels,  and  take  from 
them  as  many  of  their  crew  as  were  above  the  number  barely 
necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  ship.  She  herself,  besides  act- 
ing as  receiving  ship  for  the  men  thus  pressed,  was  to  be  kept 
in  readiness  to  sail  at  a  moment's  warning.  Mrs.  Nelson  had 
therefore  to  leave  her  and  go  to  London.  "  Here  we  are," 
wrote  Nelson  on  the  23d  of  September,  "  laying  seven  miles 
from  the  land  on  the  Impress  service,  and  I  am  as  much  sep- 
arated from  my  wife  as  if  I  were  in  the  East  Indies ;  "  and  he 
closes  the  letter  with  the  words,  "  I  am  this  moment  getting 
under  sail  after  some  ships." 

His  early  biographers  say  that  Nelson  keeoly  felt  and  re- 
sented the  kind  of  service  in  which  he  was  tlien  engaged ;  so 
much  so  that,  moved  also  by  other  causes  of  irritation,  he 
decided  at  one  time  to  quit  the  Navy.  No  indication  of  such 
feeling,  however,  appears  in  his  letters.  On  the  contrary,  one 
of  the  surest  signs  with  him  of  pleasurable,  or  at  least  of  in- 
terested, excitement  was  now  manifested  in  his  improving 
health.  As  he  himself  said,  many  years  later,  "  To  say  the 
truth,  v/hen  I  am  actively  employed  I  am  not  so  bad."  ^  A 
month  after  reaching  England,  though  then  midsummer,  he 

1  The  same  symptom  w'U  be  noted  in  the  anxious  pursuit  of  Villeneuve  to 
tlie  West  Indies  in  1805,  where  he  grew  better,  althougli  for  some  months  he 
liad  had  in  his  hands  the  Admiralty's  permission  to  return  home  on  account  of 
Iiis  Iiealth. 


M 


I'  rU> 


f  the  two 
•rcr  below 
Boreas  is 
Jpithead," 
lo  further 
iter  ready 
fench  out 
of  Great 
h.  Revolu- 
mer.  As 
e  impress 
was  sum- 
t  work  in 
les  on  the 
Aie  Nore. 
[ike  from 
er  barely 
sides  act- 
o  be  ke^st 
Bison  had 
we  are," 
'en  miles 
iuch  sep- 
"  and  he 
;  getting 

and  re- 

iged ;  so 

Ltion,  he 

of  such 

ary,  one 

st  of  in- 

n'oving 

say  the 

."^    A 

mer,  he 

cneuve  to 
lontlis  he 
ccount  of 


LACK  OF  AfPRECIATlON 


67 


wrote :  "  It  is  not  kind  in  one's  native  air  to  treat  a  poor 
wanderer  as  it  has  nie  sinco  my  ariival.  The  rain  and  cold 
at  first  gave  me  a  sore  throat  and  its  accompaniments;  the 
hot  weather  has  given  me  a  slow  fever,  not  absolutely  bad 
enough  to  keep  my  bed,  yet  enough  to  hinder  me  from  doing 
anything;"  and  again,  "  I  have  scarcely  been  able  to  hold  up 
my  head."  In  blustering  October,  on  the  other  hand,  while 
in  the  midst  of  the  detested  Impress  work,  he  says  :  "  My 
health,  thank  God,  was  never  better,  and  I  am  tit  for  any 
quarter  of  the  globe ;  "  although  "  it  rains  hard,  and  we  have 
had  very  bad  weather  of  late."  Whatever  momentary  vexa- 
tion he  may  have  vented  in  a  hasty  expression,  it  was  entirely 
inconsistent  with  his  general  tone  to  take  amiss  an  employ- 
ment whose  vital  importance  he  would  have  been  the  first  to 
iidmit.  Lack  of  zeal,  or  haggling  about  the  duty  assigned  hiin, 
was  entirely  foreign  to  his  character ;  that  the  country  needed 
the  men  who  were  to  be  pressed  was  reason  sufficient  for  one 
of  his  temper.  If,  indeed,  there  had  been  an  apparent  inten- 
tion to  keep  him  in  such  inglorious  occupation,  and  out  of 
the  expected  war,  he  might  have  chafed ;  but  his  orders  to 
be  constantly  ready  indicated  the  intention  to  send  him  at 
once  to  the  front,  if  hostilities  began.  Doubtless  he  was  dis- 
appointed that  the  application  he  made  for  a  ship-of-the-line 
was  not  granted ;  but  he  knew  that,  being  still  a  very  young 
captain,  what  he  asked  was  a  favor  and  its  refusal  not  a  griev- 
ance, nor  does  he  seem  to  have  looked  upon  it  otherwise. 

There  were,  however,  some  annoyances,  which,  joined  to 
the  lack  of  appreciation  for  his  eminent  services  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  nation  in  the  West  Indies,  must  have  keenly  stung 
him.  Without  the  slightest  necessity,  except  that  laid  upon 
him  by  his  own  public  spirit,  he  had  fought  and  struggled, 
and  endured  three  years  of  hot  water  to  serve  the  Government. 
He  might  have  gone  easy,  as  did  the  admiral  and  the  other 
captains ;  but  instead  of  so  doing  he  had  destroyed  the  con- 
traband trade,  and  re-established  the  working  of  laws  upon 
which  the  prosperity  and  security  of  the  kingdom  were 
thought  to  depend.  For  this  he  had  received  a  perfunctory, 
formal  acknowledgment,  though  none  apjiarently  from  the 
Admiralty,  the  head  of  his  own  service.  Hut  he  soon  found 
that,  if  slow  to  thank,  they  were  prompt  to  blame,  and  that 


1^ 


i     !l 


ii 


Pi 


t 


i\ 


•w\ 


1 ; 


»!'. 


r/)i:i 


i' 


Ml    li 


ii 


'    II 


d8 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


liffht  hand 


)\vanc;t 


He 


:  disposition  to  make 
had  run  his  head  against  various  regulations  of  the  bureau- 
cracy ;  and  this  let  him  know,  with  all  the  amenities  of  offi- 
cial censure,  that  if  they  c^ould  not  recognize  what  he  had 
done  well,  they  were  perfectly  clear-sighted  as  to  where  he 
had  gone  wrong. 

So  far  from  appreciation,  there  seems  even  to  have  been  a 
prejudice  against  Nelson  in  high  quarters,  due  not  only  to  the 
discomposure  felt  by  the  routine  olficial,  at  the  rude  irregulari- 
ties of  the  man  who  is  more  concerned  to  do  his  work  than 
nice  about  the  formalities  surrounding  it,  but  also  to  misrep- 
resentation by  the  powerful  interests  he  had  offended  through 
his  independent  course  in  the  West  Indies.  After  Hughes 
had  gone  home,  Nelson,  as  senior  officer  on  the  station,  began 
to  examine  the  modes  of  conducting  government  business,  and 
especially  of  making  purchases.  Conceiving  that  there  were 
serious  irregularities  in  these,  he  suggested  to  the  Civil  De- 
partment of  the  Navy,  under  whose  cognizance  the  transac- 
tions fell,  some  alterations  in  the  procedure,  by  which  the 
senior  naval  officer  would  have  more  control  over  the  pur- 
chases than  simply  to  certify  that  so  much  money  was  wanted. 
The  Comptroller  of  the  Navy  replied  that  the  old  forms  were 
sufficient,  —  "a  circumstance  which  hurt  me,"  wrote  Nelson ; 
while  all  the  civil  functionaries  resented  his  interference  with 
their  methods,  and  seem  to  have  received  the  tacit  support,  if 
not  the  direct  sympathy,  of  the  Navy  Board,  as  the  Civil  De- 
partment was  then  called.  His  disposition  to  look  into  matters, 
however,  had  become  known,  and  the  long  struggle  over  the 
contraband  trade  had  given  him  in  the  islands  a  reputation 
for  tenacity  and  success.  It  was  probably  in  dependence  upon 
these  that  two  merchants  came  to  him,  two  months  before  he 
left  the  station,  and  told  him  of  the  existence  of  very  exten- 
sive frauds,  dating  back  several  years,  in  which  were  impli- 
cated both  civil  officials  of  the  Navy  and  private  parties  on 
shore.  It  is  po,?sible  that  the  informants  themselves  had 
shared  in  some  of  these  transactions,  and  they  certainly  de- 
manded in  payment  a  part  of  the  sums  recovered ;  but,  as 
Nelson  truly  said,  the  question  was  not  as  to  their  character, 
but  how  to  stop  the  continuance  of  embezzlements  which  had 
then  amounted  to  over  two  millions  sterling. 


DISCONTENT   WITH  SERVICE,   1787 


m 


The  reports  made  by  him  upon  this  subject  reached  Loudon 
about  a  month  before  the  return  of  the  ''  Boreas  ; "  but  the  war 
scare,  and  the  urgent  call  upon  all  departments  of  the  Navy  to 
mobilize  the  available  force,  prevented  any  immediate  steps 
being  taken.  His  letters  were  acknowledged,  and  the  inten- 
tion expressed  to  investigate  the  matter,  but  nothing  more  was 
then  done.  In  October,  however,  the  Prussian  troops  occupied 
Amsterdam,  reinstating  the  Stadtholder  in  all  his  privileges, 
and  restoring  to  power  the  partisans  of  Great  Britain  ;  wliile 
France  remained  passive,  her  power  for  external  action  para- 
lyzed by  the  dying  convulsions  of  the  monarchy.  The  curtain 
had  just  risen  upon  the  opening  scene  in  the  great  drama  of 
the  Revolution,  —  the  first  Assembly  of  Xotables.  Warlike 
preparations  consequently  ceased,  and  on  the  30th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1787,  the  cruise  of  the  "  Boreas  "  came  to  an  end. 

It  was  during  this  last  month  of  servitude,  and  immediately 
before  quitting  the  ship,  that  Nelson  is  said  to  have  used  the 
vehement  expressions  of  discontent  with  "an  ungrateful  ser- 
vice," recorded  by  his  biographers,  concluding  with  his  resolve 
to  go  at  once  to  London  and  resign  his  commission.  In  the 
absence  of  the  faintest  trace,  in  his  letters,  of  dissatisfaction 
with  the  duty  to  which  the  ship  was  assigned,  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  attribute  this  exasperation  to  his  soreness  under 
the  numerous  reprimands  he  had  received,  —  a  feeling  which 
plainly  transpires  in  some  of  his  replies,  despite  the  forms  of 
official  respect  that  he  scrupulously  observed.  Even  in  much 
later  days,  when  hie-  distinguished  reputation  might  have 
enabled  him  to  sustain  with  indifference  this  supercilious 
rudeness,  he  winced  under  it  with  over-sensitiveness.  "Do 
not,  my  dear  lord,"  he  wrote  to  Earl  Spencer  a  year  after  the 
battle  of  the  Nile,  "let  the  Admiralty  write  harshly  to  me 

—  my  generous  soul  cannot  bear  it,  being  conscious  it  is 
entirely  unmerited."  This  freedom  of  censure,  often  felt  by 
him  to  be  undeserved,  or  at  least  excessive,  and  its  sharp 
contrast  with  the  scanty  recognition  of  his  unwearied  efforts, 

—  of  whose  value   he  himself   was   by  no  means  forgetful, 

—  though  not  unusual  in  the  experience  of  officers,  are  quite 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  sense  of  neglect  and  unjust  treat- 
ment by  which  he  was  then  outraged.  This  feeling  was  prob- 
ably accentuated,  also,  by  a  renewal  of  the  legal  persecution 


I      .M 


I   ! 


II:' 


'        li 

t     i 
I  J 


*,    » 


>l 


70 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


which  had  been  begun  in  the  West  Indies;  for  towards  the 
end  of  the  year  he  received  formal  notice  of  suits  being  insti- 
tuted against  him  for  the  seizure  of  tlie  American  vessels,  and 
it  is  likely  enough  that  some  intimation  of  what  was  coming 
reached  him  before  leaving  the  "Boreas."  Scanty  thanks, 
liberal  blame,  and  the  prospect  of  an  expensive  lawsuit  based 
upon  his  official  action,  constituted,  for  a  poor  man  lately 
married,  causes  of  disturbance  which  might  well  have  upset 
his  equanimity. 

Lord  Howe,  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty, 
though  formal  and  unbending  in  outward  bearing,  was  a  just 
and  kind  man,  and  one  fully  appreciative  of  professional 
worth.  A  mutual  friend  acquainted  him  with  Nelson's  irri- 
tation, and  Howe  wrote  a  private  letter  asking  that  he  would 
call  upon  him  as  soon  as  he  came  to  town.  Though  quick  to 
resent,  Nelson  was  easily  soothed  by  attention  and  pleased  by 
compliment,  even  when  it  rose  to  flattery,  —  which  Howe's 
was  not  likely  to  do.  A  short  interview  gave  the  First  Lord 
a  clearer  idea  than  he  before  had  of  the  extent,  value,  and 
wholly  voluntnry  character  of  the  services  rendered  by  the 
young  captain  in  the  West  Indies ;  and  he  indicated  the  com- 
pleteness of  his  satisfaction  by  offering  to  present  him  to  the 
King,  which  was  accordingly  done  at  the  next  levee.  George 
III.  received  him  graciously;  and  the  resentment  of  Nelson, 
wliose  loyalty  was  of  the  most  extreme  type,  melted  away  in 
the  sunshine  of  royal  favor. 

Thus  reconciled  to  the  service,  and  convinced,  as  in  his  less 
morbid  moods  he  often  said,  that  gratitude  and  honor,  though 
long  deferred,  were  sure  to  follow  upon  steadfast  performance 
of  duty,  he  speedily  renewed  his  efforts  to  bring  to  light  the 
frauds  practised  in  the  colonies.  His  letters  on  the  subject  to 
Mr.  Pitt,  the  Prime  Minister,  had  been  turned  over  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  George  Eose,  and  upon  the 
latter  Nelson  now  called.  Rose  received  him  at  first  with 
that  courteous  nonchalance  which  is  the  defensive  armor  of 
the  beset  official,  — the  name  of  his  visitor,  and  the  business 
with  which  it  was  connected,  had  for  the  moment  slipped  his 
mind.  Nelson's  mastery  of  his  subject,  however,  and  his 
warmth  in  it,  soon  roused  the  attention  of  his  hearer,  who, 
being  tnen  pressed  for  time,  asked  to  see  him  again  the  next 


day] 
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and 
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less 


MENTAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


71 


day,  stipulating  only  that  the  interview  should  be  early, 
before  oltice  hours.  "'It  cannot  be  too  early  for  me,"  re- 
plied Nelson,  whose  habit,  in  liis  career  as  adniiriil,  was  to 
get  through  his  correspondence  before  eight  o'clock,  —  "six 
o'clock,  if  you  please." 

The  arrangement  was  so  made,  and  the  consequent  meeting 
lasted  from  six  to  nine  the  next  morning.  Of  its  general 
nature  and  results  we  have  an  authentic  outline,  given  in 
later  years  to  Nelson's  biographers  by  liose,  who  became,  and 
to  the  last  remained,  his  warm  personal  friend.  The  conver- 
sation ranged,  apparently,  over  all  the  chief  occurrences  in 
tlie  West  Indies  during  the  cruise  of  the  "Boreas,"  including 
both  the  naval  frauds  and  the  c  .iitraband  trade.  The  breadth 
and  acuteness  of  Nelson's  intellect  have  been  too  much  over- 
looked, in  the  admiration  excited  by  his  unusually  grand 
moral  endowments  of  resolution,  dash,  and  fearlessness  of 
responsibility.  Though  scarcely  whnt  could  be  called  an 
educated  man,  he  was  one  of  close  and  constant  observation, 
thereby  gaining  a  great  deal  of  information ;  and  to  the  use 
of  this  he  brought  a  practical  sagacity,  which  coped  with  the 
civil  or  political  questions  placed  before  it,  for  action,  much 
as  it  did  with  military  questions  —  for,  after  all,  good  gen- 
eralship, on  its  intellectual  side,  is  simply  the  application,  to 
the  solution  of  a  military  problem,  of  a  mind  naturally  gifted 
therefor,  and  stored  with  experience,  either  personal  or  of 
others.  As  a  strategist  and  tactician.  Nelson  made  full  proof 
of  high  native  endowments,  of  wisdom  garnered  through 
fruitful  study  and  meditation,  and  of  clear  insight  into  the 
determining  conditions  of  the  various  military  situations  with 
Avhich  he  had  to  deal.  To  Mr.  Rose,  the  young  captain  of 
barely  thirty  years  displayed  a  precise  knowledge  of  several 
political  subjects,  connected  with  the  commerce  of  the  coun- 
try, that  would  not  naturally  come  under  his  notice  as  an 
officer,  and  which  therefore  the  mere  seaman  would  probably 
not  have  imbibed.  Not  only  so,  but  his  suggestions  for  deal- 
ing practically  with  the  interests  at  stake  were  so  judicious, 
that  Rose,  a  valued  associate  of  Pitt  and  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  financial  measures  of  that  brilliant  admin- 
istrator, complimented  him  warmly  upon  the  justice  and 
correctness  of  his  views,  the  result,  as  tliey  were,  of  reflection 


ti  ' 


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ft 


;?« 


■\\ 


!,! 


>l' 


^  m 


i  ■'  t' 


;i  1 


I, 


12 


THE  LIFE  OF  NKLSON 


1 


i^  '\ 


bused  upon  a  mastery  of  the  data  involved.  With  Nelson's 
consent,  lie  undertook  to  lay  thciu  before  the  jirime  minister, 
as  the  direct  testimony  of  a  singularly  competent  first-hand 
observer. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  of  Nelson,  that  this  accuracy 
of  mental  perception,  this  power  of  penetrating  to  the  root 
of  a  matter,  disregarding  unessential  details  and  fastening 
solely  on  decisive  features,  was  largely  dependent  upon  the 
necessity  laid  upon  him  for  action;  which  is  probably  equiva- 
lent to  saying  that  it  was  usually  elicited  by  a  sobering 
sense  of  responsibility.  In  his  letters  and  despatches  may 
be  found  many  wild  guesses,  inconsistent  from  week  to  week, 
colored  by  changing  moods  and  humors,  —  the  mere  passing 
comments  of  a  mind  off  guard, — the  records  of  evanescent 
impressions  as  numerous,  fickle,  and  unfounded  as  those  of 
the  most  ordinary  mortal.  It  is  when  urgency  presses  and 
danger  threatens,  when  the  need  for  action  comes,  that  his 
mental  energies  are  aroused,  and  he  begins  to  speak,  as  it 
were,  ex  cathedra.  Then  the  unsubstantial  haze  rolls  away, 
and  the  solid  features  of  the  scene  one  by  one  appear,  until, 
amid  all  the  unavoidable  uncertainties  of  imperfect  infor- 
mation, it  becomes  plain  that  the  man  has  a  firm  grasp  upon 
the  great  landmarks  by  which  he  must  guide  his  course. 
Like  the  blind,  who  at  first  saw  men  as  trees  walking,  and 
then  saw  everything  clearly,  so  his  mental  illumination  gradu- 
ally reduces  confusion  to  order,  and  from  pei'i)lexity  evolves 
correct  decision.  But  what  shall  be  said  of  those  flashes  of 
insight,  as  at  Capo  St.  Vincent,  elicited  in  a  moment,  as  by 
the  stroke  of  iron  on  rock,  where  all  the  previous  processes 
of  ordered  thought  and  labored  reasoning  are  condensed  into 
one  vivid  inspiration,  and  transmuted  without  a  partse  into 
instant  heroic  action  ?  Is  that  we  call  "  genius  "  purely  a 
mystery,  of  which  our  only  account  is  to  give  it  a  name  ?  Or 
is  it  true,  as  Napoleon  said,  that  "  on  the  field  of  battle  the 
happiest  inspiration  is  often  but  a  recollection"  ? 

From  Rose  Nelson  went  to  the  Comptroller  of  the  Navy, 
Sir  Charles  Middleton,  who  afterwards,  as  Lord  Barham,  sent 
him  forth  to  Trafalgar.  Middleton  had  replied  promptly  to 
the  first  report  of  the  fraudulent  transactions,  giving  as- 
surance of  his  readiness    to  act,  and    urging  that  all  the 


infc 

allel 

instl 


r: 


CONTEST  WITH  FRAUDS 


73 


iufonuatioii  possible  should  be  secured,  as  he  feiired  that  the 
allegations  were  substantially  true.  He  now  showed  the 
instructions  of  the  Navy  Board,  under  which  its  colonial 
employees  acted,  to  Nelson,  who  said  that,  if  honestly  fol- 
lowed, they  must  prevent  the  unlawful  practices ;  but  that 
he  believed  they  were  habitually  violated,  and  that  he  him- 
self, though  senior  officer  on  the  station,  had  never  before 
seen  the  instructions.  This  failure  to  intrust  supervision  to 
the  one  person  upon  whom  all  responsibility  should  ulti- 
mately have  rested,  practically  neutralized  the  otherwise 
laudable  methods  prescribed  by  the  Board.  It  was  simply 
another  instance  of  the  jealousy  between  the  civil  and  mili- 
tary branches  of  the  naval  organization,  which,  as  is  well 
known,  resulted  in  constant  strained  relations  between  the 
Admiralty  and  the  Naval  Commissioners,  until  the  latter 
Board  was  at  last  abolished. 

It  is,  fortunately,  unnecessary  to  follow  farther  this  dreary 
record  of  old-time  dishonesty.  Nelson  continued  to  interest 
himself  streniiously  in  the  matter  for  two  years  after  his 
return  to  England,  both  by  letter  and  interview  with  persons 
in  authority.  His  own  position  and  influence  were  too  in- 
significant to  effect  anything,  except  by  moving  the  home 
officials,  whose  administration  was  compromised  and  embar- 
rassed by  the  malpractices  of  their  representatives.  Though 
up-hill  work,  it  was  xar  from  fruitless.  "His  representa- 
tions," said  Mr.  Rose,  in  a  memorandum  furnished  to  his 
biographers,  "were  all  attended  to,  and  every  step  which  he 
recommended  was  adopted.  He  thus  put  the  investigation 
into  a  proper  course ;  which  ended  in  the  detection  and  pun- 
ishment of  some  of  the  parties  whose  conduct  was  complained 
of."  The  broad  result  appears  to  have  been  that  the  guilty 
for  the  most  part  escaped  punishment,  unless,  indeed,  some 
of  them  lost  their  positions,  of  which  no  certain  information 
exists ;  but  the  corrupt  combination  was  broken  up,  and 
measures  were  adopted  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  same 
iniquities.  Upon  Nelson  himself  the  effect  Avas  twofold. 
His  energy  and  intelligence  could  not  fail  to  impress  the 
powerful  men  with  whom  he  was  in  this  way  brought  into 
contact.  The  affair  increased  his  reputation,  and  made  him 
more  widely  known  than  as  a  simple  captain  in  the  Navy  he 


U;: 

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VI. 


74 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


would  otherwise  have  been.  As  the  various  public  Uoaids 
whose  uioney  had  been  stolen  realized  the  amount  of  the 
thefts,  and  the  extent  of  tiie  conspiracy  to  rob  the  Govern- 
ment, they  felt  their  obligations  to  him,  and  expressed  them 
in  formal,  but  warm,  letters  of  thanks.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  principal  culprits  had  command  of  both  money  and  in- 
fluence; and 'by  means  of  those,  as  so  often  happens,  they 
not  only  impeded  inquiry,  but,  according  to  Houtliey,  who 
wrote  not  very  long  after  the  events,  "  succeeded  in  raising 
prejudices  against  Nelson  at  the  l?oard  of  Admiralty  which 
it  was  many  years  before  he  could  subdue."  Clarke  and 
M'Arthur  make  the  same  assertion. 

That  these  prejudices  did  at  one  time  exist  is  beyond 
doubt,  and  that  they  should  have  been  fostered  by  this 
means  is  perfectly  in  keeping  with  common  experience. 
Such  intrigues,  however,  work  in  the  dark  and  by  in- 
direction ;  it  is  not  often  easy  to  trace  their  course.  The 
independence  and  single-mindedness  with  which  Nelson  fol- 
lowed his  convictions,  and  the  outspoken  frankness  with 
which  he  expressed  his  views  and  feelings,  not  improbably 
gave  a  handle  to  malicious  misrepresentation.  His  known 
intimacy  with  Prince  William  Henry,  upon  whose  favor  he 
to  some  extent  relied,  was  also  more  likely  to  do  him  harm 
than  good ;  and  he  entertained  for  the  royal  captain  pre- 
possessions not  far  removed  from  partisanship,  at  a  time 
when  the  prince  avowed  himself  not  a  friend  to  the  present 
minister.  "  Amidst  that  variety  of  business  which  demanded 
his  attention  on  his  return  to  England,"  say  his  biographers, 
"he  failed  not,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  to  fulfil  the 
promise  which  he  had  made  to  his  Royal  Highness  Prince 
William  of  counteracting  whatever  had  been  opposed  to  the 
merited  reputation  of  his  illustrious  pupil,  and  to  the  friend- 
ship they  had  invariably  preserved  for  each  other."  It  was 
a  difficult  task.  Opinionated  and  headstrong  as  the  King, 
his  father,  the  young  man  was  an  uneasy  subordinate  to  the 
Admiralty,  and  made  those  above  him  realize  that  he  was 
full  as  conscious  of  his  personal  rank  as  of  his  official  posi- 
tion as  a  captain  in  the  Navy.  It  was,  indeed,  this  self- 
-assertive  temperament  that  afterwards  frustrated  his  natural 
ambition  to  be  the  active  head  of  the  service.     Having  such 


an 

pect 

folk 

of 

wliic 


OtT  OF  Ii*AV()"   AT  ADMIRALTY 


7ft 


was 
Iposi- 

self- 
Itural 

such 


an  ally,  there  is  something  ominous  for  Nelson's  own  pros- 
pects to  tind  him  writing  in  evident  sympathy:  "The  great 
folks  above  now  see  he  will  not  be  a  cypher,  therefore  many 
of  the  rising  people  must  submit  to  act  subordinate  to  him, 
which  is  not  so  palatable ;  and  I  think  a  Lord  of  the  Ad- 
miralty is  hurt  to  see  him  so  able,  after  what;  he  has  said 
about  him.  He  has  certainly  not  taken  a  leaf  out  of  his 
book,  for  he  is  steady  in  his  command  and  not  violent." 
Upon  this  follows,  "He  has  wrote  Lord  Hood  what  I  cannot 
but  approve,"  —  a  sentence  unquestionably  vague,  but  which 
sounds  combative.  Nelson  had  already  felt  it  necessary  to 
caution  the  prince  to  be  careful  in  the  choice  of  those  to 
whom  he  told  his   mind. 

In  fact,  at  the  time  when  the  letter  just  quoted  was  written, 
the  conduct  of  the  prince  had  been  such  as  necessarily,  and 
not  wholly  unjustly,  to  prejudice  an  officer  who  displayed 
marked  partisanship  for  him,  such  as  certainly  was  indicated 
by  Nelson's  expressions.  He  had  brought  his  ship  from  New- 
foundland to  Ireland  in  flat  disobedience  of  orders,  issued  by 
the  commander  of  the  station,  to  go  to  Quebec.  When  this 
action  became  known  to  the  Admiralty  by  his  arrival  at  Cork, 
in  December,  1787,  it  was  at  once  reported  to  the  King,  who 
himself  directed  that  the  prince  should  proceed  to  Plymouth 
with  his  ship,  should  remain  within  the  limits  of  the  port  for 
as  many  months  as  he  had  been  absent  from  his  station,  and 
should  then  be  sent  back  to  Halifax.  The  Prince  of  Wales, 
afterwards  George  IV.,  who  was  already  at  variance  with  the 
King,  took  advantage  of  this  flagrant  breach  of  discipline  to 
flaunt  his  opposition  before  the  world.  In  company  with  his 
second  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  he  went  down  to  Plymouth, 
and  paid  a  ceremonious  visit  to  Prince  William  on  board  his 
ship.  The  round  of  festivities  necessitated  by  their  presence 
emphasized  the  disagreement  between  the  sovereign  and  the 
heir  to  the  throne,  and  drew  to  it  public  attention.  Immedi- 
ately after  this,  in  January,  1788,  Nelson  also  visited  the 
prince,  having  been  summoned  by  him  from  London.  He 
could,  indeed,  scarcely  decline,  nor  was  he  at  all  the  man  to 
turn  his  back  on  a  friend  in  difficulty,  but,  in  his  tight  against 
corruption,  the  matter  could  scarcely  fail  to  be  represented  by 
his  opponents  under  the  worst  light  to  the  King,  to  whom 


'   I 


•  t 


!  / 


'•\ 


corruption  was  less  odious  tiuiu  insubordination.  If,  in  con- 
versation, Nelson  uttered  such  (ixpressions  as  he  wrote  to  h.s 
friend  Locker,  ho  had  only  himself  to  blame  for  tlie  disfavor 
which  followed  j  for,  to  a  mival  otlici-r,  the  prince's  conduct 
should  have  appeared  absolutely  indefensible.  In  the  course 
of  the  same  year  the  King  became  insane,  and  the  famous 
struggle  about  the  Kegency  took  place.  TIk^  prince  had  mean- 
time returned  to  America,  in  acicordance  with  his  orders,  and 
by  the  time  he  again  reached  England  the  King  had  recovered. 
lEe  could,  therefore,  have  refrained  from  any  indication  of  his 
own  sympathies ;  but  instead  of  this  he  opeidy  associated 
himself  with  the  party  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  whose  coiirse 
throughout,  when  it  became  known  to  his  father,  had  bitterly 
displeased  the  latter,  and  accentuated  the  breach  between  them. 
At  a  banquet  given  by  the  Spanish  ambassador  in  celebration 
of  the  King's  recovery,  the  three  princes  sat  at  a  table  separate 
from  the  rest  of  the  royal  family.  A  formal  reconciliation 
took  place  in  September,  1789;  but  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  as 
he  had  then  become,  continued  attached  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  clique.  Those  who  know  how  party  considerations 
influenced  naval  appointments  at  that  time,  will  in  these  facts 
find  at  least  a  partial  explanation  of  the  cloud  which  then 
hung  over  Nelson. 

Lord  Chatham,  brother  of  the  minister  to  whom  Prince 
William  was  not  a  friend,  became  head  of  the  Admiralty  in 
July,  1788,  and  so  remained  until  after  the  war  with  France 
began  in  179.3.  With  him  was  associated  Lord  Hood,  between 
whom  and  Nelson  there  arose  what  the  latter  called  "  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion,"  which  led  to  a  cessation  of  "familiar 
correspondence. "  The  exact  date  at  which  this  occurred  does 
not  appear,  but  it  was  probably  before  May,  1790 ;  for  Hood 
refused  to  use  his  influence  to  get  Nelson  a  ship,  in  the  arma- 
ment which  was  then  ordered  on  account  of  a  difficulty  with 
Spain,  whereas  eighteen  months  before  he  had  assured  him 
that  in  case  of  hostilities  he  need  not  fear  not  having  a  good 
ship.  This  refusal  was  the  more  marked,  because  "almost 
the  whole  service  was  then  called  out."  On  the  same  occasion, 
Nelson  wrote,  "  he  made  a  speech  never  to  be  effaced  from  my 
memory,  viz. :  that  the  King  was  impressed  with  an  unfa,vour- 
able  opinion  of  me."     Knowing  Nelson's  value  as  an  officer  as 


I  ^' 


UNPLEASANT  CIUCUMSIANCKS 


77 


well  as  Hoo'l  Uid,  there  can  scarcely  remain  a  doubt  that  some 
serious  indiscretion,  real  or  imayjined,  must  have  caused  this 
alienation ;  but  of  what  it  was  there  is  no  trace,  unless  in  his 
evident  siding  with  the  prince,  who  was  then  out  of  favor  with 
both  the  King  and  the  administration. 

The  live  years  —  from  1788  to  179li  inclusive  —  intervening 
between  the  cruise  of  the  ^'IJoreas"  and  the  outbreak  of  war 
with  the  French  Kepublic,  were  thus  marked  by  a  variety  of 
unpleasant  circumstances,  of  which  the  most  disagreeable,  to 
a  nuin  of  ^'elson's  active  temperament,  was  the  apparently 
fixed  resolve  of  the  authorities  to  deny  him  employment.  He 
was  harassed,  indeed,  l)y  the  recurring  threats  of  prosecution 
for  the  West  India  seizures  ;  but  both  the  Admiralty  and  the 
Treasury  agreed  that  he  should  be  defended  at  the  expense  of 
the  Crown,  —  a  fact  which  tends  to  show  that  his  subsecpient 
disfavor  arose  from  some  other  cause  than  disapproval  of  liis 
official  action,  however  some  incidents  may  have  been  misrep- 
resented. On  its  private  side,  his  life  during  this  period  seems 
to  have  been  happy,  though  uneventful ;  but  in  the  failure  of 
children  he  was  deprived,  both  then  and  afterwards,  of  that 
sweetest  of  interests,  continutms  yet  ever  new  in  its  gradual 
unfolding,  which  brings  to  the  most  monotonous  existence  its 
daily  tribute  of  novelty  and  incident.  The  fond,  almost  rap- 
turous, expressions  with  which  he  greeted  the  daughter  after- 
wards born  to  him  out  of  Avedlock,  show  the  blank  in  his  home, 
—  none  the  less  real  because  not  consciously  realized. 

The  lack  of  stimulus  to  his  mind  from  his  surroundings  at 
this  time  is  also  manifested  by  the  fewness  of  his  letters.  But 
thirty  remain  to  show  his  occupation  during  the  live  years,  and 
seventeen  of  these  are  purely  official  in  character.  From  the 
year  1791  no  record  survives.  His  wife  being  with  him,  one 
line  of  correspondence  was  thereby  closed ;  but  even  to  his 
brother,  and  to  his  friend  Locker,  he  finds  nothing  to  write. 
For  the  ordinary  country  amusements  and  pursuits  of  the 
English  gentry  he  had  scant  liking  ;  and,  barring  the  occasional 
worry  over  his  neglect  by  the  Admiralty,  there  was  little  else 
to  engage  his  attention.  The  first  few  months  after  his  release 
from  the  "Boreas"  were  spent  in  the  West  of  England,  chiefly 
at  Bath,  for  the  recovery  of  Mrs.  Xelson's  health  as  well  as 
his  own  ;  but  toward  the  latter  part  of  1788  the  young  couple 


(  I 


1       ;: ' 

km 


1  ! 

I     . 


r 


(I 


78 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


went  to  live  with  his  father  at  the  parsonage  of  Buruham 
Thorpe,  and  there  made  their  home  until  he  was  again  called 
into  active  service.  "It  is  extremely  interesting,"  say  his 
biographers,  "  to  contemplate  this  great  man,  when  thus  re- 
moved from  the  busy  scenes  in  which  he  had  borne  so  distin- 
guished a  part  to  the  remote  village  of  Burnham  Thorpe;" 
but  the  interest  seems  by  their  account  to  be  limited  to  the 
energy  with  which  he  dug  in  the  garden,  or,  from  sheer  want 
of  something  to  do,  reverted  to  the  bird-nesting  of  his  boyhood. 
His  favorite  amusement,  we  are  told,  was  coursing,  and  he  once 
shot  a  partridge  ;  but  his  habit  of  carrying  his  gun  at  full  cock, 
and  firing  as  soon  as  a  bird  rose,  without  bringing  the  piece  to 
his  shoulder,  made  him  a  dangerous  companion  in  a  shooting- 
party.  His  own  account  is  somewhat  different :  "  Shcot  I 
cannot,  therefore  I  liave  not  taken  one  a  license  ;  but  notwith- 
standing the  neglect  I  have  met  with  I  am  happy  ;"and  again, 
to  his  brother,  he  says:  "It  was  not  my  intention  to  have  gone 
to  the  coursing  meeting,  for,  to  say  the  truth,  I  have  rarely 
escaped  a  wet  jacket  and  a  violent  cold;  besides,  to  me,  even 
the  ride  to  the  Smee  is  longer  than  any  nleasure  I  find  in  tht. 
sport  will  compensate  for."  The  face  is  that  Nelson  cared  for 
none  of  these  things,  and  the  only  deduction  of  real  interest 
from  his  letters  at  this  time  is  the  absolute  failure  of  his  home 
life  and  affections  to  content  his  aspirations,  —  the  emptiness 
both  of  mind  and  heart,  which  caused  his  passionate  eagerness 
for  external  employment  to  fill  the  void.  Earnestness  appears 
only  when  he  is  brooding  over  the  slight  with  which  he  was 
treated,  and  the  resultant  thwarting  of  his  career.  For  both 
mind  and  heart  the  future  held  in  store  for  him  the  most  en- 
grossing emotions,  but  it  did  not  therefore  bring  him  happiness. 
Of  his  frames  of  mind  during  tliis  period  of  neglect  and 
disfavor,  his  biographers  give  a  very  strongly  colored  picture, 
for  which,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  they  drew  upon  contemporary 
witnesses  that  were  to  them  still  accessible.  "  With  a  morti- 
fied and  dejected  spirit,  he  looked  forward  to  a  continuance 
of  inactivity  and  neglect.  .  .  During  this  interval  of  dis- 
appointment and  mortification,  his  latent  ambition  would  at 
times  burst  forth,  and  despise  all  restraint.  At  others,  a 
sudden  melancholy  seemed  to  overshadow  his  noble  faculties, 
and  to  affect  his  temper;  at  those  moments  the  remonstrances 


I   |,; 


A  STOR^nr  AN 


XIOUS  PERIOD 


79 


» 


of  his  wife  and  venerable  father  alone  could  calm  the  tempest 
of  his  passions."  That  Nelson  keenly  felt  the  cold  indiffer- 
ence he  now  underwent,  is  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the 
sensitiveness  to  censure,  expi-essed  or  implied,  which  his  cor- 
respondence frequently  betrays,  while  his  frail  organization 
and  uncertain  health  would  naturally  entail  periods  of  depres- 
sion or  nervous  exasperation ;  but  the  general  tenor  of  his 
letters,  few  as  they  at  this  time  were,  shows  rather  dignified 
acceptance  of  a  treatment  he  had  not  merited,  and  a  steady 
resolve  not  to  waver  in  his  readiness  to  serve  his  country,  nor 
to  cease  asking  an  opportunity  to  do  so.  Many  years  latei",  at 
a  time  of  still  more  sickening  suspense,  he  wrote:  "I  am  in 
truth  half  dead,  but  what  man  can  do  shall  be  done,  —  I  am 
not  made  to  despair;  "  and  now,  according  to  a  not  improbable 
story,  he  closed  an  a})plication  for  employment  with  the 
words,  "  If  your  Lordships  should  be  pleased  to  appoint  me 
to  a  cockle  boat,  I  shall  feel  grateful."  Hood,  whose  pupil  he 
in  a  sense  was,  and  who  shared  his  genius,  said  of  himself, 
when  under  a  condition  of  enforced  inactivity :  "  This  proves 
very  strongly  the  different  frames  of  men's  minds ;  some  are 
full  of  anxiety,  impatience,  and  apprehension,  while  others, 
under  similar  circumstances,  are  perfectly  cool,  tranquil,  and 
indifferent." 

The  latter  half  of  the  year  1792  was  marked  by  the  rapid 
progress  in  France  of  the  political  distemper,  which  was  so 
soon  !o  culminate  in  the  worst  excesses  of  the  Revolution. 
The  c  'ick  succession  of  symptoms,  each  more  alarming  than 
the  o  r,  —  the  suspension  of  the  roj  al  power  at  the  tumult- 
uous bidding  of  a  mob,  the  September  massacres,  the  abolition 
of  royalty,  the  aggressive  character  of  the  National  Convention 
shown  by  the  decrees  of  November  19  and  December  15, — 
roused  the  apprehensions  of  most  thoughtful  men  throughout 
Europe ;  and  their  concern  was  increased  hy  the  growing 
popular  effervescence  in  other  countries  than  France.  The 
British  cabinet,  as  was  natural,  shifted  more  slowly  than  did 
the  irresponsible  members  of  the  community  ;  nor  could  Pitt 
lightly  surrender  his  strong  instinctive  prepossessions  in 
favor  of  peace,  with  the  continuance  of  which  was  identified 
the  exercise  of  his  own  best  powers. 

During  this  stormy  and  anxious  period.  Nelson  shared  thQ 


!      \r 


80 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


il^^' 


\i 


feelings  of  his  day  and  class.  It  is  noteworthy,  however,  that, 
in  regarding  the  perils  of  the  time,  he  was  no  mere  panic- 
monger,  but  showed  the  same  discriminating  carefulness  of 
observation  that  had  distinguished  him  as  captain  of  the 
"Boreas,"  and  had  elicited  the  admiration  of  Mr.  Rose. 
Strenuous  and  even  bigoted  royalist  as  he  always  was,  sat- 
isfied of  the  excellence  of  the  British  Constitution,  and  con- 
demning utterly  the  proceedings  of  the  more  or  less  seditious 
societies  then  forming  throughout  the  kingdom,  he  yet  rec- 
ognized the  substantial  grievances  of  the  working-men,  as 
evident  in  the  district  immediately  under  his  eye.  The  sym- 
pathetic qualities  which  made  him,  fortune's  own  favorite  in 
his  profession,  keenly  alive  to  the  hardships,  neglect,  and 
injustice  undergone  by  the  common  seaman,  now  engaged 
him  to  set  forth  tlie  sad  lot  of  the  ill-paid  rural  peasantry. 
In  his  letters  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  he  on  the  one  hand 
strongly  blames  the  weakness  and  timidity  of  the  justices  and 
country  gentlemen,  in  their  attitude  towards  the  abettors  of 
lawlessness ;  but,  on  the  other,  he  dwells  upon  the  sufferings 
of  the  poor,  prepares  a  careful  statement  of  their  earnings  and 
unavoidable  expenses,  and  insists  upon  the  necessity  of  the 
living  wage.  The  field  laborers,  he  said,  "  do  not  want 
loyalty,  many  of  their  superiors,  in  many  instances,  might 
have  imitated  their  conduct  to  advantage;  but  hunger  is  a 
sharp  thorn,  and  they  are  not  only  in  want  of  food  sufficient, 
but  of  clothes  and  firing." 

Under  the  threatening  outlook,  he  considers  that  every 
individual  will  soon  "be  called  forth  to  show  himself;"  and 
for  his  own  part,  he  writes  on  the  3d  of  Novomber,  he  sees  no 
way  so  proper  as  asking  for  a  ship.  But,  even  at  that  late 
moment,  neither  Pitt  nor  his  associates  had  abandoned  the 
hope  of  peace,  and  this,  as  well  as  other  applications  of  Nel- 
son's, received  only  a  formal  acknowledgment  without  encour- 
agement. Roused,  however,  by  the  Convention's  decree  of 
November  19,  which  extended  the  succor  of  France  to  all 
people  who  should  wish  to  recover  their  liberty,  and  charged 
the  generals  of  the  republic  to  make  good  the  offer  with  the 
forces  under  their  command,  the  ministry  decided  to  abandon 
their  guarded  attitude ;  and  their  new  resolution  was  con- 
firmed by  the  reception,  on  the  28th  of  November,  of  deputa- 


tions 

COUA 

affecj 

mentl 

milit] 

mon( 

the 

most  1 


.  « 


APPOINTED  TO  THE  "AGAMEMNON' 


81 


tions  from  British  revolutionary  societies  at  the  bar  of  the 
Conveutiou,  on  which  occasion  the  pi-esident  of  the  latter 
atfected  to  draw  a  dividing  line  between  the  British  govern- 
ment and  the  British  nation.  On  the  1st  of  December  the 
militia  was  called  out  by  proclamation,  and  Parliament  sum- 
moned to  meet  on  the  15th  of  the  month.  On  the  latter  day 
tlie  Convention  put  forth  another  decree,  announcing  in  the 
most  explicit  terms  its  purpose  to  overthrow  all  existing  gov- 
ernments in  countries  where  the  Republican  armies  could 
penetrate.  Pitt  now  changed  his  front  with  an  instantaneous- 
ness  and  absoluteness  which  gave  the  highest  proof  of  his 
capacity  as  a  leader  of  men.  It  was  not  so  much  that  war 
was  then  determined,  as  that  the  purpose  was  formed,  once 
for  all,  to  accept  the  challenge  contained  in  the  French  decree, 
unless  France  would  discontinue  her  avowed  course  of  aggres- 
sion. Orders  were  immediately  given  to  increase  largely  the 
number  of  ships  of  war  in  commission. 

When  danger  looms  close  at  hand,  the  best  men,  if  known, 
are  not  left  in  the  cold  shade  of  official  disfavor.  "  Post 
nubila  Phoebus,"  was  the  expression  of  Nelson,  astonished  for 
a  rarity  into  Latin  by  the  suddenness  vs'ith  which  the  sun  now 
burst  upon  him  through  the  clouds.  "The  Admiralty  so 
smile  upon  me,  that  really  I  am  as  much  surprised  as  when 
they  frowned."  On  the  6th  of  January,  1793,  the  First  Lord, 
with  many  apologies  for  previous  neglect,  promised  to  give 
him  a  seventy-four-gun  ship  as  soon  as  it  was  in  his  power  to 
do  so,  and  that  meanwhile,  if  he  chose  to  take  a  sixty-four,  he 
could  have  one  as  soon  as  she  was  ready.  On  the  30th  he  was 
appointed  to  the  "Agamemnon,"  of  the  latter  rate.  Within 
the  preceding  fortnight  Louis  XVL  had  been  beheaded,  and 
the  French  ambassador  ordered  to  leave  England.  On  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1793,  two  days  after  Nelson's  orders  were  issued,  the 
Republic  declared  war  against  Great  Britain  and  Plolland. 


u  n 


If-; 


HI 


M 


)n- 

ba- 


'  ^ 


i 


A 


l\ 


t 


u 


i 


•■1 


•  s 


CHAl^TEE   III. 

iiELSON's  DePAKTUIIE  FROM  ENGLAND  IN  THE  "AGAMEMNON." — SER- 
VICES IN  THE  Mediterranean  until  the  Recovery  of  Toulon  by 
THE  French.  —  Lord  Hood  in  Command. 

February-December,  1793.     Age,  34. 

l^TELSON'S  page  in  history  covers  a  little  more  than 
X^  twelve  years,  from  February,  1793,  to  October,  1805. 
Its  opening  coincides  with  the  moment  when  the  wild  passions 
of  the  French  Eevolution,  still  at  fiercest  heat,  and  which  had 
hitherto  raged  like  flame  uncontrolled,  operative  only  for 
destruction,  were  being  rapiilly  mastered,  guided,  and  regu- 
lated for  efficient  work,  by  the  terrors  of  the  Revolutionary 
Tribunal  and  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety.  In  the  object 
to  which  these  tremendous  forces  were  now  about  to  be 
applied  lay  the  threat  to  the  peace  of  Europe,  which  aroused 
Great  Britain  to  action,  and  sent  into  the  field  her  yet  un- 
known champion  from  the  jSTorfolk  parsonage.  The  represen- 
tatives of  the  French  people  had  imparted  to  the  original 
movement  of  their  nation, — which  aimed  only  ?it  internal 
reforms,  however  radical,  —  a  new  direction,  of  avowed  pur- 
poseful aggression  upon  all  political  institutions  exterior  to, 
and  differing  from,  their  own.  This  became  the  one  charac- 
teristic common  to  the  successive  forms  of  government,  which 
culminated  in  the  pure  military  despotism  of  Napoleon. 

To  beat  back  that  spirit  of  aggression  was  the  mission  of 
Nelson.  Therein  is  found  the  true  significance  of  his  career, 
which  mounts  higher  and  higher  in  strenuous  effort  and 
gigantic  achievement,  as  the  blast  of  the  Revolution  swells 
fiercer  and  stronger  under  the  mighty  impulse  of  the  great 
Corsican.  At  each  of  the  momentous  crises,  so  far  removed 
in  time  and  place,  —  at  the  Nile,  at  Copenhagen,  at  Trafalgar, 
—  as  the  unfolding  drama  of  the  age  reveals  to  the  onlooker 
the  schemes  of  the  arch-planner  about  to  touch  success,  over 


\  . 


SIGNIFICANCE   OF  NELSON'S  CAREER 


83 


against  Napoleon  rises  ever  Nelson  ;  and  as  the  latter  in  the 
hour  of  victory  drops  upon  the  stage  where  he  has  played  so 
chief  a  part,  his  task  is  seen  to  be  accomplished,  his  triumph 
secured.  In  the  very  act  of  dying  he  has  dealt  the  foe  a  blow 
from  which  recovery  is  impossible.  Moscow  and  Waterloo 
are  the  inevitable  consequences  of  Trafalgar ;  as  the  glories  of 
that  day  were  but  the  fit  and  assured  ending  of  the  illus- 
trious course  which  was  begun  upon  the  quarter-deck  of  the 
"  Agamemnon." 

With  the  exception  of  the  "  Victory,"  under  whose  flag  he 
fell  after  two  years  of  arduous,  heartbreaking  uncertainties, 
no  ship  has  such  intimate  association  with  the  career  and 
name  of  Nelson  as  has  the  "Agamemnon."  And  this  is  but 
natural,  for  to  her  he  was  the  captain,  solely,  simply,  and 
entirely;  identified  with  her  alone,  glorying  in  her  excellences 
and  in  her  achievements,  one  in  purpose  and  in  spirit  with 
her  officers  and  seamen ;  sharing  their  hopes,  their  dangers, 
and  their  triumphs ;  quickening  them  with  his  own  ardor, 
moulding  them  into  his  own  image,  until  vessel  and  crew,  as 
one  living  organism,  reflected  in  act  the  heroic  and  unyielding 
energy  that  inspired  his  feeble  frame.  Although,  for  a  brief 
and  teeming  period,  he  while  in  command  of  her  controlled 
also  a  number  of  smaller  vessels  on  detached  service,  it  was 
not  until  after  he  had  removed  to  another  ship  that  he  became 
the  squadron-commander,  whose  relations  to  the  vessel  on 
which  he  himself  dwelt  were  no  longer  immediate,  nor 
differed,  save  in  his  bodily  presence,  from  those  he  bore  to 
others  of  the  same  division.  A  personality  such  as  Nelson's 
makes  itself  indeed  felt  throughout  its  entire  sphere  of  action, 
be  that  large  or  small ;  but,  withal,  diffusion  contends  in  vain 
with  the  inevitable  law  that  forever  couples  it  with  slackening 
power,  nor  was  it  possible  even  for  him  to  lavish  on  the 
various  units  of  a  fleet,  and  on  the  diverse  conflicting  claims 
of  a  great  theatre  of  war,  the  same  degree  of  interest  and 
influence  that  he  concentrated  upon  the  "Agamemnon,"  and 
upon  the  brilliant  though  contracted  services  through  which 
he  carried  her.  Bonds  such  as  these  are  not  lightly  broken, 
and  to  the  "  Agamemnon  "  Nelson  clave  for  three  long  years 
and  more,  persistently  refusing  larger  ships,  imtil  the  ex- 
hausted hulk  could  no  longer  respond  to  the  demands  of  her 


M' 


!  Ivv 


U 


.  I 


:'l 


.;     ! 


;l      ;:' 


84 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


iM. 


masters,  and  separation  became  inevitable.  When  he  quitted 
her,  at  the  moment  of  her  departure  for  England,  it  was  simply 
a  question  whether  he  would  abandon  the  Mediterranean,  and 
the  prospect  of  a  great  future  there  opening  before  him,  or 
sever  a  few  weeks  earlier  a  companionship  which  must  in  any 
event  end  upon  her  arrival  home. 

There  is  yet  anotlier  point  of  view  from  which  his  command 
of  the  "  Agamemnon  "  is  seen  to  hold  a  peculiar  relation  to 
Nelson's  story.  This  was  the  period  in  which  expectation 
passed  into  fulfilment,  when  development,  long  arrested  by 
unpropitious  circumstances,  resumed  its  outward  progress 
under  the  benign  influence  of  a  favoring  environment,  and  tlie 
bud,  whose  rare  promise  had  long  been  noted  by  a  few  dis- 
cerning eyes,  unfolded  into  the  brilliant  flower,  destined  in  the 
magnificence  of  its  maturity  to  draw  the  attention  of  a  world. 
To  the  fulness  of  his  glorious  course  these  three  years  were 
what  the  days  of  early  manhood  are  to  ripened  age  ;  and  they 
are  marked  by  the  same  elasticity,  hopefulness,  and  sanguine 
looking  to  the  future  that  characterize  youth,  before  illusions 
vanish  and  even  success  is  found  to  disappoint.  Happiness 
was  his  then,  as  at  no  other  time  before  or  after ;  for  the  sur- 
rounding conditions  of  enterprise,  of  difftculties  to  be  over- 
come, and  dangers  to  be  met,  were  in  complete  correspondence 
with  those  native  powers  that  had  so  long  struggled  painfully 
for  room  to  exert  themselves.  His  health  revived,  and  his 
very  being  seemed  to  expand  in  this  congenial  atmosphere, 
which  to  him  was  as  life  from  the  dead.  As  with  untiring 
steps  he  sped  onward  and  upward, — counting  naught  done 
while  aught  remained  to  do,  forgetting  what  was  behind  as  he 
pressed  on  to  what  was  before,  —  the  ardor  of  pursuit,  the 
delight  of  achievement,  the  joy  of  the  giant  running  his  course, 
sustained  in  him  that  glow  of  animation,  that  gladness  in  the 
mere  fact  of  existence,  physical  or  moral,  in  which,  if  any- 
where, this  earth's  content  is  found.  Lack  of  recognition, 
even,  wrung  from  him  only  the  undaunted  words:  "Never 
mind !  some  day  I  will  have  a  gazette  of  my  own."  Not  till 
his  dreams  were  realized,  till  aspiration  had  issued  in  the 
completest  and  most  brilliant  triumph  ever  wrought  upon  the 
seas,  and  he  had  for  his  gazette  the  loud  homage  of  every 
mouth  in  Europe,  —  not  till  six  months  after  the  battle  of  the 


hi  t 


COMMAND  OF  THE   "AGAMEMNON" 


85 


Nile,  —  did  Nelson  write  :  "  There  is  no  true  happiness  in  this 
life,  and  in  my  present  state  I  could  quit  it  with  a  smile.  My 
only  wish  is  to  sink  with  honour  into  the  grn.ve." 

The  preparation  of  the  Mediterranean  fleet,  to  which  the 
"Agamemnon"  was  assigned,  was  singvlarly  protracted,  and 
in  tlie  face  of  a  well-ordered  enemy  the  delay  must  have  led 
to  disastrous  results.  Nelson  himself  joined  his  ship  at 
Chatliam  on  the  7th  of  February,  a  week  after  his  orders  were 
issued ;  but  not  until  the  IGth  of  March  did  she  leave  the 
dockyard,  and  then  only  for  Sheerness,  where  she  remained 
four  weeks  longer.  By  that  time  it  seems  probable,  from 
remarks  in  his  letters,  that  the  material  equipment  of  the 
vessel  was  complete ;  but  until  the  14th  of  April  she  remained 
over  a  hundred  men  short  of  her  complement.  "  Yet,  I  think," 
wrote  Nelson,  "that  we  shall  be  far  from  ill-manned,  even 
if  th?  rest  be  not  so  good  as  they  ought  to  be."  Mobilization 
in  those  days  had  not  been  perfected  into  a  science,  even  in 
theory,  and  the  difficulty  of  raising  crews  on  the  outbreak  of 
war  Avas  experienced  by  all  nations,  but  by  none  more  than  by 
Great  Britain.  Her  wants  were  greatest,  and  for  supply  de- 
pended upon  a  merchant  service  scattered  in  all  quarters  of 
the  globe.  "  Men  are  very  hard  to  be  got,"  Nelson  said  to  his 
brother,  "  and  without  a  press  I  have  no  idea  that  our  fleet 
can  be  manned,"  It  does  not  appear  that  this  crude  and 
violent,  yet  unavoidable,  method  was  employed  for  the  "  Aga- 
memnon," except  so  far  as  her  crew  was  completed  from  the 
guard-ship.  Dependence  was  placed  upon  the  ordinary  wiles 
of  the  recruiting-sergeant,  and  upon  Nelson's  own  popularity 
in  the  adjacent  counties  of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk,  from  which 
the  bulk  of  his  ship's  company  was  actually  drawn.  "  I  have 
sent  out  a  lieutenant  and  four  midshipmen,"  he  writes  to 
Locker,  "to  get  men  at  every  seaport  in  Norfolk,  and  to 
forward  them  to  Lynn  and  Yarmouth ;  my  friends  in  York- 
shire and  the  North  tell  me  they  will  send  Avhat  men  they  can 
lay  hands  on ; "  but  at  the  same  time  he  hopes  that  Locker, 
then  Commander-in-chief  at  the  Nore,  will  not  turn  away  any 
Avho  from  other  districts  may  present  themselves  for  the 
"Agamemnon."  Coming  mainly  from  the  same  neighborhood 
gave  to  the  crew  a  certain  homogeneousness  of  character, 
affording  ground  for  appeal  to  local  pride,  a  most  powerful 


HI 


iH-;i.; 


y  11 


86 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


vm 


•  \ 


incentive  in  moments  of  difficulty  and  emulation;  and  this 
feeling  was  enhanced  by  the  thought  that  their  captain  too 
was  a  Norfolk  n.an.  To  one  possessing  the  sympathetic 
qualities  of  Nelson,  who  so  readily  shared  the  emotions  and 
gained  the  affections  of  his  associates,  it  was  easy  to  bind  into 
a  living  whole  the  units  animated  by  this  common  sentiment. 

His  stej)-son,  Josiah  Nisbet,  at  this  time  about  thirteen 
years  old,  now  entered  the  service  as  a  midshipman,  and 
accompanied  hira  on  board  the  "Agamemnon."  The  oncoming 
of  a  great  war  naturally  roused  to  a  yet  liigher  pitch  the  im- 
pulse towards  the  sea,  which  in  all  generations  has  stirred  the 
blood  of  English  boys.  Of  these,  Nelson,  using  his  captain's 
privilege,  received  a  number  as  midshipmen  upon  his  quarter- 
deck, among  them  several  from  the  sons  of  neighbors  and 
friends,  and  therefore,  like  the  crew,  Norfolk  lads.  It  is  told 
that  to  one,  whose  father  he  knew  to  be  a  strong  Whig,  of  the 
party  which  in  the  past  few  years  had  sympathized  with  the 
general  current  of  the  French  Eevolution,  ho  gave  the  fol- 
lowing pithy  counsels  for  his  guidance  in  professional  life: 
"  First,  you  must  always  implicitly  obey  orders,  without 
attempting  to  form  any  opinion  of  your  own  respecting  their 
propriety;  secondly,  you  must  consider  every  man  as  your 
enemy  who  speaks  ill  of  your  king ;  and  thirdly,  you  must  hate 
a  Frenchman  as  you  do  the  devil."  Ou  the  last  two  items 
Nelson's  practice  was  in  full  accord  with  his  precept ;  but  to 
the  first,  his  statement  of  which,  sound  enough  in  the  general, 
is  open  to  criticism  as  being  too  absolute,  he  was  certainly  not 
obedient.  Not  to  form  an  opinion  is  pushing  the  principle  of 
subordination  to  an  indefensible  extreme,  even  for  a  junior 
officer,  though  the  caution  not  to  express  it  is  v»'ise,  as  well  as 
becoming  to  the  modesty  of  youth.  Lord  Howe's  advice  to 
Codrington,  to  watch  carefully  all  that  passed  and  to  form  his 
own  conclusions,  but  to  keep  them  to  himself,  was  in  every 
respect  more  reasonable  and  profitable.  But  in  fact  this  dictum 
of  Nelson's  was  simply  another  instance  of  hating  the  French 
as  he  did  the  devil.  The  French  were  pushing  independence 
and  private  judgment  to  one  extreme,  and  he  instinctively 
adopted  the  other. 

It  was  not  till  near  the  end  of  April  that  the  "  Agamem- 
non" finally  left  the  Thames,  anchoring  at  Spithead  on  the 


\'\ 


'H 


COMMAND  OF  THE   "AGAMEMNON" 


tn 


^ery 
;um 
Inch 
Ince 
}ely 

;m- 
Ithe 


28th  of  that  mouth.     Still  the  fleet  which  Lord  Hood  was  to 
command  was  not  ready.     While  awaiting  lier  consorts,  the 
ship  made  a  short  cruise  in  the  Channel,  and  a  few  days  later 
sailed  as  one  of  a   division   of   five   ships-of-the-line  under 
Admiral   Hotham,   to  occupy  a  station   fifty  to   a  hundred 
miles  west  of  the  Channel  Islands.     Nelson's  disposition  not 
to  form  any  opinion  of  his  own  respecting  the  propriety  of 
orders  was  thus  evidenced :   "  What  we  have  been  sent  out 
for  is  best  known  to  the  great  folks  in  London :  to  us,  it 
appears,  only  to  hum  the  nation  and  make  tools  of  us,  for 
where  we  have  been  stationed  no  enemy  was  likely  to  be  met 
with,  or  w^here  we  could  protect  our  o,vn  trade."     There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  not  only  was  the  practical  management  of 
the  Navy  at  this  time  exceedingly  bad,  but  that  no  sound 
ideas  even  prevailed  upon  the  subject.    Hotham's  squadron 
gained  from  neutral  vessels  two  important  pieces  of  informa- 
tion, —  that  Nantes,  Bordeaux,  and  L'Orient  were  filled  with 
English   vessels,   prizes   to   French    cruisers ;    and   that   the 
enemy  kept  eight  sail-of-the-line,  with  frigates  in  proportion, 
constantly  moving  in  detachments  about  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 
Under  the  dispositions  adopted  by  the  British   Admiralty, 
these  hostile  divisions  gave,  to  the  commerce  destroying  of 
the  smaller  depredators,  a  support  that  sufficiently  accounts 
for  the  notorious  sufferings  of  British  trade  during  the  open- 
ing years  of  the  war.    Nelson  had  no  mastery  of  the  termi- 
nology of  warfare,  —  he  never  talked  about  strategy  and  little 
about  tactics, — but,  though  without  those  valuable  aids  to 
precision  of  thought,  he  had  pondered,  studied,  and  reasoned, 
and  he   had,  besides,  what   is   given   to   few,  — real   genius 
and  insight.     Accordingly  he  at  once  pierced  to  the  root  of 
the  trouble, — the  enemy's  squadrons,  rather  than  the  petty 
cruisers  dependent  upon  them,  to  which  the  damage  was  com- 
monly attributed.     "They  are  always  at  sea,  and  England 
not  willing  to   send  a  squadron  to  interrupt  them."    But, 
while  instancing  this  intuitive  perception  of  a  man   gifted 
with  rare  penetration,  it  is  necessary  to  guard  against  rash 
conclusions  that  might  be  drawn  from  it,  and  to  remark  that 
it  by  no  means  follows  that  education  is  unnecessary  to  the 
common  run  of  men,  because  a  genius  is  in  advance  of  his 
times.     It  is  well  also  to  note  that  even  in  him  this  flash  of 


i 


'  M 


n  ,  1 


■  ■- 


88 


THK  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


l-r!    .] 


insight,  though  unerring  in  its  indications,  lacked  the  defi- 
niteness  of  conviction  which  results  from  ordered  thought. 
However  accurate,  it  is  but  a  glimmer, — not  yet  a  fixed 
light. 

Hothani's  division  joined  the  main  body  under  Lord  Hood, 
off  the  Scilly  Islands,  on  the  2iid  of  May,  the  total  force  then 
consisting  of  eleven  sail-of-the-line,  with  ti<e  usual  smaller 
vessels.  It  remained  cruising  in  that  neighborhood  until  the 
Cth  of  June,  Kee[ting  the  approaiihes  of  the  Channel  open  for 
a  homeward-bound  convoy  of  merchantmen,  which  passed  on 
that  day.  The  fleet  then  bore  up  for  the  Straits,  and  on  the 
14th  six  slaps,  the  "  Agamemnon  "  among  them,  parted  com- 
pany for  Cadiz,  there  to  fill  up  with  water,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  delays  which  would  arise  if  the  scanty  resources  of  Gib- 
raltar had  to  supply  all  the  vessels.  On  the  23d  this  division 
left  Cadiz,  reaching  Gibraltar  the  same  evening ;  and  on  the 
27th  Hood,  having  now  with  him  fifteen  of  the  line,  sailed 
for  Toulon. 

Nelson's  mind  was  already  busy  with  the  prospects  of  the 
campaign,  and  the  various  naval  factors  that  went  to  make 
up  the  military  situation.  "  Time  must  discover  what  we  are 
going  after,"  he  writes  to  his  brother;  while  to  Locker  he 
propounds  the  problem  which  always  has  perplexed  the 
British  mind,  and  still  does,  —  how  to  make  the  French 
fight,  if  the}'  are  unwilling.  So  long  as  that  question  re- 
mains iui3olved,  the  British  government  has  to  bear  the 
uncertainties,  exposure,  and  expense  of  a  difficult  and  pro- 
tracted defensive.  "  We  have  done  nothing,"  he  says,  "and 
the  same  prospect  appears  before  us :  the  French  cannot 
come  out,  and  we  have  no  means  of  getting  at  them  in  Tou- 
lon." In  "cannot  come  out,"  he  alludes  to  the  presence  of 
a  Spanish  fleet  of  twenty-four  ships-of-the-line.  This,  in 
conjunction  with  Hood's  force,  would  far  exceed  the  French 
in  Toulon,  which  the  highest  estimate  then  placed  at 
twenty-one  of  the  line.  He  had,  however,  already  measured 
the  capabilities  of  the  Spanish  Navy.  They  have  very  fine 
ships,  he  admits,  but  they  are  shockingly  manned,  —  so  much 
so  that  if  only  the  barges'  crews  of  the  six  British  vessels 
that  entered  Cadiz,  numbering  at  the  most  seventy-five  to  a 
hundred  men,  but  all  picked,  could  have  got  on  board  one  of 


^:i  r 


COMMAND  OF  THE  "AOAMKMNON" 


80 


their  first-rates,  he  was  certain  they  could  have  captured  her, 
although  her  ship's  company  numbered  nearly  a  thousand. 
"  If  those  we  are  to  meet  in  the  Mediterranean  are  no  better 
manned,"  he  continues,  "  much  service  cannot  be  expected  of 
them."  The  prediction  proved  true,  for  no  sooner  did  Hood 
find  the  Spanisli  admiral  than  the  latter  informed  him  he 
must  go  to  Cartagena,  having  nineteen  hundred  sick  in  his 
fleet.  The  officer  who  brought  this  message  said  it  was  no 
wonder  they  were  sickly,  for  they  had  been  sixty  days  at  sea. 
This  excited  Nelson's  derision  —  not  unjustly.  **  From  the 
circumstance  of  having  been  longer  than  that  time  at  sea,  do 
we  attribute  our  getting  healthy.  It  has  stamped  with  me 
the  extent  of  their  nautical  abilities  :  long  may  they  remain 
in  their  present  state."  The  last  sentence  reveals  his  intui- 
tive appreciation  of  the  fact  that  the  Spain  of  that  day  could 
in  no  true  sense  be  the  ally  of  Great  Britain ;  for,  at  the 
moment  he  penned  the  wish,  the  impotence  or  defection  of 
their  allies  would  leave  the  British  fleet  actually  inferior  to 
the  enemy  in  those  waters.  He  never  forgot  these  impres- 
sions, nor  the  bungling  efforts  of  the  Spaniards  to  form  a 
line  of  battle.  Up  to  the  end  of  his  life  the  prospect  of  a 
Spanish  war  involved  no  military  anxieties,  but  only  the 
prospect  of  more  prize  m^ney. 

Among  the  various  rumors  of  that  troubled  time,  there 
came  one  that  the  French  were  fitting  their  ships  with  forges 
to  bring  their  shot  to  a  red  heat,  and  so  set  fire  to  the 
enemj^'s  vessel  in  which  they  might  lodge.  Nelson  was 
promptly  ready  with  a  counter  and  (piite  adequate  tactical 
move.  "  This,  if  true,"  he  wrote,  "  I  humbly  conceive  would 
have  been  as  well  kept  secret ;  but  as  it  is  known,  we  must 
take  care  to  get  so  close  that  their  red  shots  may  go  throiujh 
both  sides,  when  it  will  not  matter  whether  they  are  hot  or 
cold."  This  sentence  is  among  the  most  characteristic  oc- 
curring at  this  period  in  Nelson's  correspondence ;  indicative 
of  the  continuous  mental  activity  which,  throughout  his 
career,  sought  to  anticipate  difficulties,  and  to  devise  means 
of  meeting  them. 

On  the  14th  of  July  Nelson  notes  that  the  fleet  had  re- 
ceived orders  to  consider  Marseilles  and  Toulon  as  invested, 
and  to  take  all  vessels  of  whatever  nation  bound  into  those 


! 


li 


ii    O 


\\ 


I. 


! 


'    i 


00 


THIO   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


[I 


V 


V  '11 


I  * 


ports.  He  at  once  recognized  tlie  importance  of  tliis  stej), 
and  tlie  accurate  judgment  that  dictated  it.  The  Jiriti.sh  could 
not,  as  he  said,  get  at  the  enemy  in  his  fortified  harbor;  but 
they  might  by  this  means  exercise  the  pressure  that  would 
force  him  to  come  out.  Undoubtedly,  whether  on  a  large  or 
on  a  small  scale,  whether  it  concern  the  whole  plan  of  a  war 
or  of  a  campaign,  or  merely  the  (question  of  a  single  military 
position,  the  best  way  to  compel  an  unwilling  foe  to  action, 
and  to  spoil  his  waiting  game  which  is  so  onerous  to  the 
would-be  assailant,  is  to  attack  him  elsewhere,  to  cut  short  his 
resources,  and  make  his  jjosition  untenable  by  exhaustion. 
"This  has  pleased  us,"  Nelson  wrote  ;  "if  we  make  those  red- 
hot  gentlemen  hungry,  they  may  be  induced  to  come  out." 

The  investment  by  sea  of  these  two  harbors,  but  especially 
of  Toulon,  as  being  an  important  dockyard,  was  accordingly 
the  opening  move  made  by  the  British  adn)iral.  On  the  ICth 
of  July  he  approached  the  latter  port,  and  from  that  time 
until  August  25  a  close  blockade  was  maintained,  with  the 
exception  of  a  very  few  days,  during  which  Hood  took  the 
fleet  off  Nice,  and  thence  to  Genoa,  to  remonstrate  with  that 
republic  upon  its  supplying  the  south  of  France  with  grain, 
and  bringing  back  French  property  under  neutral  papers. 
"  Our  being  here  is  a  farce  if  this  trade  is  allowed,"  said 
Nelson,  and  rightly  ;  for  so  far  as  appearances  then  went,  the 
only  influence  the  British  squadrons  could  exert  was  by  cur- 
tailing the  supplies  of  southern  France.  That  district  raised 
only  grain  enough  for  three  months'  consumption ;  for  the 
remainder  of  the  year's  food  it  depended  almost  wholly  upon 
Sicily  and  Barbary,  its  communications  with  the  interior  being 
so  bad  that  the  more  .abundant  fields  of  distant  French  prov- 
inces could  not  send  their  surplus. 

In  the  chaotic  state  in  which  France  was  then  plunged,  the 
utmost  uncertainty  prevailed  as  to  the  course  events  might 
take,  and  rumors  of  all  descriptions  were  current,  the  wildest 
scarcely  exceeding  in  improbability  the  fantastic  horrors  that 
actually  prevailed  throughout  the  land  during  these  opening 
days  of  the  Reign  of  Terror.  The  expectation  that  found 
most  favor  in  the  fleet  was  that  Provence  would  separate 
from  the  rest  of  France,  and  proclaim  itself  an  independent 
republic  under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain ;  but  few  looked 


was 


COMMAND  OF  THE  "AGAMEMNON' 


01 


i,  the 
light 
idest 

that 
[ning 

)und 

irate 
Ident 

3ked 


for  the  amazing  result  which  shortly  followed,  in  the  delivery 
of  Toulon  by  its  citizens  into  the  hands  of  Lord  Hood.  This 
Nelson  attributed  purely  to  the  suffering  caused  by  the  strict- 
ness of  the  blockade.  "  At  Marseilles  and  Toulon,"  wrote  he 
on  the  20th  of  August,  "  they  are  almost  starving,  yet  noth- 
ing brings  them  to  their  senses.  Although  the  Convention 
has  denounced  them  as  traitors,  yet  even  these  people  will 
not  declare  for  anything  but  Liberty  and  Equality."  Three 
days  later.  Commissioners  from  both  cities  went  on  board 
Hood's  flagship  to  treat  for  peace,  upon  the  basis  of  re-estab- 
lishing the  monarchy,  and  recognizing  as  king  the  son  of  Louis 
XVI.  The  admiral  accepted  the  proposal,  on  condition  that 
the  port  and  arsenal  of  Toulon  should  be  delivered  to  him  for 
safe  keeping,  until  the  restoration  of  the  young  prince  was 
effected.  On  the  27th  of  August  the  city  ran  up  the  white 
flag  of  the  Bourbons,  and  the  British  fleet,  together  with  the 
Spanish,  which  at  this  moment  arrived  on  the  scene,  anchored 
in  the  outer  port.  The  allied  troops  took  possession  of  the 
forts  commanding  the  harbor,  while  the  dockyards  and  thirty 
ships-of-the-line  were  delivered  to  the  navies. 

"The  perseverance  of  our  fleet  has  been  great,"  wrote 
Nelson,  "  and  to  that  only  can  be  attributed  our  unexampled 
success.  Not  even  a  boat  could  get  into  Marseilles  or  Toulon, 
or  on  the  coast,  with  provisions;  and  the  old  saying,  'that 
hunger  will  tame  a  lion,'  was  never  more  strongly  exem- 
plified." In  this  he  deceived  himself,  however  natural  the 
illusion.  The  opposition  of  Toulon  to  the  Paris  Government 
was  part  of  a  general  movement  of  revolt,  which  spread 
throughout  the  provinces  in  May  and  June,  1793,  upon  the 
violent  overthrow  of  the  Girondists  in  the  National  Conven- 
tion. The  latter  then  proclaimed  several  cities  outlawed, 
Toulon  among  them ;  and  the  bloody  severities  it  exercised 
were  the  chief  determining  cause  of  the  sudden  treason,  the 
offspring  of  fear  more  than  of  hunger,  —  though  the  latter 
doubtless  contributed,  —  which  precipitated  the  great  southern 
arsenal  into  the  arms  of  the  Republic's  most  dangerous  foe. 
Marseilles  fell  before  the  Conventional  troops,  and  the  result- 
ant panic  in  the  sister  city  occasioned  the  hasty  step,  which 
in  less  troubled  moments  would  have  been  regarded  with  just 
horror.     But  in  truth  Nelson,  despite  his  acute  military  per- 


H 


'!  ^ 


1 1     I 


M 


02 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


Hi!    :'.'■ 


ceptions,  had  not  yet  developed  that  keen  political  sagacity, 
the  fruit  of  riper  judgment  grounded  on  wider  information, 
which  he  afterwards  showed.  His  ambition  was  yet  limited 
to  the  sphere  of  the  "  Agamemnon,"  his  horizon  bounded  by 
the  petty  round  of  the  day's  events.  He  rose,  as  yet,  to  no 
apprehension  of  the  mighty  crisis  hanging  over  Europe,  to  no 
appreciation  of  the  profound  meanings  of  the  opening  strife. 
"  I  hardly  think  the  War  can  last,"  he  writes  to  his  wife,  "for 
what  are  we  at  war  about  ?"  and  again,  "  I  think  we  shall  be 
in  England  in  the  winter  or  spring."  Ever,  some  months 
later,  in  December,  before  Toulon  had  reverted  to  the  French, 
he  is  completely  blind  to  the  importance  of  the  Mediterranean 
iv  the  great  struggle,  and  expresses  a  wish  to  exchange  to  the 
West  Indies,  "  for  I  think  our  Sea  War  is  over  in  these  seas." 
It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  in  his  zeal,  thoroughness,  and 
fidelity  to  the  least  of  the  duties  tht'i  falling  to  him,  is  to  be 
seen  a  surer  indication  of  his  great  future  than  in  any  wider 
speculations  about  matters  as  yet  too  high  for  his  position. 
The  recent  coolness  between  him  and  Lord  Hood  had  been 
rapidly  disappearing  under  the  admiral's  reviving  apprecia- 
tion and  his  own  aptitude  to  conciliation.  "  Lord  Hood  is 
very  civil, "  he  writes  on  more  than  one  occasion,  "  I  think  we 
may  be  good  friends  again ;  "  and  the  offer  of  a  seventy-four- 
gun  ship  in  place  of  his  smaller  vessel  was  further  proof  of 
his  superior's  confidence.  Nelson  refused  the  proposal.  **I 
cannot  give  up  my  officers,"  he  said,  in  the  spirit  that  so  en- 
deared him  to  his  followers  ;  but  the  compliment  was  felt, 
and  was  enhanced  by  the  admiral's  approval  of  his  motives. 
The  prospective  occupation  of  Toulon  gave  occasion  for  a  yet 
more  Hattering  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  Avas  held. 
As  soon  as  the  agreement  with  the  city  was  completed,  but 
the  day  before  taking  possession.  Hood  despatched  him  in 
haste  to  Oneglia,  a  small  port  on  the  Riviera  of  Genoa,  and 
thence  to  Naples,  to  seek  from  the  latter  court  and  that  of 
Turin  ^  a  reinforcement  of  ten  thousand  troops  to  hold  the 
new  acquisition.  The  "  Agamemnon "  being  a  fast  sailer 
undoubtedly  contributed  much  to  this  selection ;  but  the  char- 
acter of  the  commanding  officer  could  not  but  be  considered  on 

1  Turin  was  capital  of  tlio  Kiiif^doin  of  Sindinia,  wliicli  embraced  the  island 
of  that  luiiiio  and  the  Pioviucc  of  Piedmont. 


J> 


COMMAND  OF  THE  "AGAMEMNON" 


^ 


so  important,  and  in  some  ways  delicate,  a  mission.  "  I  siiould 
have  liked  to  have  stayed  one  day  longer  with  the  fleet,  when 
they  entered  the  harbour,"  he  wrote  to  Mrs.  Nelson,  "but 
service  could  not  be  neglected  for  any  private  gratification," 
—  a  sentiment  she  had  to  hear  pretty  often,  as  betrothed  and 
as  wife,  but  which  was  no  platitude  on  the  lips  of  one  who 
gave  it  constant  demonstration  in  his  acts.  "  Duty  is  the 
great  business  of  a  sea  officer,"  he  told  his  intended  bride  in 
early  manhood,  to  comfort  her  and  himself  under  a  prolonged 
separation.  "  Thank  God  !  I  have  done  my  duty,"  was  the 
spoken  thought  that  most  solaced  his  death  hour,  as  his  heart 
yearned  towards  those  at  home  whom  he  should  see  no  njore. 

About  this  time  he  must  have  felt  some  touch  of  sympathy 
for  the  effeminate  Spaniards,  who  were  made  ill  by  a  sixty 
days'  cruise.     "All   .'e  get  here,"  he  writes,  "is  honour  and 
salt  beef.     My  poor  fellows  have  not  had  a  morsel  of  fresh 
meat  or  vegetables  for  near  nineteen  weeks ;  and  in  that  time 
I  have  only  had  my  foot  twice  on  shore  at  Cadiz.     We  are 
absolutely  getting  sick  from  fatigue."     "  I  am  here  [Naples] 
with  news  of  our  most  glorious  and  great  success,  but,  alas! 
the  fatigue  of  getting  it  has  been  so  great  that  the  fleet  gen- 
erally, and  I  am  sorry  to  say,  my  ship  most  so,  are  knocked 
up.     Day  after  day,  week  after  week,  month  after  month,  we 
have  not  been  two  gun  shots  from  Toulon."     The  evident 
looseness  of  this  statement,  for  the  ship  had  only  been  a  little 
over  a  month  off  Toulon,  shows  the  impression  the  service 
had   made   upon   his   mind,  for  he    was  not   prone  to  such 
exaggerations.     "It  is  hardly  possible,"  he  says  again,   "to 
conceive  the  state  of  my  ship;   I  have  little  less  than  one 
hundred  sick."     This  condition  of  things  is  an  eloquent  testi- 
mony to  the  hardships  endured ;  for  Nelson  was  singularly 
successful,  botli  before  and  after  these  days,  in  maintaining 
the  health  of  a  ship's  company.      His  biographers  say  that 
during   the   term   of    three    years   that   he   commanded   the 
"Boreas"  in  the  West  Indies,  not  a  single   oflicer  or  man 
died  out  of  her  whole  complement,  —  an  achievement  almost 
incredible  in  that  sickly  climate ;  ^  and   he   himself   records 

1  This  stiitenicnt,  which  apparently  depends  upon  a  memoir  supplied  many 
years  livter  by  the  fust  lieutenuiit  of  the  "  Horeas,"  is  not  strictly  accurate,  for 
Nelson  himself,  in  a  letter  written  shortly  after  lier  arrival  in  the  West  Indies, 


!  I 

i 


!     ir  '    • 


■«  V. 


M 


^-^• 


f 


94 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


i 


ii   H 


tliat  in  his  two  months'  chase  of  Villeneuve,  in  1805,  no  death 
from  sickness  occurred  r^mong  the  seven  or  eight  thousand 
persons  in  the  fleet.  He  attributed  these  remarkable  results 
to  his  attention,  not  merely  to  the  physical  surroundings  of 
the  crews,  but  also  to  the  constant  mental  stimulus  and 
interest,  which  he  aroused  by  providing  the  seamen  with  oc- 
cupation, frequent  amusements,  and  change  of  scene,  thus 
keeping  the  various  faculties  in  continual  play,  and  avoiding 
the  monotony  which  most  saps  health,  through  its  deadening 
influence  on  the  mind  and  spirits. 

The  "Agamemnon"  reached  Naples  on  the  12th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  remained  there  four  days.  Nelson  pressed  the  mat- 
ter of  reinforcements  with  such  diligence,  and  was  so  heartily 
sustained  by  the  British  minister,  Sir  William  Hamilton,  that 
he  obtained  the  promise  of  six  thousand  troops  to  sail  at  once 
under  the  convoy  of  the  "Agamemnon."  "1  have  acted  for 
Lord  Hood,"  he  wrote,  "with  a  zeal  which  no  one  could 
exceed;"  and  a  few  weeks  later  he  says:  "The  Lord  is  very 
much  pleased  with  my  conduct  about  the  troops  at  Naples, 
which  I  undertook  without  any  authority  whatever  fiom  him; 
and  they  arrived  at  Toulon  before  his  requisition  reached 
Naples."  It  appears,  therefore,  that  his  orders  were  rather 
those  of  a  despatch-bearer  than  of  a  negotiator ;  but  that  he, 
with  the  quick  initiative  he  always  displayed,  took  upon  him- 
self diplomatic  action,  to  further  the  known  wishes  of  his 
superior  and  the  common  cause  of  England  and  Naples.  It 
was  upon  this  occasion  that  Nelson  flrst  met  Lady  Hamilton, 
who  exercised  so  marked  an  influence  over  his  later  life ;  but, 
though  she  was  still  in  the  prime  of  her  singular  loveliness, 
being  yet  under  thirty,  not  a  ripple  stirred  the  surface  of  his 
soul,  afterward  so  powerfully  perturbed  by  this  fascinating 
woman.  "  Lady  Hamilton,"  he  writes  to  his  wife,  "  has  been 
wonderfully  kind  and  good  to  Josiah  [his  step-son].  She  is  a 
young  woman  of  amiable  manners,  and  who  does  honour  to 
the  station  to  which  she  is  raised."  His  mind  was  then  too 
full  of  what  was  to  be  done ;  not  as  after  the  Nile,  when,  un- 
strung by  reaction  from  the  exhausting  emotions  of  the  past 

mentions  that  several  of  her  shiji's  tionipany  hatl  been  carried  off  hy  fever 
(Nicolas,  vol.  i.  p.  Ill);  but  it  can  doubtless  be  accepted  as  evidence  of  au 
unusually  healthy  condition. 


MISSION  TO  NAPLES,   1793 


96 


|oing 
)een 
is  a 
ir  to 
too 
un- 
)ast 

Ifevev 

Lf  au 


months,  it  was  for  the  moment  empty  of  aspiration  and  cloyed 
with  flattery  only. 

The  prospect  of  sailing  with  the  convoy  of  troops,  as  well 
as  of  a  few  days'  repose  for  the  wearied  ship's  company,  was 
cut  short  by  the  news  that  a  French  ship  of  war,  with  some 
merchant  vessels  in  convoy,  had  anciiored  on  the  Sardinian 
coast.  Although  there  were  at  Naples  several  Neapolitan 
naval  vessels,  and  one  Spaniard,  none  of  them  moved ;  and  as 
the  Prime"  Minister  sent  the  information  to  Nelson,  he  felt 
bound  to  go,  though  but  four  days  in  port.  "  Unfit  as  my 
ship  was,  I  had  nothing  left  for  the  honour  of  our  country  but 
to  sail,  which  I  did  in  two  hours  afterwards.  It  was  necessary 
to  show  them  what  an  English  man-of-war  would  do."  The 
expected  enemy  was  not  found,  and,  after  stretching  along  the 
coast  in  a  vain  search,  the  "Agamemnon"  put  into  Leghorn 
on  the  2oth  of  September,  nine  days  after  leaving  Naples,  — 
"  absolutely  to  save  my  poor  fellows,"  wrote  her  captain  to 
his  brother.  But  even  so,  he  purposed  staying  at  his  new 
anchorage  but  three  days,  "  for  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  of 
being  absent  from  the  scene  of  action  "  at  Toulon.  In  the 
same  letter  he  mentions  that  since  the  23d  of  April  —  five 
months  —  the  ship  had  been  at  anchor  only  twenty  days. 

The  unwavering  resolution  and  prompt  decision  of  his  char- 
acter thus  crop  out  at  ever;""  step.  In  Leghorn  he  found  a 
large  French  frigate,  which  had  been  on  the  point  of  sailing 
when  his  ship  came  in  sight.  "  I  am  obliged  to  keep  close 
watch  to  take  care  he  does  not  give  me  the  slip,  which  he  is 
inclined  to  do.  I  shall  pursue  him,  and  leave  the  two  Courts 
[Great  Britain  and  Tuscany]  to  settle  the  propriety  of  the 
measure,  which  I  think  will  not  be  strictly  regular.  Have 
been  up  all  night  watching  him  —  ready  to  cut  the  moment 
he  did."  The  enemy,  however,  made  no  movement,  and 
Nelson  was  not  prepared  to  violate  flagrantly  the  neutrality 
of  the  port.  On  the  30th  of  September  he  sailed,  and  on  the 
5th  of  October  rejoined  Lord  Hood  olf  Toulon,  where  four 
thousand  of  tie  Neapolitan  troops,  for  which  he  had  nego- 
tiated, had  already  arrived. 

The  high  favor  in  which  the  admiral  had  held  him  ten 
years  before  in  the  West  Indies,  though  slightly  overcast  by 
the  coolness  which  arose  during  the  intervening  peace,  had 


,  H.iii't 


f     ll 


66 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSOK 


'i  ' 


been  rapidly  regained  in  the  course  of  the  present  campaign  ; 
and  the  customary  report  of  his  proceedings  during  the  six 
weeks'  absence  could  not  but  confirm  Hood  in  the  assurance 
that  he  had  now  to  deal  with  a  very  exceptional  character, 
especially  fitted  for  separate  and  responsible  service.  Ac- 
cordingly, from  this  time  forward,  such  is  the  distinguishing 
feature  of  Nelson's  career  as  a  subordinate.  He  is  selected 
from  among  many  competitors,  frequently  his  seniors,  for  the 
performance  of  duty  outside  the  reach  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  but  requiring  the  attention  of  one  upon  whose  activity, 
intelligence,  and  readiness,  the  fullest  dependence  could  be 
placed.  Up  to  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  —  in  which,  it  must 
always  be  remembered,  he  commanded  a  squadron  detached 
from  the  main  fleet,  and  was  assigned  to  it  in  deliberate  pref- 
erence to  two  older  flag-officers,  —  Nelson's  life  presents  a 
series  of  detached  commands,  independent  as  regarded  the 
local  scene  of  operations,  and  his  method  of  attaining  the 
prescribed  end  with  the  force  allotted  to  him,  but  dependent, 
technically,  upon  the  distant  commanders-in-chief,  each  of 
whom  in  succession,  with  one  accord,  recognized  his  singular 
fitness.  The  pithy  but  characteristic  expression  said  to  have 
been  used  by  Earl  St.  Vincent,  when  asked  for  instructions 
about  the  Copenhagen  expedition,  —  **  D — n  it,  Nelson,  send 
them  to  the  devil  your  own  way,"  —  sums  up  accurately 
enough  the  confidance  shown  him  by  his  superiors.  He  could 
not  indeed  lift  them  all  to  the  height  of  his  own  conceptions, 
fearlessness,  and  enterprise  ;  but  when  they  had  made  up  their 
minds  to  any  particular  course,  they  were,  each  and  all,  per- 
fectly willing  to  intrust  the  execution  to  him.  Even  at  Co- 
penhagen he  was  but  second  in  command,  though  conspicuously 
first  in  achievement.  It  was  not  till  the  opening  of  the 
second  war  of  the  French  Revolution,  in  May,  1803,  that  he 
himself  had  supreme  charge  of  a  station, —  his  old  familiar 
Mediterranean. 

Being  held  in  such  esteem,  it  was  but  a  short  time  before 
Nelson  was  again  sent  off  from  Toulon,  to  which  he  did  not 
return  during  the  British  occupation.  He  was  now  ordered  to 
report  to  Commodore  Linzee,  then  lying  with  a  detachment  of 
three  ships-of-the-line  in  the  harbor  of  Cagliari,  at  the  south 
end  of  Sardinia.     On  her  passage  the  "  Agamemnon  "  met  and 


.  ;f  ' 


voy, 


MISSION  TO  TUNIS,   1793 


97 


engaged  a  French  squadron,  of  four  large  frigates  and  a  brig. 
Though  without  decisive  results,  Nelson  was  satistied  with 
his  own  conduct  in  this  affair,  as  was  also  Lord  Hood  when  it 
came  to  his  knowledge  ;  for,  one  of  the  frigates  being  badly- 
crippled,  the  whole  force,  which  was  on  its  way  to  Nice,  was 
compelled  to  take  refuge  in  Corsica,  where  it  was  far  from 
secure.  Two  days  later,  on  the  24th  of  October,  Cagliari  was 
reached,  and  the  "  Agamemnon  "  accompanied  the  division  to 
Tunis,  arriving  there  on  the  1st  of  November. 

Linzee's  mission  was  to  try  and  detach  the  Bey  from  the 
French  interest,  and  it  was  hoped  he  could  be  induced  to 
allow  the  seizure  of  a  number  of  French  vessels  which  had 
entered  the  port,  under  the  convoy  of  a  ship-of-the-llne  and 
four  frigates.  When  the  British  entered,  the  frigates  had 
disappeared,  being  in  fact  the  same  that  Nelson  had  fought 
ten  days  before.  In  accordance  with  his  instructions,  Linzee 
strove  to  persuade  the  Bey  that  the  Republican  government, 
because  of  its  revolutionary  and  bloodthirsty  character,  should 
receive  no  recognition  or  support  from  more  regular  states, 
not  even  the  protection  usually  extended  by  a  neutral  port, 
and  that  in  consequence  he  should  be  permitted  to  seize  for 
Great  Britain  the  vessels  in  Tunis.  The  Turk  may  possibly 
have  overlooked  the  fallacy  in  this  argument,  which  assumed 
that  the  protection  extended  by  neutral  governments  was 
rather  for  the  benefit  of  the  belligerent  than  for  the  quiet 
and  safety  of  its  own  waters  ;  but  he  was  perfectly  clear-sighted 
as  to  his  personal  advantage  in  the  situation,  for  the  French 
owners,  in  despair  of  getting  to  France,  were  selling  their 
cargoes  to  him  at  one  third  their  value.  To  the  argument  that 
the  French  had  beheaded  their  king,  he  drily  replied  that  the 
English  had  once  done  the  same ;  and  he  decisively  refused  to 
allow  the  ships  to  be  molested.  Nelson  was  disgusted  that 
his  consent  should  have  been  awaited.  "  The  English  seldom 
get  much  by  negotiation  except  the  being  laughed  at,  which 
we  have  been ;  and  I  don't  like  it.  Had  we  taken,  which  in 
my  opinion  we  ought  to  have  done,  the  men-of-war  and  con- 
voy, worth  at  least  £300,000,  how  much  better  we  could  have 
negotiated :  —  given  the  Bey  £50,000,  he  would  have  been 
glad  to  have  put  up  with  the  insult  offered  to  his  dignity  ; " 
and  he  plainly  intimates  his  dissatisfaction  with  Linzee.    This 

7 


I : 


K 


1 1  If  I 


■? 


I  :i 


i-^. 


TIIK   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


IK 


'v* 


i 


irresponsible  and  irreliective  outburst  was,  however,  only  an 
instance  of  the  impatience  his  enterprising,  energetic  spirit 
always  felt  when  debarred  from  prompt  action,  whether  by 
good  or  bad  reasons ;  for  almost  on  tlie  same  day  he  expresses 
the  sounder  judgment :  "  Had  we  latterly  attempted  to  take 
them  I  am  sure  the  Bey  would  have  declared  against  us,  and 
done  our  trade  some  damage."  No  advantage  could  have 
accrued  from  the  seizure  of  the  French  vessels,  at  all  pro- 
portioned to  the  inconvenience  of  having  the  hostility  of  Tunis, 
flanking  as  it  did  the  trade  routes  to  the  Levant.  The  British 
had  then  quite  enougli  on  their  hands,  without  detaching  an 
additional  force  from  the  north  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  to 
support  a  gratuitous  quarrel  on  the  south.  As  a  matter  of 
mere  policy  it  would  have  been  ill-judged. 

Nelson,  however,  did  not  as  yet  at  all  realize  the  wideness 
of  the  impending  struggle,  for  it  was  in  these  very  letters  tliat 
he  expressed  a  wish  to  exchange  to  the  West  Indies.  "  You 
know,"  he  writes  to  his  old  friend  Locker,  "  that  Pole  is  gone 
to  the  West  Indies.  I  have  not  seen  him  since  his  order,  but 
I  know  it  was  a  thing  he  dreaded.  Had  I  been  at  Toulon  I 
should  have  been  a  candidate  for  that  service,  for  I  think  our 
sea  war  is  over  in  these  seas."  Perhaps  his  intrinsic  merit 
would  have  retrieved  even  such  a  mistake  as  we  can  now  see 
this  would  have  been,  and  he  would  there  have  come  sooner 
into  contact  with  Sir  John  Jervis  —  to  whom,  if  to  any  one, 
the  name  of  patron  to  Nelson  may  be  applied  —  for  Jervis  then 
had  the  West  India  command ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
Nelson's  career  apart  from  the  incidents  of  his  Mediterranean 
service.  The  Mediterranean  seems  inseparable  from  his  name, 
and  he  in  the  end  felt  himself  identified  with  it  beyond  all 
other  waters. 

His  longing  for  action,  which  prompted  the  desire  for  the 
West  Indies,  was  quickly  gratified,  for  orders  were  received 
from  Hood,  by  Linzee,  to  detach  him  from  thr  latter^s  com- 
mand. The  admiral  sent  him  a  very  handsome  letter  upon 
his  single-handed  combat  with  the  French  frigates,  and  directed 
him  to  go  to  the  north  end  of  Corsica,  to  take  charge  of  a 
division  of  vessels  he  would  there  find  cruising,  and  to  search 
for  his  late  enemies  along  that  coast  and  through  the  neighbor- 
ing waters,  between  the  island  and  the  shores  of  Italy.     He 


high 


COMMAND  OFF   CORSICA 


90 


was  also  to  warn  off  neutral  vessels  bound  to  Genoa,  that  port 
being  declared  bloctkaded,  and  to  seize  them  if  they  persisted 
in  their  voyage  thither.  "  I  consider  this  command  as  a  very 
high  compliment,"  wrote  Nelson  to  his  uncle  Suckling,  "there 
being  five  older  captains  in  the  fleet."  This  it  certainly  was, 
—  a  compliment  and  a  prophecy  as  well. 

In  pursuance  of  these  orders  Nelson  left  Tunis  on  the  30th 
of  Noveiaber,  and  on  the  8th  of  December  discovered  the 
French  squadron,  protected  by  shore  batteries,  in  San  Fiorenzo 
Bay,  in  Corsica.  This  island,  which  during  the  middle  ages, 
and  until  some  twenty  years  before  the  beginning  of  the 
French  Revolution,  was  a  dependencjy  of  Genoa,  had  then  by 
the  latter  been  ceded  to  France,  against  the  express  wishes  of 
the  inhabitants,  whose  resistance  Avas  crushed  only  after  a 
prolonged  struggle.  Although  it  was  now  in  open  revolt 
against  the  llevolutionary  government,  the  troops  of  the  latter 
still  held  three  or  four  of  the  principal  seaports,  among  them  tlie 
northern  one  in  which  the  frigates  then  lay,  as  well  as  "Bastia 
upon  the  east  coast  of  the  island,  and  Calvi  on  the  west.  His 
force  being  insufficient  to  engage  the  works  of  any  of  these 
places,  there  was  nothing  for  Nelson  to  do  but  to  blockade 
them,  in  hopes  of  exhausting  their  resources  and  at  least  pre- 
venting the  escape  of  the  ships  of  war.  In  this  he  was 
successful,  for  the  latter  either  were  destroyed  or  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Great  Biitain,  when  the  ports  were  reduced. 

Meanwhile  affairs  at  Toulon  were  approaching  the  crisis 
which  ended  its  tenure  by  tho  British  and  their  allies.  The 
garrison  had  never  been  sufficient  to  man  properly  the  very 
extensive  lines,  which  the  peculiar  configuration  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  made  it  necessary  to  occupy  for  the  security 
of  the  town  ;  and  the  troops  themselves  were  not  only  of 
different  nations,  but  of  very  varying  degrees  of  efficiency. 
Under  these  conditions  the  key  of  tiie  position,  accurately  in- 
dicated by  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  then  a  major  and  in  command 
of  the  artillery,  was  held  in  insufficient  force,  and  was  success- 
fully stormed  on  the  night  of  December  16,  1793.  It  was 
immediately  recognized  that  the  ships  could  no  longer  remain 
in  the  harbor,  and  that  with  them  the  land  forces  also  must 
depart.  After  two  days  of  hurried  preparations,  and  an 
attempt,  only  partially  successful,  to  destroy  the  dockyard  and 


'  i 


ii: 


H 


:i    {■■ 


f 

1: 

» 

■ 

( 

1 1 

'  i 

Ml 


100 


tup:  life  of  nelsox 


r.if. 


French    ships   of   war,   the   fleets  sailed  out  on  the  19th  of 
December,  carrying  with  them,  besides  the  soldiery,  as  many 
as  possible  of  the  wretched  citizens,  who  were  forced  to  fly  in 
■  confusion  and  misery  from  their  homes,  in  order  to  escape  the 
sure  and  fearful  vengeance  of  the  liepublican   government. 
The  "  Agamemnon  "  was  in  Leghorn,  getting  provisions,  when 
the  fugitives  arrived  there,  and  Nelson  speaks  in  vivid  terms 
of  the  impression  made  upon  him  by  the  tales  he  heard  and 
the  sights  he  saw.     "Fathers  are  here  without  families,  and 
families  without  fathers,  the  pictures  of  horror  and  despair." 
"  In  short,  all  is  horror.    I  cannot  write  all :  my  mind  is  deeply 
impressed  with   grief.     Each   teller    makes   the   scene   more 
horrible."     He  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  evacuation  was 
a  benefit  to  England,  and  it  unquestionably  was.     He  had  not 
always  thought  so  ;  but  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  hopes  and 
exultation  with  which  he  greeted  the  acquisition  of  the  place 
had  sufficient  foundation,  in  the  reported  attitude  of  the  people 
of  Southern  France,  to  justify  the  first  opinion- as  Avell  as  the 
last.     The  attempt  was  worth  making,  though  it  proved  unsuc- 
cessful.    As  it  was,  the  occupation  had  resulted  in  a  degree  of 
destruction  to  the  French  ships  and  arsenal  in  Toulon,  which, 
though  then  over-estimated,  was  a  real  gain  to  the  allies. 


'.  ? 


CHAPTER  IV. 

REDircTioN  OF  CoKsicA  BY  THE  BuiTisii.  —  Dki'ahtl'ue  of  Loud  Hood 
FOR  England.  —  The  "Agamemnon  "  REFiiTED  at  Leghorn. 


January-December,  1794.     Age,  35. 

BY  the  loss  of  Toulon  the  British  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean 
was  left  adrift,  without  any  secure  harbor  to  serve  as  a 
depot  for  supplies  and  a  base  for  extended  operations.  Hood 
took  his  ships  to  Hyeres  Bay,  a  few  miles  east  of  Toulon,  a 
spot  where  they  could  lie  safely  at  anchor,  but  which  was  un- 
suitable for  a  permanent  establishment, —  the  shores  not  being 
tenable  against  French  attack.  He  now  turned  his  eyes  upon 
Corsica,  whence  the  celebrated  native  chieftain,  Paoli,  who  had 
led  the  natives  in  their  former  struggle  against  France,  had 
made  overtures  to  him,  looking  to  the  union  of  the  island  to 
the  British  crown.  Nelson  in  person,  or,  during  his  brief 
absence  in  Leghorn,  his  division,  had  so  closely  invested  the 
shores,  that  neither  troops  nor  supplies  of  any  kind  had  been 
able  to  enter  since  the  early  part  of  December,  nor  had  the 
blockaded  vessels  been  able  to  get  out.  The  thoroughness 
with  which  this  work  was  done  brought  him,  on  the  6th  of 
January,  1794,  yet  further  compliments  from  Hood,  who 
wrote  him  that  ''he  looked  upon  these  frigates  as  certain, 
trusting  to  my  zeal  and  activity,  and  knows,  if  it  is  in  the 
power  of  man  to  have  them,  I  will  secure  them."  At  the  same 
time  he  was  instructed  to  enter  into  communication  with  Paoli, 
and  settle  plans  for  the  landing  of  the  troops.  In  attending 
to  this  commission  his  intermediary  was  Lieutenant  George 
Andrews,  brother  to  the  lady  to  whom  he  had  become  attached 
at  St.  Omer,  and  who  had  afterwards  been  a  midshipman  with 
him  on  board  the  "Boreas."  "This  business  going  through 
my  hands,"  he  wrote  with  just  pride,  "is  a  proof  of  Lord 
Hood's  confidence  in  me,  and  that  I  shall  pledge  myself  for 
nothing  but  what  will  be  acceptable  to  him."    It  was  indeed 


J I 


I  -   I 


■f1 


{.:!• 


[| 


1.1 


1. 


4 


t  'I 


102 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


evident  that  Hood  was  more  and  more  reposing  in  him  a 
piBCuliar  trust,  a  feeling  which  beyond  most  others  tends  to 
increase  by  its  own  action.  Nelson  repaid  him  with  the  most 
unbounded  admiration.  "The  Lord  is  very  good  friends  with 
mc,"  he  writes  ;  ''lie  is  certainly  the  best  ofHcer  1  ever  saw. 
Everything  from  him  is  so  clear  it  is  impossible  to  misunder- 
stand him."  "His  zeal,  his  activity  for  the  honour  and  benefit 
of  his  country,"  he  says  at  anoUier  time,  "are  not  abated. 
Upwards  of  seventy,  he  possesses  the  mind  of  forty  years  of 
age.  He  has  not  a  thougiit  separated  from  honour  and  glory." 
The  flattering  proofs  of  his  superior's  esteem,  and  the  demand 
made  u])Dn  his  natural  powers  to  exert  themselves  freely,  had 
a  very  benehcial  effect  upon  his  health  and  spirits.  It  v;as 
not  effort,  however  protracted  and  severe,  but  the  denial  of 
oppoitunity  to  act,  whether  by  being  left  unemployed  or 
through  want  of  information,  that  wore  Nelson  down.  "  I 
have  not  bten  one  hour  at  anchor  for  pleasure  in  eight  months  ; 
but  I  can  assure  you  I  never  was  better  in  health." 

Meanwhile  a  commission  from  the  fleet  arrived  in  Corsica. 
Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  the  representative  of  the  British  govern- 
ment in  the  island,  was  at  its  head,,  and  with  him  were  associ- 
ated two  army  officers,  one  of  whom  afterwards  became  widely 
celebrated  as  Sir  John  Moore.  Al  satisfactory  agreement 
being  concluded.  Hood  sailed  from  Hyeres  Bay  with  the  ships 
and  troops,  and  operations  began  against  San  Fiorenzo,  termi- 
nating in  tiie  evacuation  of  the  place  by  the  French,  who  upon 
the  19th  of  February  retreated  by  land  to  Bastia.  Nelson  was 
not  immediately  connected  with  this  undertaking;  but  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  two  of  the  four  frigates,  of 
whose  detention  in  the  island  he  was  the  immediate  cause, 
were  here  lost  to  the  enemy.  He  was  during  these  weeks  ac- 
tively employed  harrying  the  coast  —  destroying  depots  of 
stores  on  shore,  and  small  vessels  laden  with  supplies.  These 
services  were  mainly,  though  not  entirely,  rendered  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Bastia,  a  strongly  fortified  town,  which  Avas 
to  become  the  next  object  of  the  British  efforts,  and  the  scene 
of  his  own  exertions.  There,  also,  though  on  a  comparatively 
small  scale,  he  was  to  give  striking  evidence  of  the  character- 
istics which  led  him  on,  step  by  step,  to  his  great  renown. 

When  Hood  hiniself  took  command   at   San  Fiorenzo,  he 


■'•'i^l 

m 

i      !'{ 


!  ( 


were 


SIEGE  OK  BASTIA 


103 


relieved  Nelson  from  that  part  of  his  charge,  and  sent  him  on 
the  7th  of  February  to  blockade  JJastia, — a  strictly  detached 
service,  and  one  of  the  utmost  importance,  as  upon  the  inter- 
cepting of  supplies  the  issue  of  the  siege  largely  turned. 
Three  weeks  later,  on  tii  i  1st  of  ManjJi,  Nelson  wrote :  "  We 
are  still  in  the  busy  scene  of  war,  a  situation  in  which  I  own  I 
feel  pleasure,  more  especially  us  my  actions  have  given  great 
satisfaction  to  my  ^'ommander-in-chief.  The  blocking  up  of 
Corsica  he  left  to  me:  it  has  been  accomplished  in  the  most 
complete  manner,  not  a  boat  got  in,  nor  a  soldier  landed, 
although  eight,  thousand  men  were  embarked  at  Nice  ;"  and, 
he  might  have  added,  although  a  vessel  was  said  to  sail  from 
Nice  every  thirty-six  hours.  Nor  was  his  activity  contined  to 
blockading.  He  continually  reconnoitered  the  town  and  the 
works,  in  doing  which  on  the  li3d  of  February  he  engaged  the 
batteries  at  short  range,  with  the  "Agamemnon"  and  two 
frigates,  —  the  action  lasting  for  nearly  two  hours.  While  it 
was  at  its  height,  the  heads  of  the  British  columns,  coming 
from  San  Fiorenzo,  only  twelve  miles  distant  by  land,  were 
seen  upon  the  heights  overlooking  Bastia  from  the  rear. 
"  What  a  noble  sight  it  must  have  been "  to  them !  wrote 
Nelson  enthusiastically,  in  the  ardor  of  his  now  opening 
career,  —  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  hero  of  a  hun- 
dred lights  was  even  then  but  beginning  to  taste  that  rapture 
of  the  strife,  in  which  he  always  breathed  most  freely,  as 
though  in  his  native  element. 

Bastia,  as  he  saw  it  and  reported  to  Lord  Hood,  was  a 
walled  town  with  central  citadel,  of  some  ten  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, on  the  east  coast  of  Corsica,  and  twenty  mile?  south  of 
Cape  Corso,  the  northern  extremity  of  the  island.  The  main 
fortifications  were  along  the  sea-front ;  but  there  was,  besides, 
a  series  of  detached  works  on  either  flank  and  to  the  rear. 
The  latter  not  only  guarded  the  approaches  from  the  interior, 
but  also,  being  situated  on  the  hills,  much  above  the  town, 
were  capable  of  commanding  it,  in  case  of  an  enemy  gaining 
possession.  Nelson,  while  modestly  disclaiming  any  pre- 
sumptuous dependence  upon  his  own  judgment,  expressed  a 
decided  opinion,  based  upon  the  engagement  of  the  2.3d,  that 
the  "  Agamemnon  "  and  the  frigates  could  silence  the  fire  of  the 
sea-front,  batter  down  the  walls,  and  that  then  five  hundred 


I  ;'■•■ 


)'l    !H 


•'  -jt 


I      ' 


M 


104 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


Im^ 


I'l 


hi  ^'' 


troops  could  carry  the  place  by  assault.  "  That  the  works  on 
the  hills  would  aunoy  the  town  afterwards  is  certain,  but  the 
enemy  being  cut  off  from  all  supplies  —  the  provisions  in  the 
town  being  of  course  in  our  possession  —  would  think  of 
nothing  but  making  the  best  terms  they  could  for  themselves." 
To  his  dismay,  however,  and  to  the  extreme  annoyance  of  the 
admiral,  General  Dundas,  commanding  the  army,  refused  to 
move  against  Bastia,  condemning  the  attempt  as  visionary 
and  rash.  Meantime  the  Frencli,  unmolested  except  by  the 
desultory  efforts  of  the  insurgent  Corsicans,  were  each  day 
strengthening  their  works,  and  converting  the  possibilities 
Xelson  saw  into  the  impossibilities  of  the  cautious  general. 

Hood  on  the  25th  of  February  came  round  from  San 
riorenzo  to  Bastia;  but  he  purposely  brought  with  him  no 
captain  senior  to  Nelson,  in  order  that  the  latter  might  remain 
in  charge  of  the  operations  he  had  begun  so  well.  When 
Dundas  retreated  again  to  San  Fiorenzo,  Hood  on  the  3d  of 
JMarch  followed  him  there  with  the  flagship,  to  urge  his  co- 
operation ;  leaving  Nelson  with  six  frigates  to  conduct  the 
blockade  and  take  such  other  steps  as  the  opportunities  might 
jut'tify.  By  the  middle  of  March,  nearly  three  months  having 
elapsed  since  her  last  hasty  visit  to  Leghorn,  the  "Agamem- 
non "  was  wholly  destitute  of  supplies.  "  We  are  really,"  wrote 
Kelson  to  Hood,  '*  without  firing,  wine,  beef,  pork,  flour,  and 
almost  without  water :  not  a  rope,  canvas,  twine,  or  nail  in  the 
ship.  The  ship  is  so  light  she  cannot  hold  her  side  to  the 
wind.  .  .  .  We  are  certainly  in  a  bad  plight  at  present,  not  a 
man  has  slept  dry  for  many  months.  Yet,"  he  continues,  with 
that  indomitable  energy  which  made  light  of  mere  difficulties 
of  material,  and  conveys  so  impressive  a  lesson  to  our  modern 
days,  when  slight  physical  defects  appear  insurmountable, 
and  ships  not  wholly  up  to  date  are  counted  obsolete,  —  "  yet, 
if  your  Lordship  wishes  me  to  remain  off  Bastia,  I  can,  by 
going  to  Porto  Ferrajo,  get  water  and  stores,  and  twenty-fovir 
hours  in  Leghorn  will  give  us  provisions;  and  our  refitting, 
which  will  take  some  time,  can  be  put  off  a  little.  My  wish  is 
to  be  present  at  the  attack  of  Bastia." 

On  the  18th  of  March  Hood  summoned  him  to  San  Fiorenzo. 
The  difference  between  him  and  Dundas  had  become  a  quarrel, 
and  the  latter  had  quitted  his   comma.id.     Hood  wished  to 


of 


SIEGE  OF  HASTIA 


105 


strengthen  the  argument  with  his  suei'pssor,  by  a  report  of  the 
observations  made   by  Nelson ;  but  the   hitter   records   that, 
after  expressing  his  opinion  that  eight  hundred  troops  with 
four  hundred  seamen  could  reduce  the  place,  it  was  found  that 
all  the  army  was  united  against  an  attack,  declaring  the  im- 
possibility of  taking  Bastia,  even  if  all  the  force  were  united, 
—  and  this,  notwithstanding  that  an  engineer  and  an  artillerj- 
officer  had  visited  the  scene,  and  agreed  with  Nelson  that  there 
was  a  probability  of  success.    On  the  north  side  both  tliey  and 
he  considered  the  place  weak,  and  at  the  same  time  found  the 
ground  favorable  for  establishing  the  siege  guns.    Moreover, 
even  during  the  winter  gales,  he  had  succeeded  in  so  closing 
the  sea  approaches,  while  the  revolted  Corsicans  intercepted 
those  by  land,  that  a  pound  of  coarse  bread  was  selling  for 
three  francs.     The  spring  equinox  was  now  near  at  hand,  and 
with  better  weather  the  blockade  would  be  yet  more  efficient. 
Between  actual  attack  and  famine,  he  argued,  the  place  must 
fall.     "Not  attacking  it  I  could  not  but  consider  as  a  national 
disgrace.     If  the  Army  will  not  take  it,  we  must,  by  some  way 
or  other." 

If  every  particular  operation  of  war  is  to  be  considered  by 
itself  alone,  and  as  a  purely  professional  question,  to  be  deter- 
mined by  striking  a  balance  between  the  arguments  pro  and 
con,  it  is  probable  that  the  army  officers  were  right  in  their 
present  contention.  In  nothing  military  was  scientific  accu- 
racy of  prediction  so  possible  as  in  forecasting  the  result  and 
duration  of  a  regular  siege,  where  the  force  brought  to  bear  on 
either  side  could  be  approximately  known.  But,  even  in  this 
most  methodical  and  least  inspired  of  processes,  the  elements 
of  chance,  of  the  unforeseen,  or  even  the  improbable,  will 
enter,   disturbing   the    most   careful    calculations.      For   this 


to 


reason,  no  case  must  be  decided  p\irely  on  its  individual 
merits,  without  taking  into  account  the  other  conditions  of  the 
campaign  at  large.  For  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  the 
British  had  undertaken,  not  to  conquer  a  hostile  island,  but  to 
effect  the  deliverance  of  a  people  who  were  already  in  arms, 
and  had  themselves  redeemed  their  country  with  the  exception 
of  two  or  three  fortified  seaports,  for  the  reduction  of  which 
they  possessed  neither  the  materials  nor  the  technical  skill. 
To  pause   in   the   movement  of  advance   was,  with  a  half- 


^'''  r^;  I 


!;• 


I 

If' 


I  ,.-, 


ih 


..'  ! 


r  1 


;!■ 


■■■ 


106 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


;!i'" 


r\ 


civilized  race  of  unstable  temperament,  to  risk  everything. 
lUit  besides,  for  the  mere  purpose  of  the  blockade,  it  was  im- 
perative to  force  the  enemy  as  far  as  possible  to  contract  his 
lines.  Speaking  of  a  new  work  thrown  up  north  of  the  town, 
Nelson  said  with  accurate  judgment :  "It  must  be  destroyed, 
or  the  Corsicans  will  be  obliged  to  give  up  a  post  which  the 
enemy  would  immediately  possess  ;  and  of  course  throw  us  on 
that  side  at  a  greater  distance  from  Bastia."  The  result  would 
be,  not  merely  so  much  more  time  and  labor  to  be  expended, 
nor  yet  only  the  moral  eifect  on  either  party,  but  also  the  un- 
covering of  a  greater  length  of  seaboard,  by  which  supplies 
might  be  run  into  the  town. 

The  strength  of  the  place,  in  which,  when  it  fell,  were  found 
"  seventy-seven  pieces  of  ordnance,  with  an  incredible  amount 
of  stores,"  was  far  superior  to  that  estimated  by  the  eye  of 
Nelson,  untrained  as  an  engineer.  Not  only  so,  but  the  fon;e 
within  the  walls  was  very  much  larger  thai  he  thought,  when 
he  spoke  with  such  confidence.  "  I  never  yet  told  Loj-d  Hood," 
he  wrote  nearly  a  year  later,  "that  after  everything  was  fixed 
for  the  attack  of  Bastia,  I  had  information  given  me  of  the 
enormous  number  of  troops  we  had  to  oppose  us ;  but  my  own 
honour,  Loi.l  Hood's  honour,  and  the  honour  of  our  Country 
must  have  all  been  sacrificed,  had  I  mentioned  what  I  knew ; 
therefore  you  will  believe  what  must  have  been  my  feelings 
during  the  whole  siege,  when  I  had  often  proposals  made  to 
me  by  men,  now  rewarded,  to  write  to  Lord  Hood  to  raise  the 
siege."  "  Had  this  been  an  English  town,"  he  said  immediately 
after  the  surrender,  "  I  am  sure  it  would  not  have  been  taken 
by  them.  The  more  we  see  of  this  place,  the  more  we  ai*e 
astonished  at  their  giving  it  up,  but  the  truth  is,  the  different 
parties  were  afraid  to  trust  each  other."  The  last  assertion, 
if  correct,  conveys  just  one  of  those  incidents  which  so  fre- 
(j^uently  con'^ur  to  insure  the  success  of  a  step  rightly  taken, 
as  that  of  iSelson  and  Hood  in  this  instance  certainly  was. 
"  Forty-five  hundred  men,"  he  continues,  "  have  laid  down 
their  arms  to  under  twelve  hundred  troops  and  seamen.  If 
proofs  were  wanting  to  show  that  perseverance,  unanimity, 
and  gallantry,  cnin  accomplish  almost  incredible  things,  we  are 
an  additional  instance." 

"  I  always  was  of  opinion,"  he  wrote  in  the  exultation  of 


SIKGE   OF  BASTIA 


lOT 


are 
of 


reaction  from  the  weight  of  responsibility  he  had  assumed  by 
his  secreey,  —  "I  always  was  of  oi)ini()n,  have  ever  acted  up 
to  it,  and  nciver  liave  had  any  reason  to  repent  it,  that  one 
Englishman  was  equal  to  three  Frenchmen."  This  curious 
bit  of  the  gasconade  into  which  Nelson  from  time  to  time 
lapsed,  can  scarcely  be  accepted  as  a  sound  working  theory, 
or  as  of  itself  justifying  the  risk  taken;  and  yet  it  undoubt- 
edly, under  a  grossly  distorted  form,  portrays  the  tempera- 
ment which  enabled  him  to  capture  Bastia,  and  which  made 
him  what  he  was, — a  man  strong  en(mgh  to  take  great 
chances  for  adetpiate  ends.  "All  naval  operations  under- 
taken since  I  have  been  at  the  liead  of  the  government,"  said 
Napoleon,  "have  always  failed,  because  the  admirals  see 
double,  and  havf;  learned  —  where  I  do  not  know — that  war 
can  be  made  without  runnini  *'isks."  It  is  not  materu.l  cer- 
tainty of  succe!->!,  the  vjhih  fat  huh  which  is  the  great  snare  of 
the  mere  engineer,  or  of  the  merely  accomplished  soldier,  that 
points  the  way  to  heroic;  a(!hievements.  It  is  the  vivid  in- 
spiration that  enables  its  hapjjy  possessor,  at  critical  moments, 
to  see  and  follow  the  bright  clear  line,  whit^h,  like  a  ray  of 
light  at  midnight,  shining  among  manifold  doubtful  indica- 
tions, guides  his  steeps.  Whether  it  leads  him  to  success  or 
to  failure,  he  may  not  know  ;  but  that  it  is  the  path  of  wis- 
(U)m,  of  dut}',  and  of  honor,  he  knows  full  well  by  the  per- 
suasion within,  —  by  conviction,  the  fortifier  of  the  reason, 
though  not  by  sight,  the  assurance  of  demonstration.  Only 
a  man  cai)able  of  incurring  a  disaster  like  that  at  TenerifEe 
coidd  rise  to  the  level  of  daring,  whi(^h,  through  hidden  jierils, 
souglit  and  wrought  the  superb  triumj)!!  of  Abonkir  Bay.  Such 
is  genius,  that  rare  but  hazardous  gift,  which  sep;irat<^s  a  man 
from  Ids  fellows  by  a  chasm  not  to  !)e  bridged  by  human  will. 
Thus  endowed,  Nelson  before  the  walls  of  Bastia  showed, 
though  in  a  smaller  sphere,  and  therefore  with  a  lighter  lia/.ard, 
lIic  same  keen  perception,  the  same  instant  decision,  the  same 
unfaltering  resolve,  the  same  tenacity  of  jmrjmse,  that,  far 
over  and  beyond  the  glamour  of  mere  success,  have  rendered 
eternally  illustrious  the  days  of  St.  Vincent,  of  the  Nile,  and 
of  Copenhagen. 

Of  the  si)irit  which  really  actuated  him,  in  his  unwavering 
support  of  Lord  Hood's  inclination  to  try  the  doubtful  issue, 


■i^^ 


I   .   ■ 


108 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


many  interesting  instances  are  afforded  by  his  corresi)ondence. 
"  I  feel  for  the  honour  of  my  Country,  and  had  rather  be  beat 
tluin  not  make  the  attack.  If  we  do  not  try  we  can  never  be 
successful.  I  own  I  have  no  fears  for  the  final  issue  :  it  will 
be  conquest,  certain  we  will  deserve  it.  My  reputation  de- 
pends on  the  opinion  I  have  given ;  but  I  feel  an  honest  con- 
sciousness that  I  have  done  right.  We  must,  we  will  have  it, 
or  some  of  our  heads  will  be  laid  low.  I  glory  in  the  attempt." 
"What  would  the  immortal  Wolfe  have  done?"  he  says 
again,  refreshing  his  own  constancy  in  the  recollection  of  an 
equal  heroism,  crowned  with  success  against  even  greater 
odds.  "As  he  did,  beat  the  enemy,  if  he  perished  in  the  iit- 
tempt."  Again,  a  fortnight  later:  "We  are  in  high  health 
and  spirits  besieging  Bastia;  the  final  event,  I  feel  assured, 
will  be  conquest."  When  the  siege  had  already  endured  for 
a  month,  and  wdth  such  slight  actual  progress  as  to  compel 
him  to  admit  to  Hood  that  the  town  battery  had  been  "  put  in 
such  a  state,  that  firing  away  many  shot  at  it  is  almost  useless 
till  we  have  a  force  sufficient  to  get  nearer,"  his  confidence 
remains  unabated.  "  I  have  no  fears  about  the  final  issue," 
he  writes  to  his  wife  ;  "  it  will  be  victory,  Bastia  will  be  ours ; 
and  if  so,  it  must  prove  an  event  to  which  the  history  of  Eng- 
land can  hardly  boast  an  equal."  Further  on  in  the  same  letter 
he  makes  a  prediction,  so  singularlj'  accurate  as  to  excite  curi- 
osity about  its  source:  "  I  will  tell  you  as  a  secret,  Bastia  will 
be  ours  between  the  20th  and  24th  of  this  month  "  —  three 
weeks  after  the  date  of  writing  —  "if  succours  do  not  get  in." 
It  surrendered  actually  on  the  22d.  One  is  tempted  to  specu- 
late if  there  had  been  any  such  understanding  with  the  garrison 
as  was  afterwards  reached  with  Calvi ;  but  there  is  no  other 
token  of  such  an  arrangement.  It  is  instructive  also  to  com- 
pare this  high-strung  steadfastness  of  purpose  to  dare  every 
risk,  if  success  percliance  might  be  won  thereby,  with  his 
comment  upon  his  own  impulses  at  a  somewhat  later  date. 
"  My  disposition  cannot  bear  tame  and  slow  measures.  Sure 
I  am,  had  I  commanded  our  fleet  on  the  14*;h,  that  either  the 
whole  French  fleet  would  have  graced  my  tuamph,  or  I  should 
have  been  in  a  confounded  scrape."  Surely  the  secret  of  great 
successes  is  in  these  words. 

The  siege  of  Bastia  was   not  in   its  course  productive   of 


of 


BASTIA  TAKEN 


lUO 


striking  events.  Having  reasoned  in  vain  with  the  two  suc- 
cessive generals,  Hood  demanded  that  there  should  be  sent 
back  to  him  a  contingent  of  troops,  which  had  originally  been 
detailed  to  serve  as  marines  in  the  fleet,  but  which  he  had 
loaned  to  the  army  for  the  operations  against  San  Fiorenzo. 
Having  received  these,  he  returned  to  Bastia,  and  on  the  4th 
of  April,  1794,  the  besieging  force,  twelve  hundred  troops  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty  seamen,  landed  to  the  northward  of  the 
town.  They  at  once  began  to  throw  up  batteries,  while  the 
Corsicans  harassed  the  landward  approaches  to  the  place. 
Nelson  being  with  the  troops,  the  "  Agamemnon  "  with  some 
frigates  was  anchored  north  of  the  city.  Hood  with  his  ships 
south  of  it.  During  the  nights,  boats  from  the  fleet  rowed 
guard  near  to  the  sea-front,  with  such  diligence  that  few  of 
the  craft  that  attempted  to  run  in  or  out  succeeded  in  so 
doing.  When  darkness  covered  the  waters,  British  gunboats 
crept  close  to  the  walls,  and  by  an  intermitting  but  frequfent 
fire  added  much  to  the  distress  of  the  enemy.  On  the  11th 
of  April  the  garrison  was  formally  summoned,  and,  the  ex- 
pected refusal  having  been  received,  the  British  batteries 
opened.  There  was  not  force  enoi.gh,  however,  to  bring  the 
place  to  terms  as  a  consequence  of  direct  attack,  and  after 
three  weeks  Nelson,  while  betraying  no  apprehension  of  fail- 
ure, practically  admitted  the  fact.  "  Although  I  have  no 
doubt  but  even  remaining  in  our  present  situation,  and  by 
strict  guard  rowing  close  to  the  town,  and  the  Corsicans  har- 
assing them  on  the  hills,  and  the  gunboats  by  night,  but  that 
the  enemy  must  surrender  before  any  great  length  of  time, 
yet,  if  force  can  be  spared,  a  successful  attack  on  the  heights 
must  much  facilitate  a  speedy  capture.  I  own  it  will  give  me 
the  highest  pleasure  to  assist  in  the  attack." 

It  was  by  such  an  attack,  or  rather  by  the  fear  of  it,  coming 
upon  the  long  and  exhausting  endurance  of  cannonade  and 
hunger,  that  Bastia  finally  fell.  "We  shall  in  time  accom- 
})lish  the  taking  of  Bastia,"  wrote  Nelson  on  the  3d  of  May. 
"  I  have  no  doubt  in  the  way  we  proposed  to  attempt  it,  by 
bombardment  and  cannonading,  joined  to  a  close  blockade  of 
the  harbour."  "  If  not,"  he  adds,  "  our  Country  will,  I  be- 
lieve, sooner  forgive  an  officer  for  attacking  his  enemy  than 
for  letting  it  alone."    On  the  12th  a  large  boat  was  captured 


V  : 


1    '■  \i 


■    . 

1    , 1 

;, 

^ 

V.  t 

\  \ 

■    J  ■  I 

1;; 

•w 

no 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


coming  out  from  the  port ;  and  on  her  were  found  letters  from 
the  governor,  Gentili,  confessing  the  annoyance  caused  by  the 
British  tire,  and  saying  that  if  relief  did  not  arrive  by  the 
21)th,  the  place  must  be  looked  upon  as  lost.  Three  nights 
later  another  boat  was  caught  attempting  to  enter.  On  board 
her  was  a  brother  of  the  Mayor  of  Bastia.  This  man,  while 
talking  with  Hood's  secretary,  expressed  his  fears  tor  tlie 
result  to  his  relatives,  if  the  town  were  carried  by  ass.iult. 
The  secretary  replied  that  Hood  could  not  prevent  those  evils, 
if  the  garrison  awaited  the  attack,  and  gave  the  Corsican  to 
understand  that  it  was  imminent,  troops  being  expected  from 
Sau  Fiorenzo.  At  the  urgent  request  of  the  prisoner,  one  of 
the  seamen  taken  with  him  was  permitted  to  land  with  a  letter, 
stating  the  impending  danger.  By  a  singular  concidence,  or 
by  skilful  contrivance,  the  San  Fiorenzo  troops  appeared  on 
the  heights  upon  the  evening.  May  19,  following  this  conver- 
sation. Flags  of  truce  had  already  been  hoisted,  negotiations 
were  opened,  and  on  the  22d  the  French  colors  were  struck 
and  the  British  took  possession.  *'  When  I  reflect  what  we 
have  achieved,"  confessed  tlio  hitherto  outwardly  unmoved 
Nelson,  "  I  am  all  astonishment.  The  most  glorious  sight 
that  an  Englishman  can  experience,  and  which,  I  believe, 
none  but  an  Englishman  could  bring  about,  was  exhibited, — 
4,500  men  laying  down  their  arms  to  less  than  1,000  British 
soldiers,  who  were  serving  as  inarines."  As  towards  the 
French  this  account  is  perhaps  somewhat  less  than  fair ;  but 
it  does  no  more  than  justice  to  the  admirable  firmness  and 
enterprise  shown  by  Hood  and  Nelson.  As  a  question  of 
Bastia  only,  their  attempt  might  be  charged  with  rashness; 
but  having  regard  to  the  political  and  military  conditions,  to 
the  instability  of  the  Corsican  character,  and  to  the  value  of 
the  island  as  a  naval  station,  it  was  amply  justified,  for  the 
risks  run  were  out  of  all  proportion  less  than  the  advantage 
to  be  gained. 

Thus  the  siege  of  Bastia  ended  in  triumph,  despite  the 
prior  pronouncement  of  the  general  commanding  the  troops, 
that  the  attempt  was  "most  visionary  and  rash."  These 
epithets,  being  used  to  Hood  after  his  own  expressions  in 
favor  of  the  undertaking,  had  not  unnaturally  provoked  from 
him  a  resentful  retort ;  and,  as  men  are  rarely  conciliated  by 


(I  iii 


BASTIA  TAKEN 


111 


*   I 


the  success  of  measures  which  they  have  ridiculed,  there  arode 
a  degree  of  strained  relations  between  army  and  navy,  that 
continued  even  after  the  arrival  of  a  new  commander  of  the 
land  forces,  and  indeed  throughout  Hood's  association  with 
the  operations  in  Corsica. 

During  this  busy  and  laborious  period,  despite  his  burden 
of  secret  anxiety.  Kelson's  naturally  delicate  health  showed 
the  favorable  reaction,  which,  as  has  before  been  noted,  was 
with  him  the  usual  result  of  the  call  to  exertion.  His  letters 
steadily  reflect,  and  occasionally  mention,  the  glow  of  exulta- 
tion produced  by  constant  action  of  a  worthy  and  congenial 
nature.  **  We  are  in  high  health  and  spirits  besieging  Bastia," 
he  writes  to  his  wife  soon  after  landing;  and  shortly  before 
the  fall  of  the  place  he  says  again :  "  As  to  my  health,  it  was 
never  better,  seldom  so  well."  Yet,  although  from  beginning 
to  end  the  essential  stay  of  the  enterprise,  the  animating  soul, 
without  whose  positive  convictions  and  ardent  support  Lord 
Hood  could  scarcely  have  dared  so  great  a  hazard,  he  was 
throughout  the  siege  left,  apparently  purposely,  in  an  anoma- 
lous position,  and  was  at  the  end  granted  a  recognition  which, 
though  probably  not  grudging,  was  certainly  scanty.  No 
definition  of  his  duties  was  ever  given  by  the  commander-in- 
chief.  He  appears  as  it  were  the  latter's  unacknowledged 
representative  ashore,  a  plenipotentiary  without  credentials. 
"  What  my  situation  is,"  he  writes  to  a  relative,  "  is  not  to  be 
described.  I  am  everything,  yet  nothing  ostensible ;  enjoying 
the  confidence  of  Lord  Hood  and  Colonel  Villettes,  and  the 
captains  landed  with  the  seamen  obeying  my  orders."  A  fort- 
night later  he  writes  to  Hood  :  "  Your  Lordship  knows  exactly 
the  situation  I  am  in  here.  With  Colonel  Villettes  I  have  no 
reason  but  to  suppose  I  am  respected  in  the  highest  degree ; 
nor  have  I  occasion  to  complain  of  want  of  attention  to  my 
wishes  from  any  parties ;  but  yet  I  am  considered  as  not  com- 
manding the  seamen  landed.  My  wishes  may  be,  and  are, 
complied  with ;  my  orders  would  possibly  be  disregarded. 
Therefore,  if  we  move  from  hence,  I  would  wish  your  Lord- 
ship to  settle  that  point.  Your  Lordship  will  not,  I  trust, 
take  this  request  amiss :  I  have  been  struggling  with  it  since 
the  first  day  I  landed." 

Hood  apparently  gave  him  full  satisfaction  as  regards  his 


\U 


I      *e1  : 


I 


'i>: 


I  f 

Hi 


.  li! 


112 


THE  LIB^E  OF  NELSON 


own  view  of  the  situation.  <'  I  am  happy,"  Nelson  wrote,  when 
acknowledging  his  reply,  "  that  my  ideas  of  the  situation  I  am 
in  here  so  i)erfectly  agree  with  yov;r  Lordship's ; "  but  he  did 
not  settle  the  matter  by  a  decisive  order.  His  object,  as  he 
seems  to  have  explained,  was  to  bestow  a  certain  amount  of 
prominence  upon  a  young  captain.  Hunt,  who  liad  recently 
lost  his  ship,  and  who,  Hood  thought,  would  be  sooner  pro- 
vided with  another,  if  he  appeared  as  in  command  at  the  guns. 
Nelson  acceded  to  tiiis  arrangement  with  his  usual  generosity. 
"  Your  kind  intention  to  Captain  Hunt,"  he  wrote,  "  I  had  the 
honour  of  telling  your  Lordship,  should  be  furthered  by  every 
means  in  my  power;  and  my  regard  for  him,  I  assure  you,  is 
undiminished.  He  is  a  most  exceeding  good  young  man,  nor 
is  any  one  more  zealous  for  the  service.  I  don't  complain  of 
any  one,  but  an  idea  has  entered  into  the  heads  of  some  under 
him,  that  his  command  was  absolutely  distinct  from  me ;  and 
that  I  had  no  authority  over  him,  except  as  a  request."  Un- 
fortunately, Hood,  in  his  desire  to  serve  Hunt,  not  only  unduly 
but  absurdly  minimized  Nelson's  relations  to  the  whole  affair. 
His  despatch  ran :  "  Captain  Nelson,  of  his  Majesty's  ship 
Agam.emnon  'vho  had  the  command  and  directions  of  the  sea- 
men in  landing  the  gitns-,  mortars  and  stores,^  and  Captain 
Huuu  tvho  commanded  at  the  batteries,^  .  .  .  have  an  equal 
claim  to  my  gratitude."  To  limit  Nelson's  share  in  the 
capture  of  Bastia  to  the  purely  subsidiary  though  important 
function  of  landing  the  guns,  was  as  unjust  as  it  was  unneces- 
sary to  the  interests  of  Hunt.  The  latter,  being  second  in 
command  ashore,  and  afterwards  sent  home  with  the  de- 
spatches, was  sure  to  receive  the  reward  customarily  bestowed 
upon  such  services. 

The  incident  singularly  and  aptly  illustrates  the  difference, 
which  in  a  military  service  cannot  be  too  carefully  kept  in 
mind,  between  individual  expressions  of  opinion,  which  may  be 
biassed,  and  professional  reputation,  which,  like  public  senti- 
ment, usually  settles  at  last  not  far  from  the  truth.  Despite 
this  curious  inversion  of  the  facts  by  Lord  Hood,  there  prob- 
ably was  no  one  among  the  naval  forces,  nor  among  the 
soldiery,  who  did  not  thoroughly,  if  perchance  somewhat 
vaguely,  appreciate  that  Nelson  was  the  moving  spirit  of  the 

^  The  italics  are  the  author'a. 


SERVICES  BEFORE  DASTIA 


lis 


whole  operation,  even  beyond  Hood  himself.  As  the  Greek 
conimanders  utter  Salaniis  were  said  to  have  voted  the  award 
of  merit  each  to  himself  first,  but  all  to  Themibtocles  second, 
so  at  Bastia,  whatever  value  individuals  might  place  on  their 
own  services,  all  probably  would  have  agreed  that  Nelson 
came  next. 

The  latter  meantime  was  happily  unconscious  of  the  wrong 
done  him,  so  tliat  nothing  marred  the  pleasure  with  which  he 
congratulated  the  commander-in-chief,  and  received  the  latter's 
brief  but  hearty  general  order  of  thanks,  wherein  Nelson's 
own  name  stood  foremost,  as  was  due  both  to  his  seniority 
and  to  his  exertions.  When  the  despatch  reached  him,  he 
freely  expressed  his  discontent  in  letters  to  friends ;  but  being, 
at  the  time  of  its  reception,  actively  engaged  in  the  siege  of 
Calvi,  the  exhilaration  of  tliat  congenial  employment  for  the 
moment  took  the  edge  off  the  keenness  of  his  resentment. 
"  Lord  Hood  and  myself  were  never  better  friends  —  nor, 
although  his  Letter  does^  did  he  wish  to  put  me  where  I  never 
was  —  in  the  rear.  Captain  Hunt,  who  lost  his  ship,  he 
wanted  to  push  forward  for  another,  —  a  young  man  who  never 
was  on  a  battery,  or  ever  rendered  any  service  during  the 
siege ;  if  any  person  ever  says  he  did,  then  I  submit  to  the 
character  of  a  story-teller.  Poor  Serocold,  who  fell  here,** 
was  determined  to  publish  an  advertisement,  as  he  commanded 
a  battery  under  my  orders.  The  whole  operations  of  the  siege 
were  carried  on  through  Lord  Hood's  letters  to  me.  I  was  the 
mover  of  it  —  I  was  the  cause  of  its  success.  Sir  Gilbert 
Elliot  will  be  my  evident  "  any  is  required.  I  am  not  a 
little  vexed,  but  shall  not  quarrel,"  "  I  am  well  aware,"  he 
had  written  to  Mrs.  Nelson  a  few  days  before,  "  my  poor  ser- 
vices will  not  be  noticed :  I  have  no  interest ;  but,  however 
services  may  be  received,  it  is  not  right  in  an  officer  to  slacken 
his  zeal  for  his  Country." 

These  noble  words  only  voiced  a  feeling  which  lii  Nelson's 
heart  had  all  the  strength  of  a  princ  iple  ;  and  this  light  of  the 
single  eye  stood  him  in  good  stead  in  the  moments  of  bitterness 
which  followed  a  few  months  later,  when  a  lull  in  the  storm 
of  fighting  gave  the  sense  of  neglect  a  chance  to  rankle. 

1  The  italics  are  Nelson's. 

2  Written  at  the  siege  of  Calvi. 

8 


1 1 


•»       ,! 


114 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


fi 


"My  heart  is  full,"  he  writes  then  to  his  uncle  Suckling, 
speaking  not  only  of  liastia,  but  of  the  entire  course  of  ojjera- 
tions  in  Corsica,  "  when  I  think  of  the  treatment  I  have  re- 
ceived :  every  man  who  had  any  considerable  share  in  the 
reduction  has  got  some  place  or  other  —  I,  only  I,  am  without 
reward.  .  .  .  Nothing  but  my  anxious  endeavour  to  serve  my 
Country  makes  me  bear  up  against  it ;  but  1  sometimes  am 
ready  to  give  all  up."  "Forgive  this  letter,"  he  adds  towards 
tiie  end:  '•  I  have  said  a  great  deal  too  much  of  myself;  but 
indeed  it  is  all  too  true."  In  similar  strain  lie  exjjressed  him- 
self to  his  wife  :  "  It  is  very  true  that  I  have  ever  served  faith- 
fully, and  ever  has  it  been  my  late  to  be  neglected ;  but  that  shall 
not  make  me  inattentive  to  my  duty.  I  have  pride  in  doing 
my  duty  well,  and  a  self-approbation,  which  if  it  is  not  so 
lucrative,  yet  perhaps  affords  more  jdeasing  sensations."  Tlius 
the  consciousness  of  duty  done  in  the  past,  and  the  clear 
recognition  of  what  duty  still  demanded  in  the  present  and 
future,  stood  him  in  full  stead,  when  he  failed  to  receive  at 
the  hands  of  others  the  honor  he  felt  to  be  his  due,  and  which, 
he  never  wearied  in  proclaiming,  was  in  his  eyes  i)riceless, 
above  all  other  reward.  "Corsica,  in  respect  of  prizes,"  he 
wrote  to  IMrs.  Nelson,  "  produces  nothing  but  honour,  far 
above  the  consideration  of  wealth  :  not  that  I  despise  riches, 
quite  the  contrary,  yet  I  would  not  sacrifice  a  good  name  to 
obtain  them.  Had  I  attemled  less  than  I  have  done  to  the 
service  of  my  Country,  I  might  have  made  some  money  too : 
however,  I  trust  my  name  Avill  stand  on  record  when  the 
money-makers  will  be  forgot,"  —  a  hope  to  be  abundantly 
fulfilled. 

At  the  moment  Bastia  fell  there  arrived  from  England  a 
new  commander-in-chief  for  the  land  forces,  General  Stuart, 
an  officer  of  distinguished  ability  and  enterprise.  Cheered  by 
the  hope  of  cordial  co-operation.  Hood  and  Nelson  resumed 
without  delay  their  enthusiastic  efforts.  Within  a  week,  on 
the  SOtli  of  May,  the  latter  wrote  that  the  "  Agamemnon"  was 
taking  on  board  ammunition  for  the  siege  of  Calvi,  the  last 
remaining  of  the  hostile  strongholds.  In  the  midst  of  the 
preparations,  at  eleven  p.  m.  of  June  6,  word  was  received 
that  nine  French  ships-of-the-line  had  come  out  of  Toulon,  and 
were  believed  to  be  bound  for  Calvi,  with  reinforcements  for 


Ills  MILITARY   I'UINCIPLKS 


115 


the  garrison.  At  sev(Mi  the  next  morning  tlio  sciiiadron  was 
under  way  ;  tlie  '*  Agaiuoninon,"  which  had  two  hundred  tons 
of  ordnance  stores  to  unload,  sailing  only  half  an  hour  after  her 
less  encumbered  consorts,  whom  she  soon  overtook. 

Hood  shaped  his  course  for  Calvi,  being  constrained  thereto, 
not  only  by  the  rumor  of  the  enemy's  destination,  but  also  by 
the  military  necessity  of  effecting  a  junction  with  the  rest  of 
liis  fleet.  Admiral  llotham,  who  commanded  the  British 
division  of  seven  ships  in  front  of  Toidon,  instead  of  waiting 
to  verify  the  report  brought  to  liini  of  the  enemy's  force,  — 
which  was  actually  the  same,  numerically,  as  his  own,  —  boro 
up  hastily  for  Calvi,  intending,  so  wrote  Nelson  at  the  time, 
to  fight  them  there,  rather  than  that  they  should  throw  in 
suc(H)rs.  "Whatever  their  numbers,  thus  to  surrender  touch  of 
them  at  the  beginiiing  was  an  evident  mistake,  for  which,  as 
for  most  mistakes,  ;i  penalty  had  in  the  end  to  be  paid;  and 
in  fact,  if  the  i-'dief  of  Calvi  was  the  object  of  the  sortie,  the 
])lace  to  fight  was  evidently  as  far  from  there  as  possible. 
Utf  Toulon,  even  had  llotham  been  beaten,  his  ojiponents 
would  have  been  too  roughly  handled  to  carry  out  their  mis- 
sion. As  it  was,  this  precipitate  retirement  lost  the  British 
an  opportunity  for  a  combat  that  might  have  placed  their 
control  of  the  sea  beyond  peradventure;  and  a  few  months 
later,  Nelson,  who  at  first  had  viewed  Hotham's  action  with 
the  generous  sympathy  and  confident  pride  which  always 
characterized  his  attitude  towards  his  brother  otllicers,  showed 
how  clearly  he  was  reading  in  the  book  of  experience  the 
lessons  that  shoukl  afterwards  stand  himself  in  good  stead. 
"When  'Victory'  is  gone,"  ho  wrote,  "we  shall  be  thirteen 
sail  of  the  line  [to  the  French  fifteen],  when  the  enemy  will 
keep  our  new  Commanding  Officer  [llotham]  in  hot  water, 
who  missed,  unfortunately,  the  opportunity  of  fighting  them, 
last  June."  Ten  years  later,  in  his  celebrated  chase  of  Yille- 
neuve's  fleet,  he  said  to  his  captains  :  '''  If  we  meet  the  enemy 
we  shall  find  them  not  less  than  eighteen,  [  rather  think 
twenty^  sail  of  the  line,  and  therefore  do  not  be  surprised  if  I 
should  not  fall  on  them  immediately  [he  had  but  eleven]  —  ive 
tvon't  part  ^  without  a  battle  : "  and  he  expressed  with  the 
utmost  decision  his  clear  appreciation  that  even  a  lost  battle,  if 

1  Author's  italics. 


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THK  LIKK  OF  NKLSON 


delivered  at  the  right  point  or  at  the  right  inoment,  woukl 
frustrate  the  ulterior  objects  of  th<i  tuu'uiy,  by  crippling  the 
force  upon  which  they  depended.  As  will  be  seen  in  the 
sejpiel,  Ilothuni,  throughout  his  brief  command  as  Hood's 
successor,  suffered  the  consequences  of  permitting  so  impor- 
tant a  fraction  of  the  enemy's  tiei't  to  escape  hia  grasp,  when 
it  was  in  his  power  to  close  with  it. 

The  British  divisions  met  off  the  threatened  port  two  days 
after  leaving  IJastia,  and  two  hours  later  a  lookout  frigate 
brought  word  that  the  French  fleet  had  been  seen  by  her  the 
evening  before,  to  the  northward  and  westward,  S(jme  forty 
miles  off  its  own  coast.  Hood  at  once  made  sail  in  pursuit, 
and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  10th  of  June  caught  sight  of  the 
enemy,  but  so  close  in  with  the  shore  that  they  succeeded  in 
towing  their  ships  under  the  protection  of  the  batteries  in 
Golfe  Jouau,  where,  for  lack  of  wind,  he  was  unable  to  follow 
them  for  some  days,  during  which  they  had  time  to  strengthen 
their  position  beyond  his  powers  of  offence,  llotham's  error 
Avas  irreparable.  The  *'  Agamemnon  "  was  then  sent  back  to 
IJastia,  to  resume  the  work  of  transportation,  which  Nelson 
l)ushed  with  the  untiring  energy  that  characterized  all  his 
movements.  Arriving  on  the  12th,  fifteen  hundred  troops 
were  embarked  by  eight  the  next  morning,  and  at  four  in  the 
afternoon  he  sailed,  having  with  him  two  smaller  ships  of  war 
and  twenty -two  transports.  On  the  luth  he  anchored  at  San 
Fiorenzo. 

Here  he  met  General  Stuart.  The  latter  was  anxious  to 
proceed  at  once  with  the  siege  of  Calvi,  but  asked  Nelson 
whether  he  thought  it  proper  to  take  the  shipping  to  that 
exposed  position ;  alluding  to  the  French  fleet  that  had  left 
Toulon,  and  which  Hood  was  then  seeking.  Nelson's  reply 
is  interesting,  as  reflecting  the  judgment  of  a  warrior  at  once 
prudent  and  enterprising,  concerning  the  influence  of  a  hostile 
"fleet  in  being"  upon  a  contemplated  detached  operation. 
"  I  certainly  thought  it  right,"  he  said,  "  placing  the  firmest 
reliance  that  we  should  be  perfectly  safe  under  Lord  Hood's 
protection,  who  would  take  care  that  the  French  fleet  at  Gour- 
jean  ^  should  not  molest  us."  To  Plood  he  wrote  a  week  later : 
"I  believed  ourselves  safe  under  your  Lordship's  wing."  At 
J  Goll'e  Jouan  ;  on  the  coast  of  France  between  Toulon  and  Nice. 


OPEUATIONS  AGAINST   CALVI 


m 


this  monuMit  lie  tliouglit  tho  Froiicli  to  be  nine  sail-of-the-lino 
to  the  JJritisli  thirteen,  —  no  (jonteinptible  inferior  force.  Yet 
thiit  he  reeojjnizeil  tlie  jjossible  danger  lioni  sueh  a  detaeh- 
nient  is  also  clear;  lor,  writing  two  days  earlier,  under  the 
same  belief  as  to  the  enemy's  strength,  and  speaking  of  the 
expected  approach  of  an  important  convoy,  he  says  :  "  I  hope 
they  will  not  ventnre  up  till  Lord  Hood  can  get  off  Toulon, 
or  wherever  the  French  fleet  are  got  to."  When  a  pnrticular 
opinion  has  received  the  extreme  expression  now  given  to  that 
concernintj  the ''fleet  in  being,"  and  apparently  has  under- 
gone equally  extreme  misconception,  it  is  instructive  to  recur 
to  the  actual  effect  of  such  a  force,  upon  the  i)ractice  of  a  man 
with  whom  moral  effect  was  never  in  excess  of  the  facts  of 
the  case,  whose  imagination  produced  to  him  no  paralyzing 
picture  of  remote  contingencies.  Is  it  probable  that,  with  the 
great  issues  of  IGOO  at  stake,  Nelson,  had  he  been  in  Tour- 
ville's  place,  would  have  deemed  the  crossing  of  the  Channel 
by  French  troops  impossible,  because  of  Torrington's  "  Heet  iu 
being  "  ? 

Sailing  again  on  June  16,  the  expedition  arrived  next  day 
off  Calvi.  Although  it  was  now  summer,  the  difficulties  of 
the  new  undertaking  were,  from  the  maritime  point  of  view, 
very  great.  The  town  of  Calvi,  which  was  walled  and  had  a 
citadel,  lies  upon  a  promontory  on  the  west  side  of  an  open  gulf 
of  the  same  name,  a  semicircular  recess,  three  miles  wide  by 
t.vo  deep,  on  the  northwest  coast  of  Corsica.  The  western 
point  of  its  shore  line  is  Cape  Revellata ;  the  eastern,  Point 
Espano.  The  port  being  fortified  and  garrisoned,  it  was  not 
practicable  to  take  the  shipping  inside,  nor  to  establish  on  the 
inner  beach  a  safe  base  for  disembarking.  The  "  Agameuiuon  " 
therefore  anchored  outside,  nearly  two  miles  south  of  Cape 
Revellata,  and  a  mile  from  shore,  in  the  excessive  depth  of 
fifty-three  fathoms  ;  the  transports  coming-to  off  the  cape,  but 
farther  to  seaward.  The  water  being  so  deep,  and  the  bottom 
rocky,  the  position  was  perilous  for  sailing-ships,  for  the  pre- 
vailing summer  wind  blows  directly  on  the  shore,  which  is 
steep-to  and  affords  no  shelter.  Abreast  the  "  Agamemnon  " 
was  a  small  inlet,  Porto  Agro,  about  three  miles  from  Calvi  by 
difficult  approaches.  Here  Nelson  landed  on  the  18th  with 
General  Stuart;  and,  after  reconnoitring  both  the  beach  and  the 


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1'     ,;  q 


I; 


I, 


N«IM 


'III 


'•'] 


118 


THE  lAVE  OF  NKLSON 


town,  the  two  officers  decided  tliiit,  thougli  a  very  bad  landing, 
it  was  the  best  available.  On  the  iDth,  at  7  a.  m.,  the  troops 
disembarked.  That  afternoon  Nelson  himself  went  ashore  to 
stay,  taking  with  him  two  hundred  and  iifty  seamen.  The  next 
day  it  came  on  to  blow  so  hard  that  most  of  the  ships  put  to 
sea,  ai:d  no  intercourse  was  had  from  the  land  with  those 
which  remained.  The  "Agamemnon  "  did  not  return  till  the 
24th.  Lord  Hood  was  by  this  time  in  San  Fiorenzo  Bay,  having 
abandoned  the  hope  of  attacking  the  French  fleet  in  Golfe 
Jouan.  On  the  27th  he  arrivv^d  oft"  Calvi,  and  thenceforth  Nelson 
"vas  in  daily  communication  v/ith  him  till  the  place  fell. 

As  tfce  army  in  moderate,  though  not  wholly  adequate,  force 
conducted  the  siege  of  Calvi,  under  a  general  officer  of  vigor- 
ous character,  the  part  taken  by  Nelson  and  his  seamen, 
though  extremely  important,  and  indeed  essential  to  the  ulti- 
mate success,  was  necessarily  subordinate.  It  is  well  to  notice 
that  his  journal,  aii.l  correspondence  with  Lord  Hood,  clearly 
recognize  this,  his  true  relation  to  the  siege  of  Calvi ;  for  it 
makes  it  probable  that,  h\  attributing  to  himself  a  much  more 
important  part  at  Bastia,  and  in  saying  that  Hood's  report 
had  put  him  unfairly  in  the  background,  he  was  not  exag- 
gerating his  actual  though  ill-defined  position  there.  That 
Nelson  loved  to  dwell  in  thought  upon  his  own  achievements, 
that  distinction  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellows  was  dear  to  him, 
that  he  craved  recognition,  and  was  at  times  perhaps  too  in- 
sistent in  requiring  it,  is  true  enough  ;  but  there  is  no  indi- 
cation that  he  ever  coveied  the  laurels  of  others,  or  materially 
misconceived  his  own  share  in  particular  events.  Glory,  sweet 
as  it  was  to  him,  lost  its  value,  if  unaccompanied  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  desert  which  stamps  it  as  honor.  It  is,  there- 
fore, not  so  much  for  personal  achievement  as  for  revelation 
of  character  that  this  siege  has  interest  in  his  life. 

Besides  the  defences  of  the  town  proper,  Calvi  was  pro- 
tected by  a  seH<\s  of  outworks  extending  across  the  neck  of 
land  upon  which  it  lay.  Of  these  the  outermost  was  on  the 
left,  looking  from  the  place.  It  flanked  the  approaches  to 
the  others,  and  commanded  the  conimunications  with  the 
interior.  It  was,  by  Nelson's  estimate,  about  twenty-two 
hundred  yards  from  the  town,  and  had  first  to  be  reduced.  By 
the  3d  of  July  tliirteen  long  guns,  l>esides  a  number  of  mortars 


SIEGE  OF  CALVI 


lid 


and  howitzers,  had  been  dragged  from  the  beach  to  the  spot 
by  the  seamen,  who  also  assisted  in  placing  them  in  position, 
and  for  the  most  part  worked  them  in  battle,  an  artillerist 
from  the  army  pointing.  Nelson,  with  Captain  Hallowell, 
already  an  othcer  of  mark  and  afterwards  one  of  distinction, 
took  alternate  day's  duty  at  the  batteries,  a  third  captain, 
Serocold,  having  fallen  early  in  the  siege.  Eeaving  news 
might  reach  his  wife  tliat  a  naval  captain  had  been  killed, 
without  the  name  being  mentioned,  he  wrote  to  her  of  this  sad 
event,  adding  expressively :  "  I  am  very  busy,  yet  own  I  am 
in  all  my  glory ;  except  with  you,  I  would  not  be  anywhere 
but  where  I  am,  for  the  world."  On  July  '^th  the  first  out- 
work fell.  The  attack  upon  the  others  was  then  steadily  and 
systematically  prosecuted,  until  on  the  19th  all  had  been 
captured,  and  the  besiegers  stood  face  to  face  with  the  town 
V'alls. 

During  this  time  Nelson,  as  always,  was  continually  -.t  the 
froDt  and  among  the  most  exposed.  Out  of  six  guns  in  the 
battery  which  he  calls  "  ours,"  five  were  disabled  in  six  days. 
On  the  12th  at  daylight,  a  heavy  fire  opened  from  the  town, 
which,  he  says,  "  seldom  missed  our  battery  ;  "  and  at  seven 
o'clock  a  shot,  which  on  the  ricochet  cleared  his  head  by  a 
hair's  breadth,  drove  sand  into  his  face  and  right  eye  with 
such  violence  as  to  incapacitate  him.  He  spoke  lightly  and 
cheerfully  of  the  incident  to  Lord  Hood,  "  I  got  a  little  hurt 
this  morning:  not  much,  as  you  may  judge  by  my  writing," 
and  remained  absent  from  duty  only  the  regular  twenty-four 
hours ;  but,  after  some  fluctuations  of  hope,  the  sight  of  the 
eye  was  permanently  lost  to  him.  Of  General  Stuart's  con- 
duct in  the  operations  he  frequently  speaks  with  cordial 
admiration.  "He  is  not  sparing  of  himself  on  any  occasion, 
he  every  night  sleeps  with  us  in  the  advanced  battery.  If  I 
may  be  allowed  to  judge,  he  is  an  extraordinary  good  judge  of 
ground.  No  officer  ever  deserved  success  more."  At  the  same 
time  he  expresses  dissatisfaction  with  some  of  the  subordinate 
army  officers,  to  whose  inefficiency  he  attributes  the  necessity 
for  undue  personal  exertion  on  the  general's  part :  "  The 
General  is  not  well.  He  fatigues  himself  too  much,  but  I 
can't  help  seeing  he  is  obliged  to  do  it.  He  has  not  a 
person  to  forward  his  views,  —  the  engineer  sick,  the  artillery 


'n 


'ti  H- 


J  ^' 


120 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


'*, 


Mi 


;  ill 


captain  not  fit  for  active  service  ;  therefore  every  minute  thing 
must  be  done  by  himself,  or  it  is  not  done  at  all." 

The  Avork  was  tedious  and  exhausting,  and  the  malaria  of 
the  hot  Corsican  summer  told  heavily  on  men's  health  and 
patience.  The  supply  of  ammunition,  and  of  material  of  war 
generally,  for  the  army  seems  to  have  been  inadequate  ;  and 
heavy  demands  were  made  upon  the  fleet,  not  only  for  guns, 
which  could  be  returned,  but  for  powder  and  shot,  the  ex- 
penditure of  which  might  prove  embarrassing  before  they  could 
be  renewed.  The  troops  also  were  not  numerous  enough, 
under  the  climatic  conditions,  to  do  all  their  own  duty.  In 
such  circumstances,  when  two  parties  are  working  together  to 
the  same  end,  but  under  no  common  control,  each  is  prone  to 
think  the  other  behindhand  in  his  work  and  exacting  in  his 
demands.  "Why  don't  Lord  Hood  land  500  men  to  work  ?  " 
said  Colonel  Moore,  the  general's  right-hand  man.  "Our 
soldiers  are  tired.''  Nelson,  on  the  other  hand,  thought  that 
Moore  wanted  over-much  battering  done  to  the  breach  of  a 
work,  before  he  led  the  stormers  to  it ;  and  Hood,  who  was 
receiving  frequent  reports  of  the  preparations  of  the  French 
fleet  in  Toulon,  was  impatient  to  have  the  siege  pushed,  and 
thought  the  army  dilatory.  "The  rapidity  witli  which  the 
French  are  getting  on  at  Toulon,"  he  wrote  coniulentially  to 
Nelson,  "  makes  it  indispensably  necessary  for  me  to  put  the 
whole  of  the  fleet  under  my  command  in  the  best  possible 
state  ^or  service  ;  and  I  must  soon  apply  to  the  general  for 
those  parts  of  the  regiments  now  on  shore,  ordered  by  his 
Majesty  to  serve  in  lieu  of  marines,  i.o  be  held  in  readiness  to 
embark  at  the  shortest  notice.  I  shall  delay  this  application 
as  long  as  possible." 

Nelson,  being  a  seaman,  sympathized  of  course  with  his 
own  service,  and  with  Hood,  for  whom  he  had  most  cordial 
admiration,  both  personal  and  professional.  But  at  the  same 
time  he  was  on  the  spot,  a  constant  eye-witness  to  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  siege,  a  clear-headed  observer,  with  sound  military 
instincts,  and  fair-minded  when  facts  were  before  him.  The 
army,  he  wrote  to  Hood,  is  harassed  to  death,  and  he  notices 
that  it  suffers  from  sickness  far  more  than  do  the  seamen. 
He  repeats  the  request  for  more  seamen,  and,  although  he 
seems  to  doubt  the  reasonableness  of  tlie  demand,  evidently 


m 


FRICTION  BETWEEN  ARMY  AND  NAVY 


121 


JV 


thinks  that  they  shoi^H  be  furnished,  if  possible.  Hood 
accordingly  sent  an  ddditioual  detachment  of  three  hundred, 
raising  the  number  on  shore  to  the  five  hundred  suggested  by 
Moore.  "  I  had  much  rather,"  he  wrote,  "  that  a  hundred  bea- 
men  should  be  landed  unnecessarily,  than  that  one  should  be 
kept  back  that  was  judged  necessary."  On  the  other  hand, 
when  the  general,  after  a  work  bearing  on  the  bay  had  been 
destroyed,  suggests  that  th(i  navy  might  help,  by  laying  the 
ships  against  the  walls,  Nelson  takes  "  the  liberty  of  observ- 
ing that  the  business  of  laying  wdod  before  walls  was  much 
altered  of  late,"  and  adds  the  common-sense  remark,  that  "  the 
quantity  of  powder  and  shot  which  would  be  fired  away  on 
such  an  attack  could  be  much  better  directed  from  a  battery 
on  shore."  This  conversation  took  place  immediately  aftar 
all  the  outworks  had  been  reduced.  It  was  conducted  "  with 
the  greatest  politeness,"  he  writes,  and  "the  General  thanked 
me  for  my  assistance,  but  it  was  necessary  to  come  to  the 
point  whether  the  siege  should  be  persevered  in  or  given  up. 
If  the  former,  he  niu3t  be  supplied  with  the  means,  which 
were  more  troops,  more  seamen  to  work,  and  more  ainmuni- 
tion."  Nelson  replied  that,  if  the  requisite  means  could  not 
be  had  on  the  spot,  they  could  at  least  hold  on  where  they 
were  till  supplied  from  elsewhere. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Nelson  was  practically  the  inter- 
mediary between  the  two  commanders-in-chief.  In  fact,  there 
appears  to  have  been  between  tiiem  some  constraint,  and  he 
was  at  times  asked  to  transmit  a  message  which  he  thought 
had  better  go  direct.  In  this  particularly  delicate  situation, 
one  cannot  but  be  impressed  with  the  tact  he  for  the  most 
part  shows,  the  diplomatic  ability,  which  was  freely  attributed 
to  him  by  his  superiors  in  later  and  more  influential  commands. 
This  was  gi-eatly  helped  by  his  cordial  good-will  towards 
others,  combined  with  disintei'ested  zeal  for  the  duty  before 
him  ;  the  whole  illumined  by  unusual  sagacity  and  good  sense. 
He  sees  both  sides,  and  conveys  his  suggestions  to  cither  with 
a  self-restraint  and  deference  which  avert  resentment ;  and  he 
preserves  both  liis  calmness  and  candor,  although  he  notices 
in  the  camp  some  jealousy  of  his  confidential  communication 
with  his  immediate  superior,  the  admiral.  Though  never 
backward  to  demand  what  lie  thought  the  rights  of  himself  or 


122 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


his  associates,  Xelson  was  always  nat'urally  disposed  to  recon- 
cile diffeiences,  to  minimize  causes  of  trouble,  and  this  native 
temperament  had  not  yet  undergone  the  warping  which  fol- 
lowed his  later  wounds  —  especially  that  on  the  head  received 
at  the  Nile  —  and  the  mental  conflict  into  which  he  was 
l)lunged  hy  his  unhappy  passion  for  Lady  Hamilton.  At  this 
time,  in  the  flush  of  earlier  enthusiasm,  delighting  as  few  men 
do  in  the  joy  of  battle,  he  strove  to  promote  harmony,  to 
smooth  over  difficulties  by  every  exertion  possible,  eitliev  by 
doing  whatever  was  asked  of  him,  or  by  judicious  representa- 
t'ons  to  others.  Thus,  when  Hood,  impatient  at  the  disturb- 
ing news  from  Toulon,  wishes  to  hasten  the  conclusion  by 
summoning  the  garrison,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  yield  at 
once,  the  general  objected,  apparently  on  the  ground  that  the 
statement  of  their  own  advantages,  upon  which  such  a  sum- 
mons might  be  based,  would  be  prejudicial,  if,  as  was  most 
probable,  the  demand  was  rejected.  Whatever  his  reason. 
Nelson,  though  indirectly,  intimates  to  Hood  that  in  this 
matter  he  himself  agrees,  upon  the  whole,  with  the  general, 
and  Hood  yields  the  point,  —  the  more  so  that  he  learns  from 
Nelson  that  the  outposts  are  to  be  stormed  the  next  night ; 
and  sorely  was  the  captain,  in  his  judicious  efforts  thus  to 
keep  the  peace,  tried  by  the  postponement  of  the  promised 
assault  for  twenty -four  hours.  "Such  tli  hif/s  are  "  he  wrote 
to  Hood,  using  a  favorite  expression.  "  I  hope  to  God  the 
general,  who  seems  a  good  omcer  and  an  amiable  man,  is  not 
led  away ;  but  Colonel  Moore  is  his  great  friend." 

The  feeling  between  the  land  and  sea  services  was  empha- 
sized in  the  relations  existing  between  Lord  Hood  and  Colonel 
Moore,  who  afterwards,  as  Sir  John  Moore,  fell  gloriously  at 
Corunna.  To  these  two  eminent  officers  fortune  denied  the 
occasion  to  make  full  proof  of  their  greatness  to  the  world ; 
but  they  stand  in  the  first  rank  of  those  men  of  promise 
whose  failure  has  been  duo,  not  to  tlieir  own  shortcomings, 
but  to  the  lack  of  opportunity.  Sir  John  Moore  has  been  the 
happier,  in  that  the  enterprise  with  which  his  name  is  chiefly 
connected,  and  upon  which  his  title  to  fame  securely  rests, 
was  completed,  and  wrouglit  its  full  results ;  fortunate,  too,  in 
having  received  the  vindication  of  that  great  action  at  the 
hands  of  the  most  eloquent  of  military  historians.     His  coun- 


' 


KS.f- 


"■V 


!!  i! 


ADMIRAL,   LORD    HOOD. 
From  the  painting  by  L.  F.  Abbott,  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 


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oi)enin{ 
Jiighest 
it  did  : 
poses  1 
so  to  03 
nato  pc 
genius  i 
plans  a1 
former 
realize  ] 
the  issi 
It  is 
stand  Ci 
was  "of 
—  "  full 
service 
by  Kipi 
upon  lie 
it  is  pos 
they  we: 
most  un 
to  a  na^ 
than  bla 
and  aft( 
Nelson  r 
who  was 
Xo  posil 
than  to 
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Moore's 
made  its 
and  Nels 
a  junior, 
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Moore  ai 
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HOOD  AND   MOORE 


V2i\ 


try  and  his  profession  may  well  mourn  a  career  of  such  fair 
opening  so  soon  cut  short.  But  daring  and  original  in  the 
highest  degree  as  was  the  marcli  from  Salanmnca  to  Sahagun, 
it  did  not  exceed,  either  in  originality  or  in  daring,  the  pur- 
poses nourished  by  Lord  Hood,  wliich  he  had  no  opportunity 
so  to  execute  as  to  attra(!t  attention.  Condemned  to  subordi- 
nate positions  iintil  he  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy,  his 
genius  is  known  to  us  only  by  his  letters,  and  by  the  frustrated 
plans  at  St.  Kitts  in  lltSli,  and  at  Golfc  Jouan  in  1704,  in  the 
former  of  which,  less  fortunate  than  Moore,  he  failed  to 
realize  his  well-grounded  hope  of  reversing,  by  a  single  blow, 
the  issues  of  a  campaign. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  two  such  men  could  not  under- 
stand each  other  cordially.  Hood,  we  knov/  from  his  letters, 
was  "of  that  frame  and  texture  that  I  cannot  be  indifferent," 
—  "  full  of  anxiety,  impatience,  and  ai)prehension,"  —  when 
service  seemed  to  him  slothfuUy  done.  Moore,  Ave  are  told 
by  Napier,  ''  maintained  tlie  right  with  vehemence  bordering 
upon  fierceness."  Had  he  had  the  cliiof  command  on  shore, 
it  is  possible  that  the  two,  impetuous  and  self-asserting  though 
they  wer*^,  might  have  reached  an  understanding.  But  in  the 
most  unfortunate  disagreement  about  Bastia,  —  wherein  it  is 
to  a  naval  ofHcer  of  to-day  scarcely  possible  to  do  otherwise 
than  bla:u°-  the  sullen  lack  of  enterprise  shown  by  the  army,  — 
and  after\.  ,irds  at  Calvi,  IVIoore  appeared  to  Hood,  and  to 
Nelson  also,  as  the  subordinate,  the  power  behind  the  throne, 
who  was  prompting  a  line  of  action  they  both  condemned. 
No  position  in  military  life  is  more  ])rovocative  of  tr0i"'ble 
than  to  feel  you  are  not  dealing  with  the  princii)al,  but  with 
an  irresponsible  Inferior ;  and  thu  situation  is  worse,  becai^se 
one  in  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  come  to  an  '..-ii^'-. 
Moore's  professional  talent  and  force  of  character  ,  arally 
made  itself  felt,  even  "with  a  man  of  Stuart's  ability.  Hood 
and  Nelson  recognized  this,  and  they  resented,  as  inspired  by 
a  junior,  what  they  might  have  combated  dispassionately,  if 
attributed  to  the  chief.  There  was  friction  also  between 
Moore  and  Elliot,  the  viceroy  of  the  island.  Doubtless,  as  in 
all  oases  where  suspicion,  not  to  say  jealousy,  has  been  begot, 
much  more  and  worse  was  imagined  by  both  parties  than 
actually  occurred.     The  apportionment  of  blame,  or  prolonged 


• '  i:l 


"a 


I'f' 


I  ■;: 


V  ^'  1 


I'':  •! 


f: 


-i 


,  \ 


124 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


(]is(nissiou  of  the  matter,  is  out  of  place  in  a  biography  of 
Nelson.  To  that  it  is  of  moment,  only  because  it  is  proper  to 
state  that  Nelson,  on  the  spot  and  in  daily  contact,  —  Nelson, 
upon  whose  ze.il  and  entire  self-devotion  at  tiiis  period  no 
doubt  is  cast  — agreed  in  the  main  with  Hood's  opinion  as  to 
what  the  latter  called  the  San  Fiorenzo  leaven,  of  which  Mooro 
was  to  them  the  exponent.  It  is  true  that  Nelson  naturally 
sympathized  with  his  profession  and  his  admiral,  whom  he 
heartily  admired  ;  but  some  corrective,  at  least,  to  such  par- 
tiality, was  supplied  by  his  soreness  about  the  hitter's  omission 
duly  to  report  his  services  at  IJastia,  of  which  he  just  now 
became  aware.  The  estrangement  between  the  two  com- 
manders-in-chief was  doubtless  increased  by  the  apparent 
reluctance,  certainly  the  lack  of  effort,  to  see  one  another 
frequently. 

The  i)rincipal  work,  called  by  Nelson  the  Mozelle  battery, 
was  carried  before  daylight  of  July  19,  and  before  dark  all  the 
outposts   were   in  the  hands  of  the  British.     "I  could  have 
wished  to  have  h  d  a  little  part  in  the  storm,"  wrote  Nelson, 
characteristically  covetous  of  strenuous  action,  "if  it  was  only 
to  have  placed  the  ladders  and  pulled  away  the  palisadoes. 
However,  we  did  the  part  allotted  to  us."     That  day  a  sum- 
mons was  sent  to  the  garrison,  but  rejected,  and  work  upon 
batteries  to  breach  the  town  walls  was  then  pushed  rapidly 
forward ;  for  it  was  becoming  more  and  more  evident  that  the 
siege   must  be   brought  to  an  end,  lest  the  entire  force  of 
besiegers  should  become  disabled  by  sickness.    On  the  28th 
the  batteries  were   ready,  and  General  Stuart  sent  in  word 
that  he  would  not  fire  upon  the  hospital  positions,  wliere  indi- 
cated by  black  flags.     The  besieged  then  asked  for  a  truce  of 
twenty-five  days,  undertaking  to  lay  down  their  arms,  if  not 
by  then  relieved.     The  general  and  admiral  refused,  but  were 
willing  to  allow  six  days.     This  the  garrison  in  turn  rejected ; 
and  on  the  night  of  the  30th  four  small  vessels  succeeded  in 
eluding  the  blockading  frigates  and  entering  supplies,  which 
encouraged  the  besieged.     On  the  31st  the  batteries  opened, 
and  after  thirty-six  hours'  heavy  cannonade  the  town  held  out 
a  flag  of  truce.     An  arrangement  was  made  that  it  should  sur- 
render on  the  10th  of  August,  if  not  relieved ;  the  garrison  to 
be  transported  to  France  without  becoming  prisoners  of  war. 


No  n 
It  was 
one  tho 
the  oth( 
lost  ma 
He  him 
quaint  ( 
me,  but 
I  am  he 
while  tl 
roundin 
and  en^ 
lightful, 
toil  and 
discomf( 
tressing 
batteries 
fit.     It 
them,   a 
woundef 
good   de 
surgeons 
fined  me 
particuh 
hurts  CO 
loss  of  a 
my  exer 
tality." 
the  fret 
did  not 
other  mi 
session 
before  C 
tion  thn 
siege  of 
which  h 
come  the 
Not  n 
remove 
shore,  fr 


CALVI   CAPITrLATES 


125 


No  relief  Jiniviiij;,  the  place  eai)ituliite(l  on  tlio  day  named. 
It  was  lii;^'h  time  lor  the  besie^'ers.     "Wo  have  upwards  of 
Olio  thousand  si'U  out  of  two  thcnisand,"  wrote  Nelson,  **  aud 
tlio  others  not  Miucli  better  than  so  many  phantoms.    We  have 
lost  many  men  from  the  season,  very  fow  from  the  enemy." 
lie  himself  escaped  more  easily  than  most.     To  use  his  own 
quaint  ex])ression,  "  All  the  prevailing  disorders  have  attacked 
me,  but  1  liave  not  strength  enough  for  them  to  fasten  upon. 
I  am  liere  the  reed  amongst  the  oaks :  I  bow  before  the  storm, 
while  the  sturdy  oak  is  laid  low."     The  congenial  moral  sur- 
roundings, in  short,  —  the  atmosphere  of  exertion,  of  worthy 
and  engrossing  occupation, — the  consciousness,  to  him  de- 
lightful, of  distinguished  action,  of  heroic  persistence  through 
toil  and  danger,  —  prevailed  even  in  his  physical  frame  over 
discomfort,  over  the  insidious  climate,  and  even  over  his  dis- 
tressing wound.     '*  This  is  my  ague  day,"  he  writes  when  the 
batteries  opened ;  "  1  hope  so  active  a  scene  will  keep  off  the 
fit.     It  has  shaken  me  a  good  deal ;  but  I  have  been  used  to 
them,   and  now  don't  mind  them   much."      "  Amongst  the 
wounded,  in  a  slight  manner,   is   myself,  my  liead  being  a 
good   deal   wounded   and   my  right   eye   cut  down ;   but  the 
surgeons  flatter  me  I  shall  not  entirely  lose  the  sight.    It  eon- 
fined  me,  thank  God,  only  one  day,  and  at  a  time  when  nothing 
particular  happened  to  be  doing."     "  You  must  not  think  my 
hurts  confined  me,"  he  tells  his  wife;  "no,  nothing  but  the 
loss  of  a  limb  would  have  kejit  me  from  my  duty,  and  I  believe 
my  exertions  conduced  to  preserve  me  in  this  general   mor- 
tality."    In  his  cheery  letters,  now,  no  trace  is  perceptible  of 
the  fretful,  complaining  temper,  which   impaired,  though  it 
did  not  destroy,  the   self-devotion  of  his  later  career.     No 
other  mistress  at  this  time  contended  with  honor  for  the  pos- 
session of  his  heart;  no  other  place  than  the  post  of  duty 
before  Calvi  distracted  his  desires,  or  appealed  to  his  imagina- 
tion through  his  senses.     Not  even  Lord  Hood's  report  of  the 
siege  of  Bastia,  Avhich  here  c?me  to  his  knowledge,  and  by 
which  he  thought  himself  wronged,  had  bitterness  to  over- 
come the  joy  of  action  and  of  self-contentment. 

Not  many  days  were  required,  after  the  fall  of  Calvi,  to 
remove  the  fleet,  and  the  seamen  who  had  been  serving  on 
shore,  from  the  postilential  coast.     Nelson  seems  to  have  been 


11 


H 


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!    i 
II  . 


1  1  ;,i  I- 


<•• 


,' 


.'tm'^ 


IM 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


d 


I , 


I 


f'i 


I 


M 


if 


If 


li     !, 


I      ^ 


intrusted  with  the  enibarkiition  of  the  prisoners  in  the  trans- 
ports which  were  to  take  them  to  Toukm.  He  toh'  his  wife 
that  he  had  been  four  months  hinded,  and  felt  almost  qualilied 
to  pass  his  examination  as  a  besieging  general,  but  that  he 
had  no  desire  to  go  on  with  campaigning.  On  the  11th  of 
August,  the  day  after  the  delivery  of  the  place,  he  was  again 
on  board  the  "  Agamemnon,"  from  whose  crew  had  been  drawn 
the  greatest  proportion  of  the  seamen  for  tlie  batteries.  One 
Inmdred  and  fifty  of  them  were  now  in  their  beds.  "My 
ship's  company  are  all  worn  out,"  he  wrote,  "  as  is  this  whole 
army,  except  myself;  nothing  hurts  me, — of  two  thousand 
men  I  am  the  most  healthy.  Every  otiier  officer  iy  scarcely 
able  to  crawl."  Among  the  victims  of  the  deadly  clinuite  was 
Lieutenant  IMoutray,  the  son  of  the  lady  to  whom,  ten  years 
before,  he  had  been  so  warndy  attracted  in  the  West  Indies. 
Nelson  placed  a  monument  to  him  in  the  church  at  San 
Fiorenzo. 

On  the  15th  of  August  the  "Agamemnon"  sailed  from 
Calvi,  and  after  a  stop  at  San  Fiorenzo,  where  Hood  then  was, 
reachsd  I^eghorn  on  the  18th.  Now  that  the  immediate 
danger  of  the  siege  was  over,  Nelson  admitted  to  his  wife  the 
serious  character  of  the  injury  he  had  received.  The  right 
eye  was  nearly  deprived  of  sight, — only  so  far  recovered  as 
to  enable  him  to  distinguish  light  from  darkness.  For  all 
puri)()sos  of  use  it  was  gone ;  but  the  blemish  was  not  to  be 
perceived,  unless  attention  was  drawn  to  it. 

At  Leghorn  the  ship  lay  for  a  month,  —  the  first  period  of 
renose  since  she  went  into  commission,  a  vear  and  a  half 
before.  While  there,  the  ])hysician  to  the  fleet  came  on  board 
and  surveyed  the  crew,  finding  them  in  a  very  weak  state,  and 
unfit  to  serve.  This  coiulition  of  things  gave  Nelson  hopes 
that,  upon  the  approaching  departure  of  Lord  Hood  for  Eng- 
land, the  "Agamemnon  "  might  go  with  him ;  for  he  was  loath 
to  separate  from  an  admiral  whose  high  esteem  he  had  won, 
and  upon  whom  he  looked  as  the  first  sea-officev  of  Great 
l^ritain.  Hood  was  inclined  to  take  her,  and  to  transfer  the 
ship's  company  bodily  to  a  seventy-fonr.  This  he  considered 
no  more  than  due  to  Nelson's  distingidshed  merit  and  services, 
and  he  had  indeed  offered  him  each  ship  of  that  rate  whose 
command  fell  vacant  in  the  Mediterranean}   but  the  i'trong 


sense  ol 
dangers, 
leave  th 
of  symp 
as  a  leat 
motion  t 

The  e 
departui 
month  li 
of  less 
long  cm 
military 
accepted 
jieriod,  \ 
not  rejii 
day  aftei 
inclined 
private  c 
fully.  ] 
shall  ha 
cottage." 
to  comfo 
facts  wa 
as  to  mal 
tion  in  \ 
my  heall 
fancy  mj 
he  admit 

Corsicf 
allied  wil 
interest 
Toulon,  t 
Mediterri 
Hood  as 
the  mista 
to  escape 
by  which 
action  no 
but  he  s] 
l)hrase  t 


REFITTING   AT  LEGHORN 


I:' 


sense  of  attachment  to  those  who  had  shared  his  toils  and 
dangers,  of  reluctance  that  they  should  see  him  willing  to 
leave  them,  after  their  hard  work  together,  —  that  combination 
of  sympathy  and  tact  which  made  so  much  of  Nelson's  success 
as  a  leader  of  men, — continued  to  prevent  his  accepting  pro- 
motion that  would  sever  his  ties  to  them. 

The  exigencies  of  the  war  in  the  INEediterranean  forbade  the 
departure,  even  of  a  sixty-four  with  a  disabled  crew.  A  full 
month  later  her  sick-list  was  still  seventy-seven,  out  of  a  total 
of  less  than  four  hundred.  "Though  certainly  unfit  for  a 
long  cruise,"  Nelson  said,  "  we  are  here  making  a  show,"  —  a 
military  requirement  not  to  be  neglected  or  despised.  IFe 
accepted  the  disappointment,  as  he  did  all  service  rubs  at  this 
j)eriod,  with  perfect  temper  and  in  the  best  spirit.  "We  must 
not  repine,"  he  wrote  to  his  wife  on  the  i2th  of  October,  the 
day  after  Hood  sailed  for  England.  "  Lord  Hood  is  very  well 
inclined  towards  me,  but  the  service  must  ever  supersede  all 
private  consideration.  I  hope  you  will  spend  the  winter  cheer- 
fully. Do  not  repine  at  my  absence;  before  sjtring  I  hope  we 
shall  have  i)eace,  when  we  mi^st  look  out  for  some  little 
cottage."  She  fretted,  however,  as  some  women  will ;  and  ho, 
to  comfort  her,  wrote  more  sanguinely  about  himself  than  tlie 
facts  warranted.  "  Why  you  should  be  uneasy  a\)out  me,  so 
as  to  make  yourself  ill,  I  know  not.  I  feel  a  confident  protec;- 
tion  in  whatever  service  I  may  be  employed  ui)on;  and  as  to 
my  health,  I  don't  know  that  I  was  ever  so  truly  well.  I 
fancy  myself  grown  quite  stout."  To  his  old  cajjtain.  Locker, 
lie  admitted  that  he  could  not  get  the  better  of  the  fever. 

Corsica  being  now  wholly  in  the  power  of  its  inhabitants, 
allied  with  and  supported  by  Great  liritain,  his  attention  and 
interest  were  engrossed  by  the  French  fleet  centring  upon 
Toulon,  the  dominant  factor  of  concern  to  the  liritish  in  the 
^lediterranean,  where  Vice- Admiral  Hotham  had  succeeded 
Hood  as  commander-in-chief.  Nelson  realizes  more  and  more 
the  mistake  that  was  made,  when  a  fraction  of  it  w.'s  allowed 
to  escape  battle  in  the  previous  June.  The  various  reasons 
by  which  he  had  at  first  excused  the  neglect  to  bring  it  to 
action  no  longer  weigh  with  him.  He  does  not  directly  blame, 
but  he  speaks  of  the  omission  as  an  "op])ortunity  lost," — a 
phrase   than   which   there   are   few  more   ominous,  in  char- 


'I" . 


I'  1 


i    I 


•^r 


.1 

'(•if 


■^i  i 

''  i 

III 

!      !     4j 


( 


128 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I 


acterizing  tlie  closely  balunced,  yet  weighty,  decisions  upon 
which  the  issues  of  wiiv  depend.  Nothing,  he  thinks,  can 
prevent  the  junction  of  the  two  fragments,  —  then  in  Golfe 
Jouan  and  Toulon, —  one  of  which,  with  more  resolution  and 
promptitude  on  llotham's  part,  might  have  been  struck  singly 
at  sea  a  few  months  before  ;  and  if  they  join,  there  nnist  fol- 
low a  fleet  action,  between  forces  too  nearly  equal  to  insure  to 
Great  Britain  the  decisive  results  tliat  were  needed.  The 
thought  he  afterwards  expressed,  "Numbers  only  can  an- 
nihilate," was  clearly  floating  in  his  brain,  —  inarticulate, 
perhaps,  as  yet,  but  sure  to  come  to  the  birth.  "If  we  are 
not  completely  victorious,  —  I  mean,  able  to  remain  at  sea 
whilst  the  enemy  must  retire  into  port,  —  if  we  only  make  a 
Lord  Howe's  victory,  take  a  part,  and  retire  into  port,  Italy 
is  lost."  Criticism  clearly  is  going  on  in  his  mind  ;  and  not 
mere  criticism  (there  is  enough  and  to  spare  of  that  in  the 
world,  and  not  least  in  navies),  but  criticism  judicious,  well 
considered,  and  above  all  fruitful.  The  error  of  opportunity 
lost  he  had  seen ;  the  error  of  a  i)artial  victory  —  "  a  Lord 
Howe's  victory,"  another  opportunity  lost  —  ho  intuitively 
anticipated  for  the  Meditevranean,  and  was  soon  to  see.  lie 
was  already  prepared  to  pass  an  accurate  judgment  instantly, 
when  he  saw  it.  May  we  not  almost  hear,  thundering  back 
from  the  clouds  that  yet  veiled  the  distant  future  of  the  Nile, 
the  words,  of  which  his  though*-  was  already  pregnant,  "  You 
may  be  assured  I  will  bring  the  French  fleet  to  action  the 
moment  I  can  lay  my  hands  upon  them." 

The  year  closed  with  the  lUitish  fleet  watching,  as  best  it 
could,  the  French  ships,  which,  according  to  Nelson's  expecta- 
tion, had  given  the  blockaders  the  slip,  and  had  made  their 
junction  at  Toulon.  There  was  now  no  great  disparity  in  the 
nominal  force  of  the  two  opponents,  the  British  having  four- 
teen ships-of-the-line,  the  French  fifteen  ;  and  it  was  quite  in 
the  enemy's  power  to  fulfil  his  other  prediction,  by  keeping 
Hotham  in  hot  water  during  the  winter.  In  the  middle  of 
November  the  "  Agamemnon  "  had  to  go  to  Leghorn  for  ex- 
tensive repairs,  and  remained  there,  shifting  her  main  and 
mizzen  masts,  until  the  21st  of  December.  Nelson,  who  had 
endured  with  unyielding  cheerfulness  the  dangers,  exposure, 
and  sickliness  of  Calvi,  found  himself  unable  to  bear  patiently 


glory, 


HIS  MILITARY  OPINIONS 


129 


the  comfort  of  quiet  nights  in  a  friendly  port,  while  hot  '.vork 
might  chance  outside.  "  Lying  in  port  is  misery  to  me.  My 
heart  is  almost  broke  to  find  the  Agamemnon  lying  here,  little 
better  than  a  wreck.  I  own  my  sincere  wish  that  the  enemy 
Avould  rest  quiet  until  we  are  ready  for  sea,  and  a  gleam  of 
hope  sometimes  crosses  me  that  they  will." '  "  I  am  uneasy 
enough  for  fear  they  will  fight,  and  Agamemnon  not  present, 
—  it  will  almost  break  my  heurt ;  but  I  hope  the  best,  —  that 
they  are  only  boasting  at  present,  and  will  be  quiet  until  I  am 
ready."  "It  is  misery,"  he  repeato,  '*  for  me  to  be  laid  up 
dismantled." 

It  was  during  this  period  of  comparative  inactivity  in  port, 
followed  by  monotonous  though  arduous  winter  cruising  otf 
Toulon,  which  was  broken  only  by  equally  dreary  stays  at 
San  Fiorenzo,  that  Nelson  found  time  to  brood  over  the 
neglect  of  which  he  thought  himself  the  victim,  in  the  omis- 
sion of  Lord  Hood  to  notice  more  markedly  his  services  in 
Corsica.  It  is  usually  disagreeable  to  the  uninterested  by- 
stander to  see  an  excessive  desire  for  praise,  even  under  the 
guise  of  just  recognition  of  work  done.  Words  of  complaint, 
whether  heard  or  read,  otrike  a  discord  to  one  who  himself  at 
the  moment  is  satisfied  with  his  surroundings.  We  all  have 
an  instinctive  shrinking  from  the  tones  of  a  grumbler.  Nel- 
son's insistence  upon  his  grievances  has  no  exemption  from 
this  common  experience;  yet  it  must  be  remembered  that 
these  assertions  of  the  im[)ortai'ce  of  his  own  services,  and 
dissatisfaction  with  the  terms  in  which  they  had  been  men- 
tioned, occur  chiefly,  if  not  solely,  in  letters  to  closest  rela- 
tions, —  to  his  wife  and  uncle,  —  and  that  they  would  never 
have  become  known  but  for  the  after  fame,  which  has  caused 
all  his  most  private  correspondence  to  have  interest  and  to  be 
brought  to  light.  As  a  revelation  of  character  they  have  a 
legitimate  interest,  and  they  reveal,  or  rather  they  confirm, 
what  is  abundantly  revealed  throughout  his  life, — that  in- 
tense longing  for  distinction,  for  admiration  justly  earned,  for 
conspicuous  exaltation  above  the  level  of  his  kind,  which  ex- 
isted in  him  to  so  great  a  degree,  and  which  is  perhaps  the 
most  potent  — •  certainly  the  most  universal  —  factor  in  mili- 
tary achievement.  They  reveal  this  ambition  for  honor,  or 
glory,  on  its  weak  side ;  on  its  stronger  side  of  nobL  emula- 


M 


n 


■ '      . « 


11! 


.  I 


Ti! 


1 1 


\ 

■5' 


» 


M 


'r. 

i 


130 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


tiou,  of  self-devotion,  of  heroic  action,  his  correspondence 
teems  with  its  evidence  in  words,  as  does  his  life  in  acts.  To 
quote  the  words  of  Lord  Radstock,  who  at  this  period,  and 
until  after  the  battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  was  serving  as  ono 
of  the  junior  admirals  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  retained  his 
friendship  through  life,  "  a  perpetual  thirst  of  glory  was  ever 
raging  within  him."  "  He  has  e'ver  showed  himself  as  great 
a  despiser  of  riches  as  he  is  a  lover  of  glory ;  and  I  am  fully 
convinced  in  my  own  mind  that  he  would  sooner  defeat  the 
French  fleet  than  capture  fifty  galleons." 

After  all  allowance  made,  however,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
there  is  in  these  complaints  a  tone  which  one  regrets  in  such 
a  man.  The  repeated  "  It  was  I  "  jars,  by  the  very  sharpness 
of  its  contrast,  with  the  more  generous  expressions  that 
abound  in  his  correspondence.  "  When  I  reflect  that  I  was 
the  cause  of  re-attaoking  Bastia,  after  our  wise  generals  gave 
it  over,  from  not  knowing  the  force,  fancying  it  2,000  men ; 
that  it  was  I,  who  landing,  joined  the  Corbicans,  and  with  only 
my  ship's  party  of  marines,  drove  the  French  under  the  walls 
of  Bastia ;  that  it  was  I,  who,  knowing  the  force  in  Bastia  to 
be  upwards  of  4,000  men,  as  I  have  now  only  ventured  to  tell 
Lord  Hood,  landed  with  only  1,200  men,  and  kept  the  secret 
till  within  this  week  past ;  —  what  I  must  have  felt  during 
tlie  whole  siege  may  be  easily  conceived.  Yet  I  am  scarcely 
mentioned.  I  freely  forgive,  but  cannot  forget.  This  and 
much  more  ought  to  have  been  mentioned.  It  is  known  that, 
for  two  months,  I  blockaded  Bastia  with  a  squadron ;  only 
■fifty  sacks  of  flour  got  into  the  town.  At  San  Fiorenzo  and 
Calvi,  for  two  months  before,  nothing  got  ^n,  and  fouv  French 
frigates  could  not  get  out,  and  are  now  ours.  Yet  my  dili- 
gence is  not  mentioned  ;  and  others,  for  keepin^  succours  out 
ol  Caivi  for  a  few  summer  months,  are  handsomely  mentioned. 
Such  things  are.  I  have  got  upon  a  subject  near  my  heart, 
which  is  full  when  I  think  cf  the  treatment  I  have  received. 
.  .  .  The  taking  of  Corsica,  like  the  taking  of  St.  Juan's,  has 
cost  me  money.  St.  Juan's  cost  near  £500  ;  Corsica  has  cost 
me  £300,  an  eye,  and  a  cut  across  my  back ;  and  my  money, 
I  find,  cannot  be  repaid  me." 

As  regards  the  justice  of  his  complaints,  it  seems  to  the 
author  impossible  to  read  carefully  Hood's  two  reports,  after 


HIS  LOVE  OF  DISTINCTIOr 


131 


the  fall  of  Bastia  and  that  of  Calvi,  and  not  admit^  either  that 
Nelson  played  a  very  unimportant  part  in  the  general  opera- 
tions connected  with  the  reduction  of  Corsica,  with  which 
he  became  associated  even  before  it  was  eifectively  under- 
taken, and  so  remained  throughout;  oj  else  that  no  due 
recognition  was  accorded  to  him  in  the  admiral's  despatches. 
Had  he  not  become  otherwise  celebrated  in  his  after  life,  he 
would  from  these  papers  be  inferred  to  stand,  in  achievement, 
rather  below  than  above  the  level  of  the  other  captains  who 
from  time  to  time  were  present.  That  this  was  unfair  seems 
certain  ;  and  notably  at  Calvi,  where,  from  the  distance  of  the 
operations  from  the  anchorage,  and  the  strained  relations 
which  kept  Hood  and  Stuart  apart,  he  was  practically  the 
one  naval  man  upon  whose  discretion  and  /3al  success  de- 
pended. It  is  probable,  however,  that  tlie  failure  to  do  him 
justice  proceeded  as  much  from  awkward  literary  construc- 
tion, phrases  badly  turned,  as  from  reluctance  to  assign  due 
prominence  to  one  subordinnte  among  several  others. 

How  readily,  yet  how  keenly,  ho  derived  satisfaction,  even 
from  slight  tributes  of  recognition,  is  shown  by  the  simplicity 
and  pleasure  with  which  he  quoted  to  Mrs.  Nelson  the  follow- 
ing words  of  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  the  Viceroy  of  Corsica,  then 
and  always  a  warm  friend  and  admirer :  "  I  know  that  you, 
who  have  had  such  an  honourable  share  in  tl'is  acquisition, 
will  not  be  indifferent  at  the  prosperity  of  the  Country  which 
you  have  so  much  assisted  to  place  luuler  His  ^Majesty's  gov- 
ernment." "  Whether  these  are  words  of  course  and  to  be 
forgotten,"  wrote  Nelson,  "  I  know  not  ;  they  are  pleasant, 
however,  for  the  time."  Certainly  his  demands  for  praise,  if 
thus  measured,  were  not  extreme. 


m 


1 

m  ■ 


r  mmv  »!i!  iw  amwiBW 


CHAPTER  V. 

Nelson's  ^^ervices  with  the  Fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  under 
Admiral  Hotham. — Partial  Fleet  Actions  of  March  13  and  14, 
AND  July  13. —  Nelson  ordered  to  commas '^  a  Detached  Squad- 
ron CO-Ol'EKATINO    WITH    THE    AUSTRIAN    ArMY    IN    THE    KlVIERA    OF 

Genoa. 

January-July,  1795.     Agk,  36. 


FROM  the  naval  point  of  view,  as  a  strategic  measure,  the 
acquisition  of  Corsica  by  the  British  was  a  matter  of 
great  importance.  It  was,  however,  only  one  among  several 
factors  which  went  to  make  up  the  general  military  and  po- 
litical situation  in  the  Mediterranean  at  the  end  of  the  yeai- 
1794.  Hitherto  the  exigencies  of  the  well-nigh  universal 
liostilities  in  which  France  had  been  engaged,  and  the  anarch- 
ical internal  state  of  that  country,  had  prevented  any  decisive 
operations  by  her  on  the  side  of  Italy,  although  she  had,  since 
1792,  been  formally  at  war  with  the  Kingdom  of  Sardinia,  of 
which  Piedi.iont  was  a  province. 

At  the  close  of  1794  the  conditions  were  greatly  modified. 
In  the  north,  the  combined  forces  of  Great  Britain,  Austria, 
and  Holland  had  been  driven  out  of  France  and  Belgium,  and 
the  United  Provinces  were  on  the  point  of  submission.  On 
the  east,  the  Austrians  and  Prussians  had  retreated  to  the 
far  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and  Prussia  was  about  to  withdraw 
from  the  coalition,  which,  three  years  before,  she  had  been 
so  eager  to  form.  On  the  south,  even  greater  success  had 
attended  the  French  armies,  which  had  crossed  the  Pyrenees 
into  Spain,  driving  before  them  the  forces  of  the  enemy,  who 
also  was  soon  to  ask  for  peace.  It  was  therefore  probable 
that  operations  in  Italy  would  assume  greatly  increased 
activity,  from  the  number  of  French  soldiers  released  else- 
where, as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  the  Austrians  themselves, 
though  they  continued  the  Avar  in  Germany,  had  abandoned 


MILITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  MEDITERUANKAN 


133 


other  portions  of  the  continent  which  they  had  hitherto 
contested. 

The  political  and  military  conditions  in  Italy  were,  briefly, 
as  follows.  The  region  north  of  the  Maritime  Alps  and  in 
the  valley  of  the  Pv^  was,  for  the  most  part,  in  arms  against 
France, —  the  westtsm  province,  Tiedmont,  as  part  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Sardinia,  whose  capital  was  at  Turin,  and,  to 
the  eastward  of  it,  the  duchies  of  Milan  and  Mantua,  as  be- 
longing to  Austria.  The  governments  of  the  numerous  small 
states  into  which  Northern  and  Central  Italy  were  then 
divided  —  Venice,  Genoa,  Tuscany,  the  States  of  the  Church, 
and  others  —  sympathized  generally  with  the  opponents  of 
France,  but,  as  far  as  possible,  sought  to  maintain  a  formal 
though  difficult  neutrality.  The  position  of  Genoa  was  the 
most  embarrassing,  because  in  direct  contact  with  all  the 
principal  parties  to  the  war.  To  the  westward,  her  territory 
along  the  Iliviera  included  Vintimiglia,  bordering  there  on 
the  county  of  Nice,  and  contained  Vado  Bay,  the  best  anchor- 
age between  Nice  and  Genoa.  To  the  eastward,  it  embraced 
the  Gulf  of  Spezia,  continually  mentioned  by  Nelfon  as  Porto 
Especia. 

The  occupation  of  the  Riviera  was  of  particular  moment  to 
the  French,  for  it  offered  a  road  by  which  to  enter  Italy,  — 
bad,  indeed,  but  better  far  than  those  through  the  passes  of 
the  upper  Alps.  Skirting  the  sea,  it  afforded  a  double  line 
of  communications,  by  land  and  by  water ;  for  the  various 
detachments  of  their  army,  posted  along  it,  could  in  great 
degree  be  supplied  by  the  small  coasting-vessels  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. So  long,  also,  as  it  was  in  their  possession,  and 
they  held  passes  of  the  Maritime  Alps  and  Apennines,  as  they 
did  in  1794,  there  was  the  possibility  of  their  penetrating 
through  them,  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  Sardinian  army  in 
Piedmont,  which  was,  in  fact,  what  Bonaparte  accomplished 
two  years  later.  These  inducements  had  led  the  French  to 
advance  into  the  county  of  Nice,  then  belonging  to  Sardinia, 
which  in  the  existing  state  of  war  it  was  perfectly  proper  for 
them  to  do  ;  but,  not  stopping  there,  they  had  pushed  on  past 
the  Sardinian  boundary  into  the  neutral  Riviera  o"  Genoa,  as 
far  as  Vado  Bay,  which  they  occupied,  and  where  they  still 
were  at  the  end  of  1794. 


i'l 


t        i  1 


^  :^  a 


\ 


•.(  I 


134 


THE   LIFE   or  NELSON 


Genoa  submitted  under  protest  to  tliis  breach  of  her  i^eu- 
trality,  as  sho  did  both  before^  and  after  to  siinihir  insults 
from  parties  to  the  war.  She  derived  some  pecuniary  benefit 
from  the  condition  of  affairs,  —  her  ports,  as  well  as  those  of 
Tuscany,  immediately  to  the  southward,  becoming  depots  of  a 
trade  in  grain,  which  supplied  both  the  French  army  and  thfl 
southern  p  ovinces  of  France.  Tliese  food  stuffs,  absolutely 
essential  to  the  French,  were  drawn  chiefly  from  Sicily  and 
the  Barbary  States,  and  could  not  be  freely  taken  into  French 
ports  by  tlie  large>  class  <"'  sc  i-going  vessels,  in  facf^  >f  the 
Fritiph  lit'  .'.  Tl'e  -^f  .:,  ihc.  Aore,  c^mmonl/  transshipped 
in  Leghorn  or  Geno.  usd  ri;;Tied  on  by  coasters.  As  so  much 
Genoese  seacoasl  wa,.  cup;.^d  by  French  divisions,  it  was 
practically  impossible  for  Bi'  i.  h  cruisers  to  distinguish 
between  vessels  carrying  corn  for  the  inhabitants  and  those 
laden  for  the  armies,  and  entirely  impossible  to  know  that 
wliat  was  intended  for  one  object  would  not  be  diverted  to 
another.  If,  too,  a  vessel's  papers  showed  her  to  be  destined 
for  Vintimiglia,  near  the  extreme  of  the  Genoese  line,  there 
could  be  no  certainty  that,  having  got  so  far,  she  might  not 
quietly  slip  by  into  a  French  port,  either  Nice  or  beyond.  The 
tenure  of  the  neutral  Riviera  of  Genoa  by  the  French  army 
was  a  threat  to  the  allies  of  Great  Britain  in  Piedmont  and 
Lombardy,  as  Aveil  as  to  the  quasi-neutrals  in  Genoa,  Tuscany, 
Venice,  and  the  Papal  States.  Its  further  advance  or  suc- 
cesses would  imperil  the  latter,  and  seriously  affect  the 
attitude  of  Naples,  hostile  to  the  Republic,  but  weak,  timid, 
and  unstable  of  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  the  retention  of 
its  position,  and  mur  h  more  any  further  advance,  depended 
upon  continuing  to  receive  supplies  by  way  of  the  sea.  To 
do  so  by  the  shore  route  alone  was  net  possible.  Southern 
France  itself  depended  upon  the  sea  for  grain,  and  could  send 
nothing,  even  if  the  then  miserable  Corniche  road  could  have 
sufficed,  as  the  sole  line  of  communications  for  forty  thousand 
troops. 

Thus  the  transfer  of  Corsica  to  Great  Britain  had  a  very 
important  bearing  upon  the  military  and  political  conditions. 
At  the  moment  when  Italy  was  about  to  become  the  scene  of 

*  III  the  year  1793  the  Frencli  frigate  "  Modeste  "  had  been  forcibly  taken 
from  the  harbor  of  Gcnofi  by  an  English  squadron. 


STUATECilC   IMPORTANCE  OF  CORSICA 


135 


Operations  which  might,  and  in  the  event  actually  did,  exercise 
a  decisive  influence  upon  tlie  course  of  the  general  war,  the 
British  position  was  solidified  by  the  awpiisition  of  a  naval 
bas*^  '-nassailable  while  the  "!a  remained  in  their  control  and 
the  i)rsicans  attached  to  their  cause,  and  centrally  situated 
v.ith  reference  to  the  probable  scenes  of  hostilities,  as  well  as 
to  tlio  points  of  polit'^al  interest,  on  the  mainland  of  Italy. 
The  leet  resting  upon  it,  no  longer  dependent  upon  the  reluc- 
tant hospitality  of  Genoese  ci  Tuscan  ports,  or  upon  the  far 
distant  K:  igdciu  of  ^apl^s,  was  secure  to  keep  in  its  station, 
whence  it  menaced  the  entire  seaboard  trade  of  France  and 
the  Kiviera,  as  well  as  the  tenure  of  the  French  army  in  the 
latter,  and  exerted  a  strong  influence  upon  the  attitude  of  both 
Genoa  and  Tuscany,  wh  fielded  only  too  easily  to  the  nearest 
or  most  urgent  pressure.  The  fleet  to  which  Nelson  belonged 
had  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  year  1794  in  securing  for 
itself,  as  a  base  of  operations,  this  position,  by  far  the  most 
suitable  among  those  that  could  be  considered  at  all.  It 
remained  now  to  utilize  the  advantage  obtained,  to  make  the 
situation  of  the  French  army  in  Italy  untenable,  by  estaolipb  • 
ir  ;  an  indisputable  control  of  the  sea.  To  this  the  holding  rf 
Corsica  also  contributed,  indirectly ;  for  the  loss  of  the  islana 
forced  the  French  fleet  to  go  to  sea,  in  order,  if  possible,  to 
expedite  its  re-conquest.  In  all  the  operations  resulting  from 
these  various  motives,  Nelson  bore  a  part  as  conspicuous  and 
characteristic  as  he  had  done  in  the  reduction  of  Corsica. 
Almost  always  on  detached  service,  in  positions  approaching 
independent  command,  he  was  continually  adding  to  his 
reputation,  and,  what  was  far  more  important,  maturing  the 
professional  character,  the  seeds  of  which  had  been  so  bounti- 
fully bestowed  upon  him  by  nature.  His  reputation,  won 
hard  and  step  by  step,  obtained  for  him  opportunity ;  but  it 
was  to  character,  ripened  by  experience  and  reflection,  that  he 
owed  his  transcendent  successes. 

The  scheme  for  the  government  of  the  island  as  a  British 
dependency,  stated  broadly,  was  that  it  should  be  administered 
by  the  Corsicans  themselves,  under  a  viceroy  appointed  by  the 
British  crown.  Its  military  security  was  provided  for  by  the 
control  of  the  sea,  and  by  British  soldiers  holding  the  fortified 
ports,  —  a  duty  for  which  the  Corsicans  themselves  had  not 


I'.t 


\^       ' 


i  •  'I 


■.\ 


'  1 .» 


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U 

a'  i''' 


i  !    I 


186 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


then  the  necessary  training.  Nelson,  wlio  did  not  yet  feel 
the  impossibility  of  sustaining  a  successful  over-sea  invasion, 
when  control  of  the  sea  was  not  had,  was  anxious  about  the 
expected  attempts  of  the  French  against  the  island,  and  urged 
the  viceroy,  by  private  letter,  to  see  that  Ajaccio,  wliich  he 
regarded  as  the  point  most  favorable  to  a  descent,  was  gar- 
risoned sufficiently  to  keep  the  gates  shut  for  a  few  days. 
This  caution  did  not  then  proceed  from  a  distrust  of  the 
Corsicans'  fidelity,  without  which  neither  France  nor  England 
could  hold  the  island,  as  was  shown  by  the  quickness  of  its 
transfer  two  years  later,  when  the  inhabitants  again  revolted 
to  France.  "  With  this  defence,"  he  wrote,  *'  I  am  confident 
Ajaccio,  and  I  believe  I  may  say  the  island  of  Corsica,  would 
be  perfectly  safe  until  our  fleet  could  get  to  the  enemy,  when 
I  have  no  doubt  the  event  would  be  what  every  Briton  might 
expect." 

The  repairs  of  the  "  Agamemnon  "  were  completed  before 
Nelson's  anxious  apprehensions  of  a  battle  taking  place  in  his 
absence  could  be  fulfilled.  On  the  21st  of  December,  1794,  he 
sailed  from  Leghorn  with  the  fleet,  in  company  with  which 
he  remained  from  that  time  until  the  following  July,  when 
he  was  sent  to  the  Kiviera  of  Genoa  on  special  detached  ser- 
vice. He  thus  shared  the  severe  cruising  of  that  winter,  as 
well  as  the  abortive  actions  of  the  spring  and  early  summer, 
where  the  admiral  again  contrived  to  lose  opportunities  of 
settling  the  sea  campaign,  and  with  it,  not  improbably,  that 
of  the  land  also.  There  were  plain  indications  in  the  port  of 
Toulon  that  a  maritime  enterprise  of  some  importance  was  in 
contemplation.  In  the  outer  road  lay  fifteen  sail-of-the-line, 
the  British  having  then  fourteen ;  but  luore  significant  of  the 
enemy's  purpose  was  the  presence  at  Marseilles  of  fifty  large 
transports,  said  to  be  ready.  "  I  have  no  doubt,"  wrote  Nel- 
son, "  but  Porto  Especia  is  their  object."  This  was  a  mistake, 
interesting  as  indicating  the  slight  weight  that  Nelson  at  that 
time  attributed  to  the  deterrent  effect  of  the  British  fleet  "  in 
being  "  upon  such  an  enterprise,  involving  an  open-sea  passage 
of  over  a  hundred  miles,  though  he  neither  expressed  nor 
entertained  any  uncertainty  as  to  the  result  of  a  meeting,  if 
the  enemy  were  encountered.  The  French  Government,  not 
yet  appreciating  the  inefficiency  to  which  its  navy  had  been 


MISTAKEN  CONJECTURES 


ifr 


reduced  by  many  concurrent  circumstances,  was  ready  to  dis- 
pute the  control  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  it  contemplated, 
among  other  things,  a  demonstration  at  Leghorn,  similar  to 
that  successfully  practised  at  Naples  in  1792,  which  might 
compel  the  Court  of  Tuscany  to  renounce  the  formally  hostile 
attitude  it  had  assumed  at  the  bidding  of  Great  Britain ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  serious  purpose  of 
exposing  a  large  detachment,  in  the  attempt  to  hold  upon  the 
Continent  a  position,  such  as  Spezia,  with  which  secure  com- 
munication by  land  could  not  be  had. 

Though  none  too  careful  to  proportion  its  projects  to  the 
force  at  its  disposal,  the  Directory  sufficiently  understood  that 
a  detachment  at  Spezia  could  not  be  self-dependent,  nor  could, 
witli  any  certainty,  combine  its  operations  with  those  of  the 
army  in  the  Riviera;  and  also  that,  to  be  properly  supported 
at  all,  there  must  be  reasonably  secure  and  unbroken  com- 
munication, either  by  land  or  water,  neither  of  which  was 
possible  until  the  British  fleet  was  neutralized.  The  same 
consideration  dictated  to  it  the  necessity  of  a  naval  victory, 
before  sending  out  the  expedition,  of  whose  assembling  the 
British  were  now  hearing,  and  which  was  actually  intended 
for  Corsica  j  although  it  was  known  that  in  the  island  there 
had  already  begun  the  revulsion  against  the  British  rule, 
which  culminated  in  open  revolt  the  following  year.  Owing 
to  the  dearth  of  seamen,  the  crews  of  the  French  ships  were 
largely  composed  of  soldiers,  and  it  was  thought  that,  after 
beating  the  enemy,  four  or  five  thousand  of  these  might  be  at 
once  throv/n  on  shore  at  Ajaccio,  and  that  afterwards  the  main 
body  could  be  sent  across  in  safety.  First  of  all,  however, 
control  of  the  sea  must  be  established  by  a  battle,  more  or 
less  decisive. 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1795,  the  British  fleet  arrived  at 
Leghorn,  after  a  very  severe  cruise  of  over  a  fortnight.  On 
the  2d  of  March  Nelson  mentioned,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife,  that 
the  French  were  said  then  to  have  a  hundred  and  twenty-four 
transports  full  of  troops,  from  which  he  naturally  argued  that 
they  must  mean  to  attempt  something.  On  the  evening  of  the 
8th,  an  express  from  Genoa  brought  Hotham  word  that  they 
were  actually  at  sea,  fifteen  ships-of-the-line,  with  half  a 
dozen  or  more  smaller  vessels.    He  sailed  in  pursuit  early 


'(' 


1  .> 


'!•      ! 


m 


138 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


i 


u 


the  next  morning,  having  with  liim  thirteen  *  IJritish  sliips-of- 
the-lino  and  one  Neapolitan  seventy-four.  Of  the  former, 
four  were  tliree-decked  ships,  carrying  ninety-eight  to  one 
hundred  guns,  a  class  of  vessel  of  which  the  French  had  but 
one,  the  *'  Sans  Culottes,"  of  one  hundred  and  twenty,  which, 
under  the  more  dignified  name  of  **  L'Orient,"  afterwards  met 
80  tragic  a  fate  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile ;  but  they  had,  in 
compensation,  three  powerful  ships  of  eighty  guns,  much 
superior  to  the  British  seventy-fours.  As,  liowever,  only 
partial  engagements  followed,  the  aggregate  of  force  on  either 
side  is  a  matter  of  comparatively  little  importance  in  a  Life 
of  Nelson. 

Standing  to  the  northward  and  westward,  with  a  fresh 
easterly  wind,  the  British  fleet  through  its  lookouts  discov- 
ered the  enemy  on  tlie  evening  of  the  day  of  sailing,  and  by 
the  same  means  kept  touch  with  them  throughout  the  10th 
and  11th  ;  but  the  baffling  airs,  frequent  in  the  Mediterranean, 
prevented  the  main  body  seeing  them  until  the  morning  of 
the  12th.  At  daylight,  then,  they  were  visible  from  the 
"Agamemnon,"  in  company  with  which  were  five  ]Jritish 
ships  and  the  Neapolitan;  the  remainder  of  the  fleet  being  so 
far  to  the  eastward  that  their  hulls  were  just  rising  out  of  the 
water.  The  British  lying  nearly  becalmed,  the  French,  who 
were  to  windward,  bore  down  to  within  three  miles ;  but 
although,  in  Nelson's  judgment,  they  had  a  fair  opportunity 
to  separate  the  advanced  British  ships,  with  which  he  was, 
from  the  main  body,  they  failed  to  improve  it.  Nothing 
happened  that  day,  and,  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  west  spring- 
ing up  at  dusk,  both  fleets  stood  to  the  southward  with  it,  the 
French  being  to  windward.  That  night  one  of  the  latter,  a 
seventy-four,  having  lost  a  topmast,  was  permitted  to  return 
to  port. 

The  next  morning  the  wind  was  still  southwest  and  squally. 
Hotham  at  daylight  ordered  a  general  chase,  which  allowed 
each  ship  a  certain  freedom  of  movement  in  endeavoring  to 
close  with  the  French.  The  "  Agamemnon  "  had  been  well  to 
the  westward,  from  the  start;  and  being  a  very  handy,  quick- 
working  ship,  as  well  as,  originally  at  least,  more  than  com- 

1  The  "Berwick,"  seventy-four,  had  Imen  left  in  San  Fiorenzo  for  repairs. 
Putting  to  sea  at  this  time,  slie  fell  in  witli  the  French  ileet,  and  was  taken. 


ACTION  OF   M Alien   V.\,   1705 


IW 


monly  fast,  wiis  early  in  tho  clay  in  a  position  where  she  had 
a  fair  chance  for  reaching  the  enemy.  A  favorable  ojjpor- 
tunity  soon  occurred,  one  of  those  whiidi  so  often  show  that, 
if  a  man  only  puts  himself  in  tl«o  way  of  good  luck,  good  luck 
is  apt  to  offer.  At  8  a.  m.  the  eighty-gun  ship  *'  ^'a  Ira,"  third 
from  the  rear  in  tlio  P'rcncth  ordcM",  ran  on  board  tho  vessel 
next  ahead  of  her,  and  by  the  collision  lost  her  fore  and  main 
to[)masts.  These  falling  overboard  on  tho  lee  side  —  in  this 
case  the  port '  —  not  only  deprived  her  of  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  her  motive  power,  but  acted  as  a  drag  on  her  progress, 
besides  for  the  time  preventing  tho  working  of  the  guns  on 
that  side.  The  "•  (^a  Ira  "  dropped  astta-n  of  her  fleet.  Al- 
though this  eighty-gun  ship  was  much  bigger  than  his  own, 
—  "absolutely  large  enough  to  take  AgamcMunon  in  her  hold," 
Nelson  said,  — the  latter  saw  his  chance,  and  instantly  seized 
it  with  the  promptitude  characteristic  of  all  his  actions.  Tho 
"  Agamemnon,"  if  she  was  not  already  on  tho  port  tack,  ojjpo- 
site  to  that  on  which  tho  fleets  had  been  during  the  night, 
must  have  gone  about  at  this  time,  and  probably  for  this 
reason.  She  was  able  thus  to  fetch  into  tho  wake  of  the 
crippled  vessel,  which  a  frigate  had  already  gallantly  at- 
tacked, taking  advantage  of  the  uselessness  of  the  French- 
man's lee  batteries,  encumbered  with  the  wreckage  of  the 
masts. 

At  10  A.M.,  the  "^a  Ira"  and  the  " A;,'amemnon"  having 
passed  on  opposite  tacks,  the  latter  again  went  about  and 
stood  in  pursuit  under  all  sail,  rapidly  nearing  tho  enemy, 
who  at  this  time  was  taken  in  tow  by  a  frigate.  l>ut  although 
in  this  position  the  French  ship  could  not  train  her  broadside 
guns  upon  her  smaller  opponent,  she  could  still  work  freely 
the  half-dozen  stern  guns,  and  did  so  with  much  effect.  "  So 
true  did  she  fire,"  noted  Nelson,  "  that  not  a  shot  missed  some 
part  of  the  ship,  and  latterly  the  masts  were  struck  every 
shot,  which  obliged  me  to  open  our  fire  a  few  minutes  sooner 
than  I  intended,  for  it  was  my  intention  to  have  touched  his 
stern  before  a  shot  \s  >  fired."  At  quarter  before  eleven,  the 
"  Agamemnon  "  was  wiihiu  a  hundred  yards  of  tho  "  Ca  Ira's  " 
stern,  and  this  distance   she  was  able  to  keep  until  1  p.  m. 

^  The  port  side,  or,  ns  it  was  called  in  Nelson's  day,  tho  larboard  side,  is  tho 
left,  looking  from  tho  stern  to  the  bow  of  a  ship. 


iH 


'■  w 


11^ 


m 


140 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Here,  by  the  use  of  the  helm  and  of  the  sails,  the  ship  alter- 
nately turned  her  starboard  side  to  the  enemy  to  fire  her  bat- 
teries, and  again  resumed  her  course,  to  regain  the  distance 
necessarily  lost  at  each  deviation.  This  raking  fire  not  only 
killed  and  wounded  many  of  the  "  ^a  Ira's  "  crew,  and  injured 
the  hull,  but,  Avhat  was  tactically  of  yet  greater  importance, 
preventing  the  replacing  of  the  lost  spars.  Thus  was  entailed 
upon  the  French  that  night  a  crippled  ship,  which  they  could 
not  in  honor  abandon,  nor  yet  could  save  without  fighting  for 
her,  —  a  tactical  dilemma  which  was  the  direct  cause  of  the 
next  day's  battle. 

Brief  and  cursory  as  is  the  notice  of  this  action  of  the 
"  Agamemnon  "  in  llotham's  despatches,  he  mentions  no  other 
ship-of  che-line  as  engaged  at  this  time,  and  states  that  she 
and  the  frigate  were  so  far  detached  from  the  fleet,  that  they 
were  finally  obliged  to  retire  on  account  of  other  enemy's 
vessels  approaching.  Nelson's  journal  says  that  two  French 
ships,  one  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  guns  and  a  seventy-four, 
were  at  gun-shot  distance  on  the  bow  of  the  "  ^a  Ira  "  when 
he  began  to  attack  her.  These,  with  several  others  of  their 
fleet,  went  about  some  time  before  one,  at  which  hour  the 
frigate,  towing  the  disabled  ship,  tacked  herself,  and  also  got 
the  latter  an  und.  The  "Agamemnon"  standing  on,  she  and 
the  "  ^a  Ira ''  now  crossed  within  half  pistol-range  ;  but,  the 
French  guns  being  too  much  elevated,  the  shot  passed  over 
their  antagonist,  who  lost  in  this  day's  work  only  seven  men 
wounded.  iNelson  then  again  tacked  to  follow,  but  by  this 
time  the  French  admiral  had  apparently  decided  that  his 
crippled  vessel  must  be  rescued,  and  his  fleet  no  longer  defied 
by  a  foe  so  inferior  in  strength.  Several  of  the  enemy  were 
approaching,  when  Hotham  made  a  signal  of  recall,  which 
Nelson  on  this  occasion  at  least  had  no  hesitation  in  obeying, 
and  promptly.  There  was  no  pursuit,  the  hostile  commander- 
in-chief  being  apparently  satisfied  to  save  the  "  ^a,  Ira  "  for 
the  moment,  without  bringing  on  ",  general  engagement. 

In  this  aifair,  what  is  mainly  to  be  noted  in  Nelson  is  not 
the  personal  courage,  nor  yet  even  the  professional  daring,  or 
the  skill  which  justified  the  daring.  It  may  be  conceded  that 
all  these  were  displayed  in  a  high  degree,  but  they  can 
scarcely  be  claimed  to  have  exceeded  that  shown  by  other 


1'? 


^  Wind 

1 

<i:3 

^=^. 

A^ 

Agamemnon  b^  Qa  Ira 

March  /3,  /79S. 

A  —  Agatnemrwn 

C  -  ga  Ira 

F  -  French  Ships  of  Line 

B  -  Nearest  British  do. 

C 

• 
* 

£' 

I      1 
a  1 

til 


% 


•  I 


:t  ' 


I      f 


^1 


K 


i:< 


«/ 

«. ' 


I      •  I 


«»iwi«»««Mt^<PBES««»,^. 


_»'V    ^f-' 


J  (1 1 


v 


ACTION   OF   MARCH   18,    17U5 


141 


officers,  not  a  few,  when  eciually  tried.  What  is  rather  strik- 
ing, account  for  it  how  we  will,  is  that  Nelson,  here  as  always, 
was  on  hand  when  opportunity  offered  ;  that  after  three  days 
of  chase  he,  and  he  only,  was  so  far  to  the  front  as  to  be  able  to 
snatch  the  fleeting  moment.  "  On  looking  round,"  he  says  at 
ten  o'clock,  when  about  to  begin  the  action,  "  I  saw  no  ship- 
of-the-line  within  several  miles  to  support  me;  the  C  ptain 
was  the  nearest  on  our  lee-quarter."  With  the  looseness  and 
lack  of  particularity  which  characterize  most  logs  and 
despatches  remaining  from  those  days,  and  make  the  compre- 
hension of  naval  engagements,  other  than  the  greatest,  a 
matter  of  painful  and  uncertain  inference,  it  is  impossible 
accurately  to  realize  the  entire  situation  ;  but  it  seems  difficult 
to  imagine  that  among  all  the  other  thirteen  captains,  "  where 
emulation  was  con\mon  to  all  and  zeal  for  his  Majesty's  ser- 
vice the  general  description  of  the  fleet,"  to  use  Hotham's 
words,  none  could  have  been  on  the  spot  to  support  so  prom- 
ising an  attempt,  had  there  been  "common"  that  sort  of 
emulation  which  takes  a  man  ever  to  the  front,  not  merely  in 
battle  but  at  all  times,  —  the  spirit  that  will  not  and  cannoi; 
rest  while  anything  remains  to  be  done,  ever  pressing  onward 
to  the  mark.  To  this  unquestionably  must  be  added  the 
rapid  comprehension  of  a  situation,  and  the  exceeding  promp- 
titude with  which  Nelson  seized  his  opportunity,  as  well  as 
the  tenacious  intrepidity  with  which  he  held  to  his  position 
of  advantage,  despite  the  imminent  threat  to  his  safety  from 
the  uninjured  and  gigantic  "  Sans  Culottes,"  barely  out  of 
gunshot  to  windward.  It  is  right  also  to  note  the  accessi- 
bility to  advi(te,  a  feature  of  his  genial  and  kindly  tempera- 
ment, to  which  he  admitted  much  of  the  succer..  was  due. 
The  trait  is  not  rare  in  mankind  in  general,  but  it  is  excep- 
tional in  men  of  a  character  so  self-reliant  and  decided  as 
Nelson.  "  If  the  conduct  of  the  Agamemnon  on  the  13th," 
he  generously  wrote,  "  was  by  any  means  the  cause  of  our 
success  on  the  14th,  Lieutenant  Andrews  has  a  principal 
share  in  the  merit,  for  a  more  proper  opinion  was  never  given 
by  an  officer  than  the  one  he  gave  me  on  the  13th,  in  a  situa- 
tion of  great  difficulty." 

The  same  hot  spirit,  the  same  unwearying  energy,  made 
itself   still   more  manifest   the   next   day,   when  were  to  bo 


H'.,^ 


»'f 


ti 


I! 


* 

I    i 

I      i 

I 


\ 


i-  . 


ij 


142 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


garnered  the  results  of  his  own  partial,  yet,  in  its  degree, 
decisive  action  f  the  13th.  "  Sure  I  am,"  said  he  afterwards, 
"had  I  commanded  our  fleet  on  the  14th,  that  either  the 
whole  French  fleet  would  have  graced  my  triumph,  or  I  should 
have  been  in  a  confounded  scrape."  A  confounded  scrape  he 
would  have  been  in  on  the  13th,  and  on  other  days  also,  great 
and  small,  had  there  been  a  different  issue  to  the  risks  ho 
dared,  and  rightly  dared,  to  take.  Of  what  man  eminent  in 
war,  indeed,  is  not  the  like  true  ?  It  is  the  price  of  fame, 
which  he  who  dare  not  pay  must  forfeit ;  and  not  fame  only, 
but  repute. 

During  the  following  night  the  "Sans  Calottes"  quittec! 
the  French  fleet.  The  wind  continued  southerly,  both  fleets 
standing  to  the  westward,  the  crippled  "  ^a  Ira"  being  taken 
in  tow  by  the  *-  Censeur,"  of  seventy-four  guns.  At  daylight 
of  March  14,  being  about  twenty  miles  southwest  from  Genoa, 
these  two  were  found  to  be  much  astern  and  to  leeward  of 
their  main  body,  —  that  is,  northeast  from  it.  The  British  lay 
in  the  same  direction,  and  were  estimated  by  Nelson  to  bo 
three  and  a  half  miles  from  the  disabled  ship  and  her  consort, 
five  miles  from  the  rest  of  the  French.  At  5,30  a.  m.  a  smart 
breeze  sprang  up  from  the  northwest,  which  took  the  British 
aback,  but  enabled  them  afterwards  to  head  for  the  two  sepa- 
rated French  ships.  Apparently,  from  Nelson's  log,  this 
wind  did  not  reach  the  main  body  of  the  enemy,  a  eircumstanco 
not  uncommon  in  the  IMediterranean.  Two  liritish  seventy- 
fours,  the  "  Captain "  and  the  "  Bedford,"  in  obedience  to 
signals,  stood  down  to  attack  the  "Censeur"  and  the  "^a 
Ira; "  and,  having  in  this  to  undergo  for  twenty  minutes  a  tire 
to  which  they  could  not  reply,  were  then  and  afterwards 
pretty  roughly  handled.  They  were  eventually  left  behind, 
crippled,  as  their  own  fleet  advanced.  The  rest  of  the  British 
were  meantime  forming  in  line  and  moving  down  to  sustain 
them.  The  French  main  body,  keeping  the  southerly  wind, 
wore  in  succession  to  support  their  separated  ships,  and 
headed  to  pass  between  them  and  their  enemies.  The  latter, 
having  formed,  stood  also  towards  these  two,  which  now  lay 
between   the  contestants  as  the   prize  to  the  victor. 

Apparently,  in  these  manoeuvres,  the  leading  British  ships 
y;i!>  as^.iiu  i  ito  the  belt  of  southerly  wind,  —  which  the  French 


i 

s»'.. 

fc 

5.! 

"  ' .    I 

(•' 

.;    ' 

% 

•'i   . 

I 

» 


>    !«? 


n\ 


^'    : 


%   i 


ing 


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PARTIAL  FLEET  ACTION,  MARCH  14,  1705 


1^3 


kept  throughout,  —  while  part  of  the  centre  and  rear  were  left 
becalmed,  aud  had  little  or  no  share  in  the  cannonade  that 
followed.  Under  these  conditions  the  resolution  of  the 
French  admiral  seems  to  have  faltered,  for  instead  of  passing 
to  leeward  —  north  —  of  the  enemy's  line,  which  was  (|uite  in 
his  power,  raid  so  covering  his  endangered  ships,  he  allowed 
the  latter  to  be  cut  off,  tiius  insuring  their  surrender.  His 
fleet  kept  to  windward  of  the  British,  passing  fairly  near  the 
two  leading  ships,  the  "  Illustrious "  and  the  "  Courageux," 
who  thus  underwent  a  "  concentration  by  defiling,"  that  took 
the  main  and  mizzen  masts  out  of  both,  besides  killing  and 
wounding  many  of  their  people.  The  '•'  Princess  Eoyal  "  and 
"Agamemnon,"  which  came  next,  could  only  engage  at  long 
range.  "The  enemy's  fleet  kept  the  southerly  wind,"  wrote 
Kelson  in  his  journal,  "  which  enabled  them  to  keep  their 
distance,  wliich  was  very  great.  At  8  a.  m.  they  began  to 
pass  our  line  to  windward,  and  the  Qa.  Ira  and  Le  Censeur 
were  on  our  lee  side ;  therefore  the  Illustrious,  Courageux, 
Princess  Iloyal,  and  Agamemnon  were  obliged  to  fight  on 
both  sides  of  the  ship."  At  five  minutes  past  ten  a.  m.  both 
the  French  vessels  struck,  the  "  ^a  Ira  "  having  lost  her  three 
masts,  and  the  "Censeur"  her  mainmast.  It  was  );i!  t  one 
p.  M.  when  firing  wholly  ceased;  and  the  enemy  then  cowded 
all  possible  sail  to  the  westward,  the  British  fleet  lying  with 
their  heads  to  the  soutlieast. 

"When  the  British  line  was  forming,  between  seven  and 
eiglit  in  the  morning,  Nelson  was  directed  by  Vice-Admiral 
Goodall,  the  second  in  command,  to  take  his  station  astern  of 
his  flagship,  the  "Princess  Koyal,"  of  ninety  guns.  Immedi- 
ately behind  the  "  Agamemnon  "  came  the  "  Britannia,"  carry- 
ing Hotham's  flag.  This  position,  and  the  lightness  of  the 
wind,  serve  to  explain  how  Nelson  came  to  take  the  step  he 
mentions  in  several  letters ;  going  on  board  the  "Britannia," 
after  the  two  French  vessels  struck,  and  urging  the  comman- 
der-in-chief to  leave  the  prizes  in  charge  of  the  British  frigates 
and  crippled  ships-of-the-line,  and  vigoroiasl}  t^>  pursue  the 
French,  who  having  lost  four  ships  out  of  their  fleet,  by 
casualty  or  capture,  were  now  reduced  to  eleven  sail.  "  I 
went  on  board  Admiral  Hotham  as  soon  as  our  firing  grew 
slack  in  the  van,  and  the  ^a  Ira  and  the  Censeur  had  struck, 


I'f 


»   ?. 


:■ 


k    1 


144 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


to  propose  to  him  leaving  our  two  crippled  ships,  the  two 
prizes,  and  four  frigates,  to  themselves,  a!ul  to  jmrsue  the 
enemy ;  but  he,  much  cooler  than  myself,  said,  *  We  must  be 
contented,  we  have  done  very  well.'  Now,  had  we  taken  ten 
sail,  and  had  allowed  the  eleventh  to  escape,  when  it  had  been 
possible  to  have  got  at  her,  I  could  never  have  called  it  well 
done.  Goodall  backed  me ;  I  got  him  to  write  to  the  admiral, 
but  it  Avould  not  do  :  we  should  have  had  such  a  day  as  I  be- 
lieve the  annals  of  England  never  produced." 

Nelson  here  evidently  assumes  that  it  was  possible  to  have 
got  at  the  French  fleet.  After  a  man's  reputation  has  been 
established,  there  is  always  the  danger  of  giving  undue  weight 
to  his  opinions,  expressed  at  an  earlier  time,  somewhat 
casually,  and  not  under  the  sobering  sense  of  responsibility. 
Hotham  may  have  questioned  the  possibility  of  getting  at  the 
French  effectively,  having  regard  to  the  fickle  lightness  of 
the  wind  tlien  prevalent,  and  to  the  fact  that,  besides  the  two 
ships  partially  dismasted  and  for  the  moment  useless,  two 
others,  the  "  Cai)tain "  and  the  "  Bedford,"  had  suffered 
severely  in  sails  and  rigging.  He  would  also  doubtless  con- 
sider that  the  three-decked  ships,  of  which  he  had  four,  were 
iiotoriously  bad  sailers,  and  sure  to  drop  behind  if  the  chase 
lasted  long,  leaving  to  eight  ships,  incliiding  the  "Neapoli- 
tan," the  burden  of  arresting  the  enemy,  who  had  shown  very 
fair  offensive  powers  in  the  morning.  Nelson  was  not  blind 
to  these  factn,  and  not  infrequently  alludes  to  them.     "  Had 


we  only  a  L.  \  eze,  I  have  no  doubt 


we  should  have 


given  a 


destructive  bjt>w  to  the  enemy's  fleet."  "Sure  I  am,  that 
had  the  breeze  continued,  so  as  to  have  allowed  us  to  close 
with  the  enemy,  we  should  have  destroyed  their  whole  fleet." 
AVhether  these  remarks  apply  to  the  heat  of  the  engagement, 
or  to  the  proposed  chase,  which  Hotham  declined  to  permit, 
is  not  perfectly  clear ;  but  inasmuch  as  the  second  part  of 
the  action  of  the  14th  consisted,  actually,  in  the  French  filing 
by  the  "  Courageux  "  and  the  •*  Illustrious,"  upon  whom  their 
fire  was  thus  concentrated,  while  the  rest  of  the  British  were 
becalmed  out  of  gunshot,  it  is  very  possible  he  was  thinking 
of  that  incident  only,  which  doubtless  would  have  taken  a 
very  different  turn  had  the  main  body  been  able  to  come 
down.    His  wish  to  pursue  is  unquestionable,  both  from  his 


MILITAUY  OriNIONS 


145 


assertion  and  from  the  whole  character  of  his  career  before 
and  after;  and  a  casual  remark,  written  ten  days  after  the 
affair,  shows  his  opinion  coafirmed  by  time.  **  Had  our  fi;o(jd 
admiral  followed  the  blow,  we  should  probably  have  done 
more,  but  the  risk  was  thought  too  great." 

The  question  attracts  attention,  both  impersonally,  as  of 
military  interest,  and  also  as  bearing  upon  Nelson's  correct- 
ness of  judgment,  and  professional  characteristics,  at  t'lis 
time.  As  regards  the  amount  of  wind,  it  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  the  French  fleet,  having  borne  away  to  tiie  westward  ;n 
the  afternoon,  was  next  day  out  of  sight.*  Most  of  the 
British  might  equally  have  been  out  of  sight  from  the  posi- 
tion in  which  they  remained.  As  for  the  risk  —  of  course 
there  was  risk ;  but  the  whole  idea  of  a  general  chase  rests 
upon  the  fact  that,  for  one  reason  or  another,  the  extreme 
speed  of  the  ships  in  each  fleet  will  vary,  and  that  it  is 
always  probable  that  the  fastest  of  the  pursuers  can  overtake 
the  slowest  of  the  pursued.  The  resulting  combats  compel 
the  latter  either  to  abandon  his  ships,  or  to  incur  a  general 
action,  which,  from  the  fact  of  his  flight,  it  is  evident  he  has 
reason  to  avoid.  In  this  case  many  of  the  retreating  French 
were  crippled,  —  some  went  off  towed  by  frigates,  and  some 
without  bowsprits.  Unquestionably,  the  pursuers  who  thus 
engage  may  be  overpowered  before  those  following  them 
come  up;  but  the  balance  of  chances  is  generally  iu  their 
favor,  and  in  the  particular  instance  would  have  been  mark- 
edly so,  as  was  shown  by  the  results  of  the  two  days'  fighting, 
which  had  proved  the  superior  quality  of  the  British  ships' 
companies. 

The  fact  is,  neither  Hotham  nor  his  opponent,  Martin,  was 
willing  to  hazard  a  decisive  naval  action,  but  wished  merely 
to  obtain  a  temporary  advantage,  —  the  moment's  safety,  no 
risks.  "  I  have  good  reason,"  wrote  Hotham  in  his  despatch, 
"  to  hope,  from  the  enemy's  steering  to  the  westward  after 
having  passed  our  fleet,  that  whatever  might  have  been  their 
design,  their  intentions  are  for  the  present  frustrated."  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  a  man  who  looks  no  further 
ahead  than  this,  who  fails  to  realize  that  the  destruction  of 
the  enemy's  fleet  is  the  one  condition  of  permanent  safety  to 

1  Nelson  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  March  15,  1795.     (Nicolas.) 

10 


v 


140 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I 


his  cause,  will  not  rise  to  the  conception  presented  to  him  on 
his  quarter-deck  by  Nelson.  The  latter,  whether  by  the  sheer 
intuition  of  genius,  which  is  most  probable,  or  by  the  result 
of  well-urdered  reasoning,  which  is  less  likely,  realized  fully 
that  to  destroy  the  French  fleet  was  the  one  thing  for  which 
the  liritish  fleet  was  there,  and  the  one  thing  by  doing  which 
it  could  decisively  affec!;  the  war.  As  he  wrote  four  years 
later  to  St.  Vincent,  **  Not  one  moment  shall  be  lost  in  bring- 
ing the  enemy  to  battle ;  for  I  consider  the  best  defence  for 
his  Sicilian  Majesty's  dominions  is  to  place  myself  alongside 
the  French." 

Yet  Nelson  was  far  from  unconscious  of  the  difficulties  of 
Hothain's  position,  or  from  failing  duly  to  allow  for  them. 
"Admiral  llotham  has  had  much  to  contend  with,  a  fleet  half- 
manned,  and  in  every  respect  inferior  to  the  enemy;  Italy 
calling  hinx  to  her  defence,  our  newly  acquired  kingdom  ^ 
calling  might  and  main,  our  reinforcements  and  convoy  hourly 
expected;  and  all  to  be  done  without  a  force  by  any  means 
adequate  to  it."  Add  to  this  the  protection  of  I3ritish  trade, 
of  whose  needs  Nelson  was  always  duly  sensible.  Yet,  as 
one  scans  this  list  of  troubles,  with  the  query  how  to  meet 
them  running  in  his  mind,  it  is  scarcely  possible  not  to  see 
that  each  and  every  ditticulty  would  have  been  solved  by  a 
crushing  pursuit  of  the  beaten  French,  preventing  their  again 
taking  the  sea.  The  British  admiral  had  in  his  control  no 
means  to  force  them  out  of  port.  Therefore,  when  out,  he 
should  by  no  means  have  allowed  them  to  get  back.  It  is 
only  just  to  Hotham,  who  had  been  a  capable  as  well  as 
gallant  captain,  to  say  that  he  had  objected  to  take  the  chief 
command,  on  atu'ount  of  his  liealth. 

Nelson  was  delighted  with  his  own  share  in  these  affairs, 
and  with  the  praise  he  received  from  others  for  his  conduct, 
—  especially  that  on  the  13th.  He  Avas  satisfied,  and  justly, 
that  liis  sustained  and  daring  grapple  with  the  "^alra,"  in 
the  teeth  of  her  fleet,  had  been  the  effective  cause  of  the  next 
day's  action  and  consequent  success.  It  was  so,  in  truth, 
and  it  presented  an  epitome  of  what  the  14th  and  15th  ought 
to  have  witnessed,  —  a  persistent  clinging  to  the  crippled 
ships,   in  order  to  force    their  consorts  apin  intg  battle. 

1  Corsica. 


«  You 
ure  I  1 
Could 
13th." 

certain 


DOMESTIC   AFFECTIONS 


l«l 


"  You  will  participate,"  he  wrote  to  his  uncle,  "  in  the  pleas- 
ure I  must  have  felt  in  being  the  great  cause  of  our  success. 
Could  I  have  been  supported,  I  would  have  had  ^a  Ira  on  the 
13th."  Elliot,  the  Viceroy  of  Corsica,  wrote  to  him :  "  I 
certainly  consider  the  business  of  t!  .  th  of  March  as  a 
very  capital  feature  in  the  late  successtul  contest  with  the 
French  fleet ;  and  the  part  which  the  Agamemnon  had  in  it 
must  be  felt  by  every  one  to  be  one  of  the  circumstances  that 
gave  lustre  to  this  event,  and  rendered  it  not  only  useful,  but 
peculiarly  honourable  to  the  British  arms."  "  So  far,"  added 
Nelson,  in  quoting  this  to  his  wife,  "  all  hands  agree  in  giving 
me  the  praises  which  cannot  but  be  comfortable  to  mo  to  the 
last  moment  of  my  life."  Tie  adds  then  a  reflection,  evincing 
that  he  was  assimilating  some  of  the  philosophy  of  life  as 
well  as  of  fighting.  "  The  time  of  my  being  left  out  here  by 
Lord  Hood,"  which  he  had  so  much  regretted,  "  I  may  call 
well  spent;  had  I  been  absent,  how  mortified  should  I  now 
be.  What  has  happened  may  never  happen  to  any  one  again, 
that  only  one  ship-of-thc-line  out  of  fourteen  should  get  into 
action  with  the  French  fleet  for  so  long  a  time  as  two  hours 
and  a  half,  and  with  such  a  ship  as  the  (^a  Ira."  It  may  be 
of  interest  to  mention  that  the  French  fleet,  upon  this  occa- 
sion, was  largely  composed  of  the  vessels  which  three  years 
later  were  destroyed  by  him  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nilo. 

In  all  his  interests,  ambitions,  and  gratification  with  success 
and  praise,  he  at  this  period  writes  fully  and  intimately  to  his 
wife,  between  whom  and  himself  there  evidently  still  existed, 
after  these  two  years  of  absence,  a  tender  and  affectionate  con- 
fidence. "  It  is  with  an  inexpressible  pleasure  I  have  received 
your  letters,  with  our  father's.  I  rejoice  that  my  conduct 
gives  you  pleasure,  and  I  trust  I  shall  never  do  anything 
which  will  bring  a  blush  on  your  face.  Eest  assured  you  are 
never  absent  from  my  thoughts."  When  looking  forward  to 
the  action  of  March  14,  he  tells  her :  "  Whatever  may  be  my . 
fate,  I  have  no  doubt  in  my  own  mind  but  that  my  conduct  will 
be  such  as  will  not  bring  a  blush  on  the  face  of  my  friends ;  the 
lives  of  all  are  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  knows  best  whether 
to  preserve  mine  or  not ;  to  His  will  do  I  resign  myself.  My 
character  and  good  name  are  in  my  own  keeping.  Life  with 
disgrace  is  dreadful.     A  glorious  death  is  to  be  envied ; "  and 


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23  WIST  MAIN  STRHT 

WISSTU.N.Y.  14580 

(716)  •72-4903 


4i. 


148 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


■  I, 


t  ^ 


1 


he  signs  himself  witli  luiwonted  tenderness,  "Ever  your  most 
faithful  and  aft'ectionate  husband."  Save  of  the  solemn  hours 
before  Trafalgar,  when  another  image  occupied  his  thoughts, 
this  is  the  only  personal  record  we  have  of  the  feelings  with 
which  this  man,  dauntless  above  his  fellows,  went  into  battle. 
He  refrains  thoughtfully  from  any  mention  of  his  health  that 
may  cause  her  anxiety,  which  she  had  shown  herself  over 
weak  and  worrying  to  bear;  but  he  speaks  freely  of  all  that 
passes,  confiding  that  with  her  he  need  have  no  reserves,  even 
in  a  natural  self-praise.  "This  I  can  say,  that  all  I  have 
obtained  I  owe  to  myself,  and  to  no  one  else,  and  to  you  I  may 
add,  that  my  character  stands  high  with  almost  all  Europe. 
Even  the  Austrians  knew  my  name  perfectly."  While  silent 
on  the  subject  of  illness,  he  admits  now  that  his  eye  had 
grown  worse,  and  was  in  almost  total  darkness,  besides  being 
very  painful  at  times ;  "  but  never  mind,"  he  adds  cheeringly, 
"  I  can  see  very  well  with  the  other." 

It  is  instructive  to  note,  in  view  of  some  modern  debated 
questions,  that,  despite  the  recent  success.  Nelson  was  by  no 
means  sure  that  the  British  fleet  could  defend  Corsica.  "  I 
am  not  even  now  certain  Corsica  is  safe,"  he  wrote  on  the  25th 
of  March,  "if  they  undertake  the  expedition  with  proper 
spirit."  The  threat,  never  absent  while  the  French  fleet  re- 
mained, was  emphasized  by  the  arrival  of  six  ships-of-the-line 
from  Brest,  which  reached  Toulon  on  the  4th  of  April, 
materially  altering  the  complexion  of  affairs  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  furnishing  an  instructive  instance  of  the  probable 
punishment  for  opportunity  imperfectly  utilized,  as  on  the 
14th  of  March.  Great  discontent  was  felt  at  the  apparent 
failure  of  the  Admiralty  to  provide  against  this  chance. 
"  Hotham  is  very  much  displeased  with  them,"  wrote  Nelson, 
"  and  certainly  with  reason  ;  "  and  doubtless  it  is  satisfactory 
to  believe,  rightly  or  wrongly,  that  our  disadvantages  are  due 
'to  the  neglect  of  others,  and  not  to  our  own  shortcomings. 

Although  the  nominal  force  of  the  French  was  thus  raised 
to  twenty  of  the  line,  the  want  of  seamen,  and  the  absence  of 
discipline,  prevented  their  seizing  the  opportunity  offered  by 
the  temporary  inferiority  of  the  British,  reduced  to  thirteen 
besides  two  Neapolitans,  in  whose  efficiency,  whether  justly  or 
not,  Nelson  placed  little  confidence.     At  this  critical  moment, 


witli 
to  Ui 
outb 
oper 
upoi 
they 


A' 


HIS  OriNION  OF  LORD  HOOD 


149 


5th 


with  a  large  British  military  convoy  expected,  and  the  fleet, 
to  use  his  impatient  expression,  "  skulking  in  port,"  a  Jacobin 
outbreak  occurred  in  Toulon,  and  the  seamen  assumed  the 
operorbouffe  role  of  going  ashore  to  assist  in  deliberations 
upon  the  measures  necessary  to  save  the  country.  Before 
they  were  again  ready  to  go  to  sea,  the  convoy  had  arrived. 
On  the  7th  of  June,  however,  the  French  again  sailed  from 
Toulon,  seventeen  ships-of-the-line ;  and  the  following  day 
Nelson,  writing  to  his  brother,  thus  gave  vent  to  the  bitterness 
of  his  feelings :  "  We  have  been  cruising  off  Minorca  for  a 
long  month,  every  moment  in  expectation  of  reinforcements 
from  England.  Great  good  fortune  has  hitherto  saved  lis, 
what  none  in  this  fleet  could  have  expected  for  so  long  a  time. 
Near  two  months  we  have  been  skulking  from  them.  Had 
they  not  got  so  much  cut  up  on  the  14th  of  March,  Corsica, 
Rome,  and  Naples  would,  at  this  moment,  have  been  in  their 
possession,  and  may  yet,  if  these  jjeople  [the  Admiralty]  do 
not  make  haste  to  help  us.  I  am  out  of  spirits,  although 
never  better  in  health." 

His  depression  Avas  due  less  to  the  inadequacy  of  the  British 
fleet  than  to  the  dismissal  of  Lord  Hood  from  the  command, 
news  of  which  was  at  this  time  received.  When  about  to  sail 
from  England,  to  resume  his  duty  as  commander-in-chief,  he 
got  into  a  controversy  with  the  Government  about  the  force 
necessary  in  the  Mediterranean,  and,  giving  oflience  by  the 
sharpness  of  his  language,  was  ordered  to  haul  down  his  flag. 
He  never  again  went  to  sea.  Nelson  deplored  his  loss  in 
terms  unusually  vivacious :  "  Oh,  miserable  Board  of  Admi- 
ralty !  They  have  forced  the  first  officer  in  our  service  away 
from  his  command."  In  more  temperate  but  well-weighed 
words,  he  said :  "  This  fieet  must  regret  the  loss  of  Lord 
Hood,  the  best  officer,  take  him  altogether,  that  England  has 
to  boast  of.  Lord  Howe  is  certainly  a  great  officer  in  the 
management  of  a  fleet,  but  that  is  all.  Lord  Hood  is  equally 
great  in  all  situations  which  an  admiral  can  be  placed  in."  In 
the  judgment  of  the  present  writer,  this  estimate  of  Hood  is 
as  accurate  as  it  is  moderate  in  expression.  It  was  nothing 
less  than  providential  for  the  French  that  he  was  not  in  com- 
mand on  the  14th  of  March,  or  in  the  vet  more  trivial  and 
discreditable  affair  of  July  18th,  when,  to  use  again  Nelson's 


•  ii 


i    ' 


l1 


150 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I! 


V! 


I 


n 


words,  "To  say  how  much  we  wanted  Lord  Hood  at  tliat 
time,  is  to  say,  Avill  you  have  all  the  French  fleet  or  no 
action  ?  " 

On  the  14th  of  June  the  expected  reinforcement  from  Eng- 
land, nine  ships-of-the-line,  joined  the  fleet  oiT  Minorca ;  and  a 
few  days  later  a  large  convoy  also  arrived,  with  which  the 
whole  body  of  shri)S  of  war  put  into  San  Fiorenzo  Bay  on  tlie 
29th.  This  concluded  for  Nelson  a  period  of  three  months, 
counting  from  the  action  of  March  14th,  of  pretty  monotonous 
cruising  Avith  the  fleet,  the  last  in  which  he  was  to  take  part 
until  his  admiral's  flag  was  hoisted,  two  years  later.  Though 
unmarked  by  any  event  of  importance,  the  time  was  passed 
not  unprofitably  to  himself,  for  his  correspondence  bears  marks 
of  fruitful  reflection,  not  merely  upon  the  evident  inadequacy 
of  his  commander-in-chief  to  the  position  he  unwillingly  occu- 
pied, but  upon  the  character  of  the  operations  and  the  line  of 
conduct  that  ought  to  be  followed.  If  lie  does  criticise  the 
former's  want  of  head  for  enterprise,  he  formulates  for  him- 
self a  general  principle  which  showed  its  vital  influence  in  his 
future  career.  "After  all  my  complaints,  I  have  no  doubt 
but,  if  we  can  get  close  to  the  enemy,  we  shall  defeat  any  plan 
of  theirs  ;  but  we  ought  to  have  our  ideas  beyond  mere  defensive 
measui'es.'' 

Among  other  matters  for  reflection,  he  had  at  this  time  a 
curious  cause  of  anxiety,  lest  he  should  be  promoted  to  flag 
rank,  or  rather  that,  being  promoted,  he  should  be  obliged  to 
return  to  England  at  once,  as  there  would  be  too  many 
admirals  in  the  Mediterranean  to  permit  his  retention.  A 
rumor  was  current,  which  proved  to  be  correct,  that  there 
would  be  a  large  promotion  on  the  1st  of  June,  the  first  anni- 
versary of  the  victory  celebrated  by  that  name.  Being  then 
forty-six  on  the  list  of  captains.  Nelson  feared  that  it  might 
include  him ;  in  which  case,  if  not  permitted  to  hoist  his  flag 
where  he  was,  not  only  would  he  lose  his  ardently  desired 
opportunities  for  distinction,  —  'not  an  hour  this  war  will  I, 
if  possible,  be  out  of  active  service,"  —  but  he  would  be  put 
to  much  inconvenience  and  loss.  "  If  they  give  me  my  flag,  I 
shall  be  half  rained:  unless  I  am  immediately  employed  in 
this  country,  I  should,  by  the  time  I  landed  in  England,  be  a 
loser,  several  hundred  pounds  out  of  pocket."     To  be  taken 


APPOINTED  COLONEL  OF   MARINES 


151 


"  from  actual  service  would  distress  me  much,  more  especially 
as  I  almost  believe  these  people  will  be  mad  enough  to  come 
out."  He  escaped  this  disappointment,  however,  for  the  pro- 
motion left  him  still  on  the  post-captains'  list,  seven  from  its 
head;  but  he  received,  what  was  both  complimentary  and 
profitable,  the  honorary  rank  of  Colonel  of  Marines,  —  a  sine- 
cure appointment,  of  which  there  were  then  four,  given  to 
post-captains  of  distinguished  services,  and  vacated  by  them 
upon  promotion.  These  are  now  discontinued,  and  replaced,  as 
a  matter  of  emolument,  by  Good  Service  Pensions.  Nelson 
heard  later  that  this  reward  had  been  conferred  upon  him,  not 
merely  as  a  favor,  but  with  a  full  recognition  of  all  his  claims 
to  it.  "The  Marines  have  been  given  to  me  in  the  hand- 
somest manner.  The  answer  given  to  many  was,  the  King 
knew  no  officer  who  had  served  so  much  for  them  as  myself.'* 

These  promotions  came  timely  to  insure  for  him  an  em- 
ployment particularly  suited  to  his  active  temperament  and 
fearlessness  of  responsibility,  but  which,  though  the  fittest 
man  for  it,  he  might,  with  less  seniority,  not  have  received 
from  Hothara,  despite  the  well-known  confidence  in  him 
shown  by  Hood.  Since  the  spring  opened,  the  Austrians  and 
their  allies,  the  Sardinians,  had  been  waiting,  ostensibly  at 
least,  for  assistance  from  the  Navy,  to  begin  a  forward  move- 
ment, the  first  object  of  which  was  the  possession  of  Vado 
Bay  as  a  safe  anchorage  for  the  fleet.  Until  tlie  arrival  of 
Man  and  the  convoy,  Hotham  had  not  folt  strong  enough  to 
spare  the  required  force  ;  but  now,  after  the  ships  had  filled 
their  wants  from  the  transports,  he,  on  the  4th  of  July,  de- 
tached Nelson,  with  the  "  Agamemnon "  and  six  smaller 
vessels,  to  co-operate  with  the  Austrian  commander-in-chief. 
The  latter  had  begun  his  movement  on  the  13th  of  June, 
passing  through  Genoese  territor}''  despite  the  remonstrances 
of  the  Republic,  whose  neutrality  could  claim  but  slight  re- 
gard from  one  belligerent,  when  she  had  already  ])ermitted 
the  occupation  of  so  much  of  her  shore  line  by  the  other. 
The  French  had  fallen  back,  when  attacked,  abandoning  Vado 
Bay  to  the  enemy,  whose  headquarters  were  established  at 
that  point. 

Nelson,  having  sailed  with  four  of  his  squadron,  fell  in  with 
the  French  fleet  of  seventeen  of  the  line,  off  the  Riviera,  on 


'    I'ly 


!,  'i 


i  f 


'1    w 


'I       ; 


152 


THE   LIFE  OF  NP:LS0N 


!  r 


ih    •'   ^  ■ 


K<  b  ■ . 


the  0th  of  July.  Ho  had,  of  course,  to  retreat,  which  he  did 
upon  San  Fiorenzo,  to  join  the  body  of  the  fleet.  On  the 
morning  of  the  7th  the  "  Agamemnon "  and  lier  followers, 
with  the  French  in  close  pursuit,  were  sighted  from  the  an- 
chorage, much  to  tlie  surprise  of  the  admiral,  who  knew  the 
enemy  had  come  out,  but,  upon  the  information  of  the  Aus- 
trian general,  believed  them  returned  to  Toulon.  Why  he 
had  not  more  accurate  news  from  lookout  frigates  is  not  clear; 
but,  as  Nelson  said,  he  took  things  easy,  and  he  had  persuaded 
himself  that  they  had  left  harbor  only  to  exercise  tlieir  men. 
As  it  was,  the  "  Agamennion  "  was  hard  pressed,  but  escaped, 
chiefly  tiirough  the  enemy's  lack  of  seamanship.  The  fleet, 
when  slie  arrived,  was  in  the  midst  of  refitting  and  watering, 
but  succeeded  in  getting  to  sea  the  following  morning  in  search 
of  the  enemy,  who  meantime  had  disappeared. 

Precise  information  of  the  French  whereabouts  could  not  be 
obtained  until  the  evening  of  the  12th,  when  two  of  the  Brit- 
ish lookout  ships  reported  that  they  had  been  seen  a  few  hours 
before  to  the  southwest,  south  of  the  Hyeres  Islands.  The 
fleet  made  sail  in  that  direction.  During  the  night  a  heavy 
gale  came  on  from  west-northwest,  out  of  the  Gulf  of  Lyons, 
which  split  the  main-topsails  of  seyeral  British  ships.  At 
daybreak  the  enemy  were  discovered  in  the  southeast,  standing 
north  to  close  the  land.  After  some  elaborate  manoeuvring  — 
to  reach  one  of  those  formal  orders,  often  most  useful,  but 
which  the  irregular  Mediterranean  winds  arc-  prone  to  dis- 
arrange as  soon  as  completed  —  the  admiral  at  8  a.  m.  signalled 
a  general  chase.  The  British  being  to  windward,  and  the 
breeze  fresh,  the  half-dozen  leading  ships  had  at  noon  closed 
the  enemy's  rear  within  three-quarters  of  a  mile ;  but,  from 
their  relative  positions,  as  then  steering,  the  guns  of  neither 
could  be  used  effectively.  At  this  time  a  shift  of  wind  to 
north  headed  off  both  fleets,  which  put  their  bows  to  the 
eastward,  throwing  the  British  advanced  vessels,  to  use 
Nelson's  expression,  into  line  abreast,  and  bringing  to  bear 
t^ie  broadsides  of  the  ships,  of  both  fleets,  that  were  within 
range.  The  action  then  began,  the  British  fire  being  directed 
mainly  upon  the  French  rear  ship,  the  "  Alcide,"  which  sur- 
rendered at  about  2  v.  m.,  and  soon  afterwards  blew  up.  The 
wind  had  meanwhile  changed  again  to  the  eastward,  giving 


TAUTIAL  FLEET  ACTION,  JULY   i;j,   171)5 


ir>;{ 


the  weather-gage  to  the  French,  most  of  whom  were  consider- 
ably nearer  the  shore  than  their  opponents,  and  better  sailers. 

Up  to  this  time  Nelson,  who  in  the  forenoon  had  thought 
there  was  every  prospect  of  taking  every  ship  in  the  French 
fleet,  still  felt  almost  certain  that  six  would  be  secured ;  but, 
to  use  his  own  words,  it  was  now  "impossible  to  close."  In 
the  space  between  the  ships  engaged,  and  to  leeward,  the 
light  air  seems  to  have  been  killed  by  the  cannonading; 
whereas  the  French,  who  were  now  to  windward,  still  re- 
ceived enough  to  draw  slowly  away.  Hothara,  being  in  one 
of  the  very  worst  sailers  in  the  fleet,  if  not  in  the  Navy,  had 
fallen  eight  miles  astern,  and  not  seeing  clearly  how  things 
were  going,  made  at  this  time  a  signal  of  recall,  which  was 
certainly  premature.  It  seems  a  not  improper  comment  that, 
in  light  and  baffling  weather,  such  as  that  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  commander-in-chief  should  have  been  in  a  fast 
and  handy  ship,  able  at  the  least  to  keep  him  within  eyeshot 
of  the  decisive  scene.  Remaining  in  the  "Britannia"  may 
have  been  due  to  the  natural  unwillingness  of  an  invalid  to 
quit  his  well-ordered  surroundings,  by  which  even  St.  Vincent 
was  led  to  take  a  first-rate  ship  away  with  himself  at  a  criti- 
cal moment;  but,  if  so,  it  only  emphasizes  the  absolute 
necessity  of  physical  vigor  to  a  commander-in-chief. 

Nelson  had  again  managed  to  keep  the  "  Agamemnon  "  well 
to  the  front,  for  the  other  ships  that  succeeded  in  getting 
into  action  were  almost  wholly  from  among  those  which  had 
recently  arrived  from  England  with  liear-Admiral  Man. 
These,  being  fresh  from  home,  should  naturally  outsail  a  ship 
now  two  and  a  half  years  in  commission,  and  which,  not  long 
after,  had  to  be  wrapped  with  hawsers  to  hold  her  together. 
In  his  comments  on  the  action  he  says  comparatively  little  of 
the  signal  of  recall,  which,  though  ill-timed,  he  does  not  seem 
to  have  thought  affected  the  result  materially  ;  but  he  was 
utterly  dissatisfied  with  the  previous  management  of  the 
business,  and  into  the  causes  of  this  dissatisfacition  it  is  de- 
sirable to  look,  as  bearing  at  once  upon  his  natural  military 
characteristics,  and  the  development  they  received  from  time 
and  thought.  "The  scrambling  distant  fire  was  a  farce,"  he 
wrote ;  "  but  if  one  fell  by  such  a  fire,  what  might  not  have 
been  expected  had  our   whole   fleet  engaged"     Improperly 


u 


i.  'h   i 


^   i 


154 


THK   LIFE   OF   NKLSON 


,1 


as  the  purt  of  the  fleet  wliich  fired  got  into  action,  we  took 
one  ship ;  but  the  subject  is  unpleasunt,  and  I  shall  have  done 
with  it."  The  criticism,  though  far  from  explicit,  evidently 
bears  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  fieet  was  handled,  from 
the  moment  the  enemy  was  sighted  until  the  firing  began. 
During  the  latter,  Man  was  the  senior  ofticer  on  the  spot,  and 
Kelson  does  not  blame  him ;  on  the  contrary,  punning  on  the 
name,  says,  "  lie  is  a  good  nuin  in  every  sense  of  the  word." 

Tlie  precise  working  of  his  tliought  can  only  bo  inferred. 
"  The  whole  fleet  "  failed  to  get  into  action.  Why  ?  Because 
the  signal  for  a  general  chase  was  delayed  from  4  to  8  a.  m., 
pending  certain  drill-ground  manceuvres,  upon  whose  results, 
however  well  intended,  no  dependence  could  be  placed  in 
Mediterranean  weather.  During  these  four  hours  the  wind 
was  fresh,  —  the  heel  of  a  short  summer's  gale,  invaluable  to 
both  sides,  — and  the  enemy  were  using  it  to  close  the  shore, 
where  wind,  the  sole  dependence  for  motive  power,  baffles 
most.  Had  the  fastest  British  ships,  under  a  competent  flag- 
cflficer,  utilized  that  time  and  that  wind,  there  was,  to  put  the 
case  most  mildly,  the  chance  that  they  could  repeat,  upon  the 
French  rear,  the  same  part  the  "  Agamemnon "  alone  had 
played  with  the  "^^Ira," — and  such  a  chance,  were  it  no 
more,  should  not  have  been  dawdled  with.  "  Missed  the 
opportunity,"  —  the  fatal  words,  "it  might  have  been."  Is 
it  far-fetched  to  dee  in  his  reflections  upon  "this  miserable 
action,"  as  it  is  styled  independently  by  James  and  himself, 
the  forecast  of  the  opening  sentence  of  his  celebrated  order 
before  Trafalgar  ?  —  "  Thinking  it  almost  impossible  to  bring 
a  fleet  of  forty  sail-of-the-line  ^  into  a  line  of  battle  in  vari- 
able Avinds,  thick  weather,  and  other  circumstances  which 
must  occur,  without  such  a  loss  of  time  that  the  opportunity 
would  prohahlij  be  lost  of  bringing  the  enemy  to  battle  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  the  business  decisive,  I  have  therefore  made 
up  my  mind  —  "  Or,  again,  as  he  saw  Man  dragged  off — with 
too  little  remonstrance,  it  may  be  —  by  a  superior,  who  could 
by  no  means  see  what  was  the  state  of  the  action,  is  there  not 
traceable  a  source  of  the  feeling,  partly  inborn,  partly 
reasoned,  that  found  expression  in  the  generous  and  yet  most 
wise  words  of  the  same  immortal  order?  —  "The  second  in 
1  There  were  twenty-tliree  present  on  July  13,  1795. 


CO  mi 

tent 

his 

the 

such 

and 

whic 

out 

jecte 

the 


HIS   IMlLirAKV   OPINIONS 


ir.5 


cominaiul  will  [in  fact  command  his  line  and],^  after  my  in- 
tentions are  made  known  to  him,  have  the  entire  direction  of 
his  line  to  make  the  attack  upon  the  enemy,  and  to  follow  up 
the  blow  until  they  are  captured  or  destroyed."  Whether 
such  words  be  regarded  as  the  labored  result  of  observatum 
and  reflection,  or  whether  as  the  flashes  of  intuition,  with 
which  genius  penetrates  at  once  to  the  root  of  a  matter,  with- 
out the  antecedent  processes  to  which  lesser  minds  are  sub- 
jected, —  in  either  case  they  are  instructive  when  linked  with 
the  events  of  his  career  here  under  discussion,  as  corrobo- 
rative indications  of  natural  temperament  and  insight,  which 
banish  altogether  the  thought  of  mere  fortuitous  valor  as  the 
one  explanation  of  Nelson's  successes. 

With  this  unsatisfactory  affair,  Nelson's  direct  connection 
with  the  main  body  of  the  fleet  came  to  an  end  for  the  re- 
mainder of  Hotham's  command.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
add  that  the  prime  object  of  the  British  fleet  at  all  times,  and 
not  least  in  the  Mediterranean  in  1795,  —  the  control  of  the 
sea,  —  continued  as  doubtful  as  it  had  been  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year.  The  dead  weight  of  the  admiral's  having  upon 
his  mind  the  Toulon  fleet,  undiminished  in  force  despite  two 
occasions  for  decisive  action,  was  to  be  clearly  seen  in  the 
ensuing  operations.  On  this,  also,  Nelson  did  much  thinking, 
as  passing  events  threw  light  upon  the  consequences  of  miss- 
ing opportunities.  "The  British  fleet,"  he  wrote,  five  years 
later,  and  no  man  better  knew  the  facts,  "  could  have  prevented 
the  invasion  of  Italy  ;  and,  if  our  friend  Hotham  had  kept  his 
fleet  on  that  coast,  I  assert,  and  you  will  agree  with  me,  no 
army  from  France  could  have  been  furnished  with  stores  or 
provisions ;  even  men  could  not  have  marched."  But  how 
keep  the  fleet  on  the  Italian  coast,  while  the  French  fleet  in 
full  vigor  remained  in  Toulon  ?  What  a  curb  it  was  appeared 
again  in  the  next  campaign,  and  even  more  clearly,  because 
the  British  were  then  commanded  by  Sir  John  Jervis,  a  man 
not  to  be  checked  by  ordinary  obstacles.  From  the  decks  of 
his  flagship  Nelson,  in  the  following  April,  watched  a  convoy 
passing  close  in  shore.     ''  To  get  at  them  was  impossible  be- 

1  Tho  words  in  brackets  were  erased  in  the  rougli  draft,  but  are  here  in- 
serted, because  they  emphasize  the  underlying  thought,  that  the  second  Avas 
to  have  real  conunanu,  not  wait  nor  look  for  signals,  nor  yet  fear  them. 


.i  |:>i 


1 


!  "^  '-    ■ 


I  ^ 


1 

v 


'11 


166 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


fore  tliey  anchored  under  such  batteries  as  would  have  crippled 
our  Heet;  and,  had  such  an  event  happened,  in  thejjrcaent  state 
of  the  eneitiij s  jlft't,  Tuscany,  Naples,  Home,  Sicily,  &c.,  would 
have  fallen  as  fast  as  their  ships  could  have  sailed  along  the 
coast.  Our  Heet  is  the  only  saviour  at  present  for  those 
countries.'' 


I  I 


led 
ate 
uld 
the 

Dse 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Nelson's  Command  of  a  Dktached  Squaduon  os  tub  Riviera  of 
Genoa,  until  the  Defeat  of  the  Austiuans  at  the  Hattle  of 
LoANo.  —  Sm  John  Jeiivis  ai'I'ointed  Commander-in-Chief  in  the 
Meditehranean. 

July-Decemhku,  179;").     Agk,  37. 

AFTER  the  action  of  July  13,  Xelsonwas  again  despatchetl 
upon  his  mission  to  co-operate  with  the  Austrians  on 
the  Riviera.  His  orders,  dated  July  15,  were  to  confer  first 
with  the  British  minister  at  Genoa,  and  thence  to  proceed 
with  his  squadron  to  the  Austrian  headcjuarters  at  Vado  Bay. 
The  seniority  he  had  now  attained  made  his  selection  for  this 
detached  and  responsible  service  less  evidently  flattering  than 
Hood's  preferment  of  him  to  such  positions  Avheii  he  was 
junior  in  rank  ;  but  the  duty  had  the  distinction  of  being  not 
only  arduous  from  the  purely  naval  standpoint,  but  delicate 
in  the  diplomatic  management  and  tact  required.  Although 
Great  Britain  at  that  period  was  rarely  slack  in  resorting  to 
strong  and  arbitrary  measures  in  dealing  with  neutrals,  when 
her  interests  seemed  to  demand  it,  she  was  always  exceedingly 
desirous  to  avoid  causes  of  needless  offence.  The  exigencies 
of  Southern  France,  and  of  both  the  opposing  armies  in 
the  Riviera,  had  created  a  busy  neutral  trade,  occupied  in 
supplying  all  parties  to  the  war,  as  well  as  the  inhabitants  of 
Genoese  towns  then  in  military  occupation  by  the  French. 
Although  the  latter  and  the  Austrians  had  both  openly  disre- 
garded the  neutrality  of  Genoa,  it  was  the  policy  of  Great 
Britain  now  to  manifest  respect  for  it  as  far  as  possible,  and 
at  the  same  time  not  to  raise  causes  of  diplomatic  contention 
over  the  neutral  trade,  although  this  was  well  known  to  be 
supporting  the  enemy's  army. 

When  Nelson  left   the  fleet,   he   had,  besides  his  special 
orders  for  his  own  mission,  a  circular  letter  from  the  admiral 


>'■     ., 


».  i 


I* 


1B8 


TIIIC  LIFK  OK  NELSOM 


>:.  I 


i  ■:\ 


to  all  vessels  under  his  command,  framed  upon  instructions 
received  from  England  a  month  before,  directing  special  caro 
"not  to  give  any  just  cause  of  offence  to  the  foreign  powers  in 
amity  with  his  Majesty,  and  wluniever  any  ships  or  vessels 
belonging  to  the  subjects  of  those  powers  shall  be  detained,  or 
brought  by  you  into  port,  you  are  to  transmit  to  tho  »S(;cretary 
of  the  Admiralty  a  complete  specification  of  their  cargoes,  and 
not  to  instituco  any  legal  process  against  such  ships  or  vessels 
until  their  lordships*  further  pleasure  shall  bo  known." 

To  the  naval  officers  on  the  spot  this  order  was  calculated 
to  increase  vastly  tho  perplexities,  which  necessarily  arose 
from  the  occupation  of  the  Genoese  coast  by  French  troojjs. 
But,  besides  questions  of  trade,  the  weaker  States,  Genoa  and 
Tuscany, — the  latter  of  which  had  recently  made  peace  with 
France,  —  were  driven  to  manifold  shifts  and  compromises,  in 
order  to  maintain  in  their  ports  such  semblance  of  impartial 
neutrality  as  would  save  them  from  reprisals  by  either  i)arty. 
These  measures,  while  insuring  to  some  extent  the  end  in 
view,  gave  rise  also  to  a  good  deal  of  friction  and  recrimination 
between  the  neutral  and  the  belligerents.  Tho  vessels  of  tho 
latter  were  admitted,  iinder  certain  limitations  as  tc  number,  into 
the  neutral  port,  where  they  lay  nearly  side  by  side,  jealously 
■watching  each  other,  and  taking  note  of  every  swerving,  real 
or  presumed,  from  an  exact  and  even  balance.  Each  sailed 
from  the  neutral  port  to  carry  on  war,  but  it  is  obvious  that 
the  shelter  of  such  a  port  was  far  more  useful  to  the  belligerent 
who  did  not  control  the  water,  who  moved  upon  it  only  by 
evasion  and  stealth,  and  who  was  therefore  tempted,  in  order 
to  improve  such  advantages,  to  stretch  to  the  verge  of  abuse 
the  privileges  permitted  to  him  by  the  neutral.  "  The  Genoese 
allow  the  French,"  wrote  Nelson,  *'  to  have  some  small  vessels 
in  the  port  of  Genoa,  that  I  have  seen  towed  out  of  the  port, 
and  board  vessels  coming  in,  and  afterwards  return  into  the 
mole  ;  the  conduct  of  the  English  is  very  different."  He  else- 
where allows,  however,  that,  "  in  the  opinion  of  the  Genoese, 
my  squadron  is  constantly  offending  ;  so  that  it  almost  appears 
a  trial  between  us,  who  shall  first  be  tired,  they  of  complain- 
ing, or  me  of  answering  them." 

After  the  first  successes  of  the  Austrians  and  Sardinians,  in 
the  previous  June,  the  French  commander-in-chief,  Kellerman, 


age 


Ml 


Ol'KKATIONS  ON  THE   RIVIEIIA,  179.') 


l.')0 


feeling  his  int'c:  ji  ity  to  bo  sucit  as  compelled  liim  to  a  de- 
fensive attitude,  had  carcfidly  selected  the  most  advanced  line 
that  he  thought  could  bo  held.     His  right  rested  upon  the  S(!a, 
near  the  village  of  Jiorghetto,  some  fifty  or  sixty  miU's  east  of 
Nice,  extending  then(!e  to  and  across  the  mountains,  to  Ormea. 
The  Austrian  front  was  parallel,  in  a  general  sense,  to  that  of 
the  enemy,  and  a  couple  of  leagues  to  the    eastward ;  thus 
securing  for  the  liritish  Vado  Bay,  considered  the  best  anchor- 
age between  Genoa  and  Nice.     In  rear  of  Vado,  to  the  east- 
ward, and  on  the   coast  road,    lay   the   fortress    of   Savona, 
esteemed  by  r>onaparte  of   the  first  importance  to  an  army 
operating  in  the  lliviera  and  dependent  upon  the  control  of 
the  road.     The  town  was  occupied  by  the  Austrians,  but  they 
were  excluded  from  the  citadel  by  Genoese  troops,  —  a  con- 
dition of  weakness  in  case  oi  sudden  retreat.     It  ought,  said 
Bonaparte,  to  be  the  object  of  all  the  enemy's  efforts.     In 
these  positions,  both  arniies  depended  for  supplies  partly  upon 
the  sea,  partly  upon  the  land  road  along  the  lliviera.     Across 
the  mountains,  in  Piedmont,  lay  the  Sardinian  forces,  extend- 
ing perpendicularly  to  the  main  front  of  the  French  operations, 
and,  so  far  as  position  went,  threatening  their  communications 
by  the  narrow  land  road.     The  character  of  the  ground  inter- 
vening between  the  French  and  Austrians  rendered  an  attack 
upon  either  line,  once  fairly  established,  very  difficult;  and  it 
was  doubtless  a  fault  in  the  Austrian  commander,  De  Vins, 
while  superior  in  force,  to  allow  the  enemy  to  strengthen  him- 
self in  a  position  which  at  the  first  had  its  weak  points  ;  the 
more  so  as  the  plainly  approaching  peace  between  Spain  and 
France  foretold  that  the  Army  of  Italy  would  soon  be  rein- 
forced.   Having,  however,  made   this  mistake,  the   Austrian 
settled  himself  in  his  works,  shrugged  the  responsibility  off 
his  own  shoulders,  and  awaited  that  either  the  Sardinians  by 
land,  or  the  British  by  sea,  should,  by  choking  the  communi- 
cations of  the  French,  compel  them  to  abandon  their  lines. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  Nelson,  on  the  21st  of  July, 
had  his  fii'st  interview  Avith  De  Vins ;  on  the  22d  peace  be- 
tween Spain  and  France  was  formally  conchuled.  Within 
a  month,  Bonaparte,  who  then  occupied  a  prominent  position 
in  Paris,  as  military  adviser  to  the  Government,  was  writing  : 
"  Peace  with  Spain  makes  offensive  war  in  Piedmont  certain  ; 


I 


i 


Jl 


'It 


.  ^  V 


^■^.    \ 


» 


100 


THE  LIFE  OE  NELSON 


my  plan  is  being  discussed ;  Vado  will  soon  he  taken  ; "  and  a 
few  days  later,  on  the  25th  of  August,  "  Troops  from  Spain 
are  marching  to  Italy."  It  was  incumbent  upon  the  French 
to  repossess  Vado,  for,  by  affording  safe  anchorage  to  small 
hostile  cruisers,  it  effectually  stopped  the  trade  with  Genoa. 
De  Vins  had  there  equipped  several  privateers,  under  the 
Austrian  flag.  Of  it  Bonaparte  said :  "  By  intercepting  the 
coasters  from  Italy,  it  has  suspended  our  commerce,  stopped 
the  arrival  of  provisions,  and  obliged  us  to  supply  Toulon 
from  the  interior  of  the  Republic.  It  is  recognized  that  our 
commerce  and  subsistence  require  that  communication  with 
Genoa  be  promptly  opened."  Having  in  view  Bonaparte's 
remaiV.able  campaign  of  the  following  year,  and  the  fact  that 
Vado  was  now  held  in  force  by  the  Austrians,  the  importance 
of  British  co-operation  by  the  fleet,  at  this  cricical  moment, 
becomes  strikingly  apparent.  The  future  thus  throws  back  a 
ray  of  illuminating  significance  upon  the  otherwise  paltry  and 
obscure  campaign  of  1795,  dragging  out  into  broad  daylight 
the  full  meaning  of  lost  opportunities  in  the  early  year,  and 
of  Nelson's  strenuous  efforts  in  his  detached  command. 

Immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  Genoa,  ou  July  17,  the 
effect  of  the  neutral  trade,  if  unchecked,  upon  the  operations 
of  both  armies,  was  brought  before  him  by  the  British  min- 
ister. Unless  the  supplies  thus  received  by  the  French  could 
be  stopped,  the  Austrian  general  would  not  only  be  unable  to 
advance,  but  feared  he  could  not  hold  his  present  position. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  forage  and  grain  thus  brought  to 
them  could  be  intercepted,  they  would  be  forced  to  retreat, 
and  Hiere  were  hopes  that  the  Austrians  might  reach  Nice 
before  winter,  thus  covering  the  excellent  and  advanced 
harbor  of  Villef ranche  as  an  anchorage  for  their  British  allies. 
Nelson  readily  understood  the  situation,  and  admitted  the 
necessity  of  the  service  demanded  of  his  squadion,  which  was 
simply  a  blow  at  the  enemy's  communications ;  but  he  pointed 
out  to  the  minister  that  the  circular  instructions,  before 
quoted,  tied  his  hands.  Not  only  would  the  ordinary  diffi- 
culties of  proving  the  ownership  and  destination  of  a  cargo 
give  rise  to  the  usual  vexatious  disputes,  and  irritate  neutrals, 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  order ;  but  there  was  a  particular 
complication  in  this  instance,  arising  from  the  occupation  of 


OPERATIONS  ON  THE   RI\ 


179.' 


161 


Genoese  towns  by  French  troops,  and  from  the  close  proximity 
of  the  neutral  and  hostile  seaboards.  These  embarrassments 
might  be  met,  were  it  permissible  to  sell  the  cargoes,  and  hold 
the  money  value,  subject  to  the  decision  of  an  admiralty  court 
upon  the  pi'opriety  of  the  seizure ;  but  this  the  circular 
explicitly  forbade,  until  the  case  was  referred  to  England. 
If  the  decision  there  was  adverse  to  the  captors,  the  other 
party  would  look  to  the  responsible  naval  officer  for  pecuniary 
redress,  and  as,  during  the  delay,  the  cargo  would  be  spoiled, 
costs  could  come  only  out  of  the  captor's  pocket.  Nelson's 
experiences  in  the  West  Indies,  ten  years  before,  naturally 
made  him  cautious  about  further  legal  annoyances. 

All  this  he  stated  with  his  usual  lucidity ;  but  the  case  was 
one  in  which  his  course  could  have  been  safely  predicted  by  a 
person  familiar  with  his  character.  The  need  for  the  pro- 
posed action  was  evident.  "The  whole  of  the  necessity  of 
stopping  all  the  vessels  is  comprised  in  a  very  few  Avords : 
that,  if  we  will  not  stop  supplies  of  corn,  etc.,  going  to  France, 
the  armies  will  return  from  whence  they  came,  and  the  failure 
of  this  campaign,  from  which  so  much  is  expected,  will  be 
laid  to  our  want  of  energy ;  for  the  only  use  of  the  naval 
co-operation  is  the  keeping  out  a  supply  of  provisions."  He 
therefore,  after  a  night's  reflection,  told  the  minister  that  if 
he  would  tell  him,  officially,  that  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  his 
Majesty's  service  that  he  should  stop  all  trade  between  the 
neutral  towns  and  France,  and  places  occupied  by  the  armies 
of  France,  he  vould  give  the  proper  directions  for  that  pur- 
pose. It  woul<'  'lave  been  possible  for  him,  though  with  some 
delay,  to  refer  liio  matter  to  Hotham,  but  he  knew  the  latter's 
temperament,  and  distrusted  it.  "Our  admiral  has  no  politi- 
cal courage  whatever,"  he  wrote  to  Collingwood,  "and  is 
alarmed  at  the  mention  of  any  strong  measure  ;  but,  in  other 
respects,  he  is  as  good  a  man  as  can  possibly  be."  With  a 
superior  so  little  decided,  it  was  better,  by  his  own  independ- 
ent initiative,  to  create  a  situation,  which  the  former  would 
be  as  backward  to  reverse  as  he  w  ould  have  been  to  change 
the  previous  and  wholly  different  state  of  things.  Like  the 
American  frontiersman,  whose  motto  was,  "  lie  sure  you  're 
right,  then  go  ahead,"  Nelson,  when  convinced,  knew  no  hesi- 
tations; but  further,  he  unquestionably  derived  keen  enjoy- 

11 


;1 


L,  1 


H*i 


!    I' 


I'y 


y 


■■;^i  ^ 


Ml 


I 


i 

r 


I  i 


*; 


if 


!p 


'i  ■ 


l! 


i\ 


162 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


ment  from  the  sense  that  the  thing  clone  involved  risk  to 
himself,  appealed  to  and  brought  into  play  his  physical  or 
moral  courage,  in  the  conscious  exercise  of  which  he  delighted. 
"  I  am  acting,  not  only  without  the  orders  of  my  commander- 
in-chief,  but  in  some  measure  contrary  to  them.  However,  I 
have  not  only  the  support  of  his  Majesty's  ministers,  both  at 
Turin  and  Genoa,  but  a  consciousness  that  I  am  doing  what  is 
right  and  proper  for  the  service  of  our  King  and  Country. 
Political  courage  in  an  officer  abroad  is  as  highly  necessary  as 
military  courage."  "  The  orders  I  have  given  are  strong,  and 
I  know  not  how  my  admiral  will  approve  of  them,  for  they 
are,  in  a  great  measure,  contrary  to  those  he  gave  me ;  but  the 
service  requires  strong  and  vigorous  measures  to  bring  the 
war  to  a  conclusion." 

The  case  bore  some  resemblance  to  that  in  which  he  had 
disobeyed  Hughes  in  the  West  Indies ;  but  the  disregard  of 
the  superior's  orders  on  the  earlier  occasion  was  more  direct, 
and  the  necessity  for  it  less  urgent.  In  both  he  disobeyed 
first,  and  referred  afterwards,  and  in  both  his  action  was 
practically  sustained ;  for,  whatever  the  technical  fault,  the 
course  taken  was  tlie  one  demanded  by  the  needs  of  the  situa- 
tion. It  is  possible  to  recognize  the  sound  policy,  the  moral 
courage,  and  the  correctness  of  such  a  step  in  the  particular 
instance,  without  at  all  sanctioning  the  idea  that  an  officer 
may  be  justified  in  violating  orders,  because  he  thinks  it  right. 
The  justification  rests  not  upon  what  he  thinks,  but  upon  the 
attendant  circumstances  which  prove  that  he  Is  right ;  and,  if 
he  is  mistaken,  if  the  conditions  have  not  wan-anted  the  in- 
fraction of  the  fundamental  principle  of  military  efficiency,  — 
obedience,  —  he  must  take  the  full  consequences  of  his  error, 
however  honest  he  may  have  been.  Nor  can  the  justification 
of  disobedience  fairly  rest  upon  any  happy  consequences  that 
follow  upon  it,  though  it  is  a  commonplace  to  say  that  the 
result  is  very  apt  to  determine  the  question  of  reward  or 
blame.  There  is  a  certain  confusion  of  thought  prevalent  on 
this  matter,  most  holding  the  rule  of  obedience  too  absolutely, 
others  tending  to  the  disorganizing  view  that  the  integrity  of 
the  intention  is  sufficient;  the  practical  result,  and  for  the 
average  man  the  better  result,  being  to  shun  the  grave 
responsibility   of    departing   from   the    letter   of    the   order. 


OPERATIONS  ON  THE  RIVIERA,   1795 


im 


But  all  this  only  shows  more  clearly  the  great  professional 
courage  and  professional  sagacity  of  Nelson,  that  he  so  often 
assumed  such  a  responsibility,  and  so  generally  —  with,  per- 
haps, but  a  single  exception  —  was  demonstrably  correct  in 
his  action. 

Hotham  in  this  case  very  heartily  approved  what  had  been 
done,  and  issued,  to  the  fleet  in  general,  orders  similar  to  those 
given  by  Nelson;  but  he  did  not  like  the  dift'culties  that  sur- 
rounded the  question  of  co-operation,  and  left  the  conduct  of 
affairs  on  the  spot  wholly  to  his  eager  and  enterprising  sub- 
ordinate. The  latter  directed  the  seizure  of  all  vessels  laden 
with  corn  for  France  or  the  French  armies,  an  order  that  was 
construed  to  apply  to  the  Genoese  towns  occupied  by  them. 
The  cargoes  appear  to  have  been  sold  and  the  money  held. 
The  crv'sers  in  his  command  were  stationed  along  the  Kiviera, 
east  and  west  of  Genoa  itself.  Those  to  the  eastward,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Spezia,  where  no  French  were,  gave  great 
offence  to  the  Government  of  the  Republic,  which  claimed 
that  their  chief  city  was  blockaded ;  but  Nelson  refused  to 
remove  them.  They  are  not  blockading  Genoa,  he  said,  but 
simply  occupying  the  station  best  suited  to  intercept  a  contra- 
band trade.  The  various  British  vessels  displayed  the  full 
activity  that  might  have  been  expected  from  the  character  of 
their  leader,  and  the  pressure  was  speedily  felt  by  the  enemy, 
and  by  the  neutrals  whose  lucrative  trade  was  summarily  in- 
terrupted. The  traffic  in  vessels  of  any  considerable  size,  sea- 
going vessels,  soon  ceased,  and  Nelson  entertained  at  first 
great  hopes  of  decisive  result 3  from  the  course  adopted  by 
him.  "We  have  much  power  here  at  present  to  do  great 
things,  if  Ave  know  how  to  apply  it,"  he  wrote,  after  being 
ten  days  on  the  ground ;  and  at  the  end  of  a  month,  "  The 
strong  orders  which  I  judged  it  proper  to  give  on  my  first 
arrival,  have  had  an  extraordinary  good  effect;  the  French 
army  is  now  supplied  with  almost  daily  bread  from  Marseilles ; 
not  a  single  boat  has  passed  with  corn."  The  enemy  them- 
selves admitted  the  stringency  of  their  situation.  But  Nelson 
had  yet  to  iearn  how  ingenuity  and  enterprise  could  find  a 
way  of  eluding  his  care.  The  coasting-trade  soon  began  to 
take  on  a  large  development.  The  Spaniards,  now  at  peace 
with  France,  supplied  INIarseilles,  and  from  both  that  port  and 


I^A 


!t1 


\  , 


1(54 


TIIK   LIFE  OF  NKLSON 


1   '. 


Genoa  grain  was  carried  by  small  boats,  that  could  be  moved 
by  oar  us  well  as  sail,  could  hug  closely  the  rocky  shore,  and 
run  readily  under  the  batteries  with  which  the  French  had 
covered  the  small  bays  of  the  western  Kiviera,  whither  the 
cruisers  could  not  follow.  The  operations  of  the  latter,  de- 
pendent only  upon  their  canvas,  could  not  always  be  extended 
to  within  easy  gunshot  of  the  beach,  along  which  the  blockade- 
runners  kept,  usually  under  cover  of  night. 

Hence,  although  seriously  inconvenienced,  the  French  did 
not  find  their  position  untenable.  There  were  two  ways  by 
which  the  pressure  might  be  increased.  A  flotilla  of  small 
vessels,  similar  to  the  coasters  themselves,  but  armed  and 
heavily  manned,  might  keep  close  in  with  the  points  which 
the  latter  had  to  round,  and  prevent  their  passage ;  but  the 
British  had  no  such  vessels  at  their  disposal,  and,  even  if 
they  had,  the  operations  would  be  exposed  to  danger  from  the 
weather  upon  a  hostile,  iron-bound  coast,  whose  shelter  was 
forbidden  them  by  the  enemy's  guns.  The  Neapolitans  had 
such  a  flotilla,  and  it  seems  probable  that  its  co-operation  was 
asked,  for  Nelson  speaks  of  it  as  a  desirable  aid  on  the  23d  of 
August;  but  it  did  not  actually  join  him  until  the  15th  of 
September,  when  the  season  for  its  acting  was  almost  past. 
"Had  I  the  flotilla,"  wrote  he,  "nothing  should  be  on  this 
coast.  A  few  weeks  more  and  they  will  not  stay  a  night  at 
sea  to  save  an  empire."  Prior  to  its  arrival  the  British  at- 
tempted to  harass  the  traffic  with  their  ships'  boats,  but  these 
were  undecked,  and  of  limited  capacity  compared  to  those 
against  which  they  were  to  act.  They  were  occasionally  suc- 
cessful, but  the  results  were  too  uncertain  and  hazardous  to 
warrant  perseverance,  although  Bonaparte  had  to  admit  that 
"The  audacity  of  the  English  boats  and  the  indolence  of  the 
Genoese,  who  allow  their  own  vessels  to  be  taken  in  their  own 
roads,  make  it  necessary  to  erect  a  battery  for  hot  shot  at  a 
proper  point,  which  you  will  exact  shall  be  done  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  San  Kemo." 

Nelson's  active  mind,  clinging  with  its  usual  accurate  in- 
sight to  the  decisive  factor  in  the  situation,  now  fixed  upon 
the  idea  of  seizing  a  suitable  point  upon  the  Kiviera  to  the 
westward  of  the  French,  upon  their  line  of  communication 
with  Nice.     A  body  of  troops  there,  strong  enough  to  hold 


far 


OPERATIONS   ON  THE    HIVIKUA,    17U5 


105 


the  position,  would  stop  the  passage  of  supplies  by  land,  and, 
if  they  controlled  an  anchorage,  a  condition  indispensable  to 
their  support,  —  and  to  their  retreat,  if  necessary  to  retire,  — 
the  small  vessels  based  upon  that  could  better  interrupt  the 
coasting  business.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  he  in  the  first 
Aveek  of  September  made  a  cruise  with  the  "Agamemnon"  as 
far  to  the  westward  as  Nice,  reconnoitring  carefully  all  re- 
cesses of  the  shore  line  that  seemed  available  for  the  purpose. 
Upon  his  return,  he  wrote  to  De  Vins  what  he  had  done,  and 
described  San  Remo  as  the  only  available  spot.  He  mentioned 
its  disadvantages  as  well  as  its  advantages,  but  undertook 
positively  to  land  there  five  thousand  men  with  field-guns, 
and  provisions  for  a  few  days,  to  maintain  their  supplies  by 
sea,  and  to  cover  their  embarkation  in  case  retreat  became 
imperative.  In  short,  he  guaranteed  to  land  such  a  force 
safely,  and  to  be  responsible  for  its  communications;  for  both 
which  he  practically  pledged  his  professional  reputation.  He 
added,  what  was  indisputable,  that  the  French  army  must 
abandon  its  present  lines  for  want  of  supplies,  if  San  Kemo 
were  held  for  some  time. 

De  Vins  replied  on  the  14th  of  September,  expressing  his 
interest  in  the  matter  thus  broached  to  liim,  but  carefully 
evading  the  issue.  He  addressed  his  remarks  to  the  com- 
parative merits  of  Vado  and  San  Eemo  as  anchorages,  upon 
which  Nelson  had  touched  barely,  and  only  incidentally,  for 
the  gist  of  his  proposal  was  simjily  to  intercept  the  enemy's 
communications;  if  this  were  feasible,  all  other  considerations 
were  subsidiary  and  matters  of  detail.  San  Remo  was  ad- 
mitted to  be  the  poorer  anchorage,  unfit  for  tlie  fleet,  but  open 
to  small  vessels,  which  could  carry  the  supplies  to  the  Aus- 
trian detachment,  and  stop  those  of  the  enemy.  The  move 
proposed  was  intended  to  effect  by  sea,  substantially,  the  ob- 
ject which  De  Vins  himself  had  told  Nelson,  three  weeks 
before,  that  he  was  trying  to  secure  through  the  co-operation 
of  the  Sardinian  land  forces.  "  He  has  been  long  expecting," 
wrote  Nelson  on  the  13th  of  August,  "  an  attack  by  General 
Colli  with  the  Piedmontese,  near  Ormea,  directly  back  from 
Vintimiglia.  This  is  the  great  point  to  be  carried,  as  the 
Piedmontese  army  would  then  get  Vintimiglia,  and  .  .  .  prob- 
ably, unless  the  enemy  are  very  active,  tiieir  retreat  to  Nice 


<9 


.1  f 


'(i 


!■   rSi 


i 


100 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


t'l 


will  be  cut  off.  De  Vins  says  he  lias  flattered  and  abused  the 
Piedmoutese  and  Neapolitans,  but  nothin«f  will  induce  them 
to  act."  Colli  was  a  good  soldier,  but  his  relations  with  the 
Austrian  were  very  strained,  and  coalitions  rarely  act  cor- 
dially. This  plan,  however,  becoming  known  to  the  French, 
was  commended  by  Bonaparte  as  well  conceived.  *'  We  have 
examined  attentively  the  project  attributed  to  the  enemy 
in  the  enclosed  note.  AVe  have  fonnd  it  conformable  to  his 
real  interests,  and  to  the  present  distribution  of  his  troops. 
The  heights  of  Briga  are  in  truth  the  key  to  the  Department 
of  the  Maritime  Alps,  since  from  there  the  high-road  may  be 
intercepted  and  we  be  obliged  to  evacuate  Tende.  We  charge 
you  to  pay  serious  attention  to  this  matter.'^  -  Disappointed 
in  Sardinian  support.  Nelson  and  De  Vins  had  then  discussed 
a  plan,  of  which  the  former's  present  proposal  was  the  very 
clear  and  practical  outcome.  Some  risk  must  be  run,  he  said  ; 
but  De  Vins,  whtMi  it  came  to  the  point,  saw  the  dangers  too 
plainly.  He  did  not  distinctly  refuse,  but  talked  only,  and 
instead  of  San  Kemo  proposed  to  land  west  of  Nice,  between 
it  and  the  Var.  Nothing,  however,  was  done,  or  even  at- 
tempted, and  Hotham  refused  co-operation. 

Having  regard  to  the  decisive  effect  exercised  upon  any 
strategic  position,  or  movement,  by  a  valid  threat  against  the 
communications,  —  considering,  for  example,  the  vital  influ- 
ence which  the  French  occupation  of  Genoa  in  1800  had  upon 
the  campaign  which  terminated  at  IMarengo,  —  it  is  impossible 
to  speak  otherwise  than  with  respect  of  this  proposal  of 
Nelson's.  Nevertheless,  serious  reflection  can  scarcely  fail 
to  affirm  that  it  was  not  really  practicable.  There  is  an 
immeasurable  difference  between  the  holding  of  a  strongly 
fortified  city  with  an  army  corps,  and  the  mere  seizure  of  a 
comparatively  open  position  by  a  detachment,  which,  if  it 
means  to  remain,  must  have  time  to  fortify  itself,  in  order  to 
withstand  the  overwhelming  nurabers  that  the  enemy  must  at 
once  throw  upon  it.  The  time  element,  too,  is  of  the  utmost 
importance.  It  is  one  thing  to  grasp  a  strong  position  with  a 
few  men,  expecting  to  hold  it  for  some  hours,  to  delay  an 
advance  or  a  retreat  until  other  forces  can  come  into  play, 

1  Correspondance   de  Napoleon,   Auf;ust  30,  179.').     The  letter  was  from 
Bonaparte's  hand,  though  signed  by  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety. 


,>l 


Ol'EHATIOXS   ON   THE   KIVIEUA,   1795 


107 


and  quite  anotlier  to  uttempt  to  remain  permanently  and  un- 
supported in  such  a  situation.  In  the  case  before  us,  De  Vins 
would  have  landed  Jive  thousand  men  in  a  compariitively  ex- 
posed position;  for,  although  the  town  of  San  llemo  was  in 
possession  of  the  French,  who  might  be  driven  out  for  the 
moment,  the  only  strong  point,  the  citadel,  was  occupied  —  as 
in  the  case  of  Savona,  to  the  eastward  of  the  Austrians  —  by 
the  Genoese,  who  would  doubtless  have  refused  admission. 
Before  his  main  body  would  still  lie  the  works  which  the 
French  had  been  diligently  strengthening  for  more  than  two 
months,  and  which,  with  his  whole  force  in  hand,  he  did  not 
care  to  assail.  The  enemy,  knowing  him  thus  weakened, 
could  well  afford  to  spare  a  number  greatly  superior  to  the 
detachment  he  had  adventured,  certain  that,  while  they  were 
dislodging  it,  he  could  make  no  serious  impression  upon  their 
lines.  As  for  retreat  and  embarkation  under  cover  of  the  guns 
of  a  S(piadron,  when  pressed  by  an  enemy,  the  operation  is 
too  critical  to  be  hazarded  for  less  than  the  greatest  ends,  and 
with  at  least  a  fair  possibility  of  success  for  the  undertaking 
whose  failure  would  entail  it. 

Xelson's  confidence  in  himself  and  in  his  profession,  and 
his  accurate  instinct  that  war  cannot  be  made  without  running 
risks,  combined  with  his  lack  of  experience  in  the  difficulties 
of  land  operations  to  mislead  his  judgment  in  the  particular 
instance.  In  a  converse  sense,  there  may  be  applied  to  him 
the  remark  of  the  French  naval  critic,  that  Napoleon  lacked 
"  le  sentiment  exact  des  difficultes  de  la  marine."  It  was  not 
only  to  British  seamen,  and  to  the  assured  control  of  the  sea, 
that  Nelson  thought  such  an  attempt  offered  reasonable 
prospect  of  success.  lie  feared  a  like  thing  might  be  effected 
by  the  French,  —  by  evasion.  "  If  the  enemy's  squadron 
comes  on  this  coast,  and  lands  from  three  to  four  thousand 
men  between  Genoa  and  Savona,  I  am  confident  that  either 
the  whole  Austrian  army  will  be  defeated,  or  must  inevitably 
retreat  into  Piedmont,  and  abandon  their  artillery  and  stores." 
These  words,  the  substance  of  which  he  frequently  repeats, 
though  written  immediately  before  the  disastrous  Battle  of 
Loano,  do  not  apply  to  the  purpose  entertained  by  the  French 
on  that  occasion,  of  endeavoring,  by  a  small  detachment  at 
Voltri,  to  check  the  Austrian  retreat  till  their  pursuers  came 


I*' 


'I 

■A 


i'i 


:ii 


:| 


a 


ll^ 


!:,i,l 


4. 


168 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


^.hvi 


up.  He  is  contemplating  a  much  more  considerable  and  sus- 
tained effort,  strategic  in  character,  and  identical  in  aim  with 
his  own  proposal  to  De  Vins  about  San  Kemo.  It  is  clear  that 
Nelson,  in  his  day,  did  not  attach  absolute  deterrent  effect  to 
a  fleet  in  being,  even  to  such  an  one  as  the  British  then  had 
in  the  Meditei'ranean.  Important  a  factor  as  it  was,  it  might 
conceivably  be  disregarded,  by  a  leader  who  recognized  that 
the  end  in  view  justified  the  risk. 

There  was  yet  another  motive  actuating  Kelson  in  his 
present  proposals.  Justly  impatient  of  the  delays  and  color- 
less policy  of  both  De  Vins  and  the  British  leaders,  he  fore- 
saw that  the  latter  would  be  made  to  take  the  blame,  if  the 
campaign  proved  abortive  or  disastrous.  The  Austrians  had 
at  least  something  to  show.  They  had  advanced,  and  they 
hrd  seized  Vado  Bay,  cutting  off  the  intercourse  betveen 
Genoa  and  France,  which  Bonaparte  deemed  so  important, 
and  at  the  same  time  securing  an  anchorage  for  the  fleet. 
The  latter  had  done  nothing,  although  its  co-operation  had 
been  promised ;  except  Nelson's  little  squadron,  in  which  was 
but  one  small  ship-of-the-line  out  of  the  twenty-three  under 
Hotham's  command,  it  had  riot  been  seen.^  Nelson  was  de- 
termined, as  far  as  in  him  lay,  to  remove  all  grounds  for 
reproach.  He  urged  the  admiral  to  send  him  more  f:>hips,  and 
abounded  'n  willingness  towards  De  Vins.  For  the  latter  he 
had  at  first  felt  the  esteem  and  confidence  which  he  almost 
invariably  showed,  even  to  the  point  of  weakness,  towards 
those  associated  with  him ;  but  he  now  became  distrustful, 
and  devoted  himself  to  stopping  every  loophole  of  excuse 
which  might  afterwards  be  converted  into  reproaches  to  the 
navy. 

The  cause  for  the  inadequacy  of  the  force  left  under  his 
command,  of  which  he  often  complains,  is  not  apparent.  The 
question  was  put  direct  to  the  admiral  whether  he  would 
co-operate  with  the  fleet  in  the  proposed  descent  of  the 
Austrians.  He  said  that  he  could  not,  owing  to  the  nature 
of  his  instructions  from  home ;  but  that  he  would  answer  for 

1  The  fleet  passed  once,  August  14,  in  sight  of  Vado  Bay,  Nelson  went  on 
board,  and  tried  to  induce  Hotham  to  go  in  and  meet  De  Vins.  He  refused, 
saying  he  must  go  to  Leghorn,  but  would  return,  and  water  the  fleet  in  Vado; 
but  he  never  came. 


OrERATIONS  ON  THE  RIVIEUA,   1795 


lee 


it  tliut  the  French  navy  should  not  interfere,    Six  weeks  later 
the  question  was  repeated ;  but  the  admiral  replied  that,  after 
a  consultation  with  the  liag-oiticers  under  his  command,  he 
refused  co-operation  in  what  he  considered  a  wild  scheme.     In 
this  opinion  he  was  probably  right,  though  Nelson  possibly 
was  reminded  of   Dundas's   objections   to  besieging  Bastia. 
Nelson  then  went  in  person  to  Leghorn,  and  saw  llotham. 
He  asked  to  be  given  two  seventy-fours  and  the  transports,  to 
make  the  attempt  himself.     Hotham  again  refused  a  single 
ship  J  but  not  only  so,  reduced  Kelson's  s(piadron,  and  ordered 
him,  in  addition  to  his  present  duties,  to  rec   )noitre  Toulon 
continually,  "  whilst  he,"  said  Nelson,  scornfully,  **  lies  quiet 
in  Leghorn  Koads."     It  would  almost  seem  as  if  the  admiral 
thought  that  the  time  had  come  for  a  little  judicious  snubbing, 
and  repression  of  ardor  in   the   uncomfortable   subordinate, 
whose  restless  energy  conflicted  so  much  with  his  repose  of 
mind.    The  fleet  spent  its  time  chiefly  in  San  "Fiorenzo  Bay  or 
in  Leghorn,  making  occasional  cruises  off  Toulon  to  observe 
the  French  navy  in  that  port.    The  latter  was  undoubtedly 
its  principal  care ;  but,  being  distinctly  inferior  to  the  British, 
it  is  impossible  to  ^ay  why  Nelson  should  not  have  been  rein- 
forced.    If  it  was   due  to   the   wish  to  continue  so  largely 
superior  in   numbers,    it  certainly   illustrates  with   singular 
appositeness  the  deterrent  effect  of  an   inferior   "  fleet    in 
being,"  and  that  that  effect  lies  less  in  the  nature  of  things 
than  in  the  character  of  the  officer  upon  whom  it  is  produced. 
Moreover,  the  employment  of  adequate  force  upon  the  Riviera,  in 
active  aggressive  work  under  Nelson  during  the  summer,  when 
it  was  practicable  to  do  so,  would  have  compelled  the  French 
fleet  to  come  out  and  fight,  or  the  French  army  to  fall  back. 

On  the  1st  of  November  Hotham  struck  his  flag  in  Genoa, 
and  departed,  bequeathing  to  his  successors  a  military  estate 
encumbered  by  the  old  mortgage  of  the  French  fleet,  still  in 
being,  which  he  might  have  cleared  off,  and  by  a  new  one  in 
the  numerous  and  powerful  batteries  of  the  Eiviera,  built  and 
controlled  by  troops  whose  presence  to  erect  them  might  have 
been  prevented  by  a  timely  action  on  his  part.  The  harm,  being 
done,  was  thenceforth  irreparable.  As  time  passed,  the  situa- 
tion became  more  and  more  favorable  to  the  French.  The 
reinforcements  from  Spain  arrived,  and  gunboats  and  flatboats, 


I 

I 


Ml 


t     ^ 


V 


no 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


fitted  out  at  Tor^oii,  began  to  come  upon  the  scene.  Their 
uppeiinince  revived  in  >lelson  tlie  appreliensioii,  so  consonant 
to  Ills  military  ideas  at  this  time,  of  an  attempt  upon  the  coast 
road  in  rear  of  the  Austrians.  lie  even  feared  for  Genoa  itself, 
and  for  the  ''Agamemnon,"  while  she  hiy  there,  as  the  result 
of  such  a  dash.  The  recurrence  of  this  prepossession  is  illus- 
trative of  his  view  of  possibilities.  The  true  and  primary 
object  of  the  French  was  to  consolidate  their  communications; 
nor,  with  Bonaparte  in  the  intiuential  position  he  then  occu- 
pied, was  any  such  ex-centric  movement  likely.  For  useful 
purposes,  Genoa  was  already  at  his  disposal ;  the  French  sub- 
sistence department  was,  by  his  plans,  to  collect  there  rations 
of  corn  for  sixty  thousand  men  for  three  months,  preparatory 
to  an  advance.  For  the  same  object  the  coasting  activity 
redoubled  along  the  Jliviera,  from  Toulon  to  the  French  front. 
By  November  1st  a  hundred  sail  —  transports  and  small  ships 
of  war  —  had  assembled  fifteen  miles  behind  Borghetto,  in 
Alassi*^  liny,  whither  Nelson  had  chased  them.  Depots  and 
supplies  were  collecting  there  for  the  prospective  movement. 
Nelson  offered  to  enter  the  bay  with  three  ships-of-the-line,  speci- 
fied by  name,  and  to  destroy  them ;  but  this  w\as  declined  by 
Sir  Hyde  Parker,  who  had  temporarily  succeeded  Ilotham  in 
command,  and  who  at  a  later  day,  in  the  Baltic,  was  to  chock 
some  of  Nelson's  finest  inspirations.  "  I  pretend  not  to  say," 
wrote  the  latter,  a  month  afterwards,  when  the  Austrians  had 
been  driven  from  their  lines,  "  that  the  Austrians  would  not 
have  been  beat  had  not  tite  gunboats  harassed  them,  for,  on 
my  conscience,  I  believe  they  would ;  but  I  believe  the  French 
would  not  have  attacked  had  we  destroyed  all  the  vessels  oi 
war,  transports,  etc."  As  to  the  practicability  of  destroying 
them.  Nelson's  judgment  can  safely  be  accepted,  subject  only 
to  the  chances  which  are  inseparable  from  war. 

So  far  from  reinforcing  the  squadron  on  the  Riviera,  Sir 
Hyde  Parker  first  reduced  it,  and  then  took  away  the  frigates 
at  this  critical  moment,  when  the  indications  of  the  French 
moving  were  becoming  apparent  in  an  increase  of  boldness. 
Their  gunboats,  no  longer  confining  themselves  to  the  convoy 
of  coasters,  crept  forward  at  times  to  molest  the  Austrians, 
where  they  rested  on  the  sea.  Nelson  had  no  similar  force  to 
oppose  to  them,  except  the  Neapolitans,  whom  he  ordered  to 


OI'IOUATIONS  ON   TIIK   RIVIERA,   1705 


171 


act,  but  with  what  result  is  not  (rloar.  At  the  same  time  the 
I'rcnch  partisans  in  Genoa  became  very  threatening.  On  the 
lOtli  of  November  a  party  of  tliree  hundred,  drawn  from 
the  ships  in  the  port,  hinded  at  Voltri,  about  nine  miles  from 
Genoa,  seized  a  nuigazine  of  corn,  and  an  Austrian  eommissary 
witli  i.'lO,(K)0  in  his  charge.  The  place  was  ({uickly  retaken, 
but  the  effrontery  of  the  attempt  from  a  neutral  port  showed 
the  insecurity  of  the  conditions.  At  the  same  time  a  rumor 
spread  tliat  a  force  of  between  one  aiul  two  thousand  men, 
partly  carried  from  Genoa  in  the  French  ships  of  war  then 
lying  there,  partly  stealing  along  shore  in  coasters  from 
]iorghetto,  was  to  seize  a  post  near  Voltri,  and  hold  it.  Nelson 
was  informed  that  men  were  absolutely  being  recruited  on  the 
Ex(!hange  of  Genoa  for  this  exi»edition.  When  the  attack 
at  Voltri  was  made,  the  "  Agamemnon  "  was  lying  in  Vado 
Bay.  Leaving  a  frigate  there.  Nelson  started  immediately  for 
Genoa,  in  order,  by  the  i)resenee  of  a  superior  naval  force  and 
the  fear  of  retaliation,  both  to  compel  the  Republic  to  have  its 
neutrality  observed,  and  to  check  similar  undertakings  in  the 
future.  The  "  Aganiemnon "  was  laid  across  the  harbor's 
mouth,  and  no  French  vessel  was  allowed  to  sail.  Urgent 
representations  were  made  to  Nels^i-  ^  ,j  the  Austrian  minister 
and  commander-in-chief,  that  if,  the  ship  were  withdrawn,  the 
consequences  to  the  army  would  be  most  serious.  Contrary, 
therefore,  to  his  personal  inclinations,  which  were  always  to 
be  at  the  front,  he  remained,  although  the  demonstrations  of 
the  gunboats  continued,  and  it  was  evident  that  they  would  at 
least  annoy  the  Austrian  flank  in  case  of  an  assault.  The 
latter  evil,  however,  was  much  less  disquieting  than  a  descent 
on  the  army's  line  of  retreat,  at  the  same  moment  that  it  was 
assailed  in  front  in  force  ;  and  it  was  evident  that  the  Austrian 
general  was  feeling  an  \ineasiness,  the  full  extent  of  which  he 
did  not  betray.  De  Vins  had  by  this  time  quitted  his  com- 
mand, ill,  and  had  been  succeeded  by  General  Wallis. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs,  a  general  attack  upon  the 
Austrian  positions  was  made  by  the  French  on  the  morning 
of  November  24.  As  had  been  feared,  the  gunboats  took 
part,  in  the  absence  of  any  British  ships,  —  the  frigate  having 
been  removed,  Nelson  asserts,  Avithout  his  knowledge ;  but 
the  matter  was  of  very  secondary  importance,  for  the  weight 


'(. 


W 


'% 


m 


THE  LIFK  OP  Nf:LSON 


III 


I«(] 


of  the  enemy's  iittac^k  fell  upon  the  jiositioiis  in  the  mountains, 
the  centre  and  right,  whieh  were  routed  and  driven  back. 
Swinging  round  to  their  own  right,  towards  the  sea,  the  vic- 
torious French  pushed  after  the  disordered  enemy,  seeking  to 
intercept  their  retreat  by  the  coast.  Had  there  then  been 
established,  in  a  well-cdiosen  point  of  that  narrow  road,  a 
resolute  body  of  men,  even  though  small,  they  might  well 
have  delayed  the  fliers  until  the  main  body  of  the  pursuers 
came  up ;  but  the  presencse  of  the  "  Agamemnon  "  controlled 
the  departure  of  the  intended  expedition  from  Genoa,  upon 
which  alone,  as  an  organized  effort,  the  projected  obstruction 
depended.  Thus  she  was  the  efficient  cause,  as  Nelson 
(daimed,  that  many  thousands  of  Austrians  escaped  capture. 
As  it  was,  they  lost  in  this  affair,  known  as  the  Battle  of 
Loano,  seven  thousand  men,  killed,  wounded,  or  i)risoners. 
The  entire  Riviera  was  abandoned,  and  they  retreated  across 
the  Apennines  into  Piedmant. 

When  things  go  wrong,  there  is  always  a  disposition  on  the 
part  of  each  one  concerned  to  shift  the  blame.  The  Austrians 
liad  complained  before  the  action,  and  still  more  afterwards, 
of  the  failure  of  the  fleet  to  aid  them.  Nelson  thought  their 
complaint  well  founded.  "  They  say,  and  true,  they  were 
brought  on  the  coast  at  the  express  desire  of  the  English,  to 
co-operate  with  the  fleet,  which  fleet  nor  admiral  they  never 
saw."  On  his  own  part  he  said  :  "  Our  admirals  will  have,  I 
believe,  much  to  answer  for  in  not  giving  me  that  force  which 
I  so  repeatedly  called  for,  and  for  at  last  leaving  me  with 
Agamemnon  alone.  Admiral  Hothani  kept  my  squadron  too 
small  for  its  duty ;  and  the  moment  Sir  Hyde  took  the  com- 
mand of  the  fleet  he  reduced  it  to  nothing,  —  only  one  frigata 
and  a  brig ;  whereas  I  demanded  two  seventy-four-gun  ships  and 
eight  or  ten  frigates  and  sloops  to  insure  safety  to  the  army." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  inquire  into  the  motives  of  the  two 
admirals  for  the  distribution  of  their  force.  Unquestionably, 
the  first  thing  for  them  to  do  was  to  destroy  or  neutralize  the 
French  fieet;  and  next  to  destroy,  or  at  least  impede,  the 
communications  of  the  French  army.  That  it  was  possible  to 
do  this  almost  wholly  may  be  rested  ui)on  the  authority  of 
Nelson,  whose  matured  opinion,  given  five  years  later,  has 
already  been  quoted.     Two  opportunities  to  cripple  the  Toulon 


OlMCllATIONS   0%'    rili:   UIVIKKA,   lTu:> 


178 


tleet  were  lost ;  but  even  so,  after  tlie  junction  of  Man,  in 
June,  the  superiority  over  it  was  so  great  that  much  might 
have  been  spared  to  tlio  Riviera  scjuatlron.  The  coast  was 
not  at  tliis  time  so  extensively  fortified  that  coasting  could 
not,  in  Nelson's  active  hands,  have  been  made  a  very  insutti- 
cient  means  of  supply.  As  an  illustration  of  the  operations 
then  possible,  on  the  20th  of  August,  six  weeks  after  the 
naval  battle  of  July  13,  the  "Agamemnon,"  with  lier  little 
squadron,  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Alassio,  three  cables'  length 
from  the  fort  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  with  her  boats 
took  possession  of  all  the  Frencli  vessels  in  the  harbor.  Two 
months  later,  so  much  had  the  place  been  strengthened,  he 
could  not  vouch  for  success  with  less  than  three  ships-of-the- 
lino;  but  had  the  pressure  been  consistently  applied  during 
those  months,  the  French  position  would  long  before  have 
become  untenable.  That  a  shore  line,  by  great  and  systematic 
effort,  could  be  rendered  secure  througliout  for  coasters,  Avas 
pro\  <;d  by  Napoleon's  measures  to  cover  the  concentration  of 
the  Boulogne  flotilla  in  lS0t3-5 ;  but  such  conditions  did  not 
obtain  between  Nice  and  Vado  in  1795. 

Despite  the  abortive  and  ignominious  ending  to  the  cam- 
paign. Nelson's  own  reputation  issued  from  it  not  only  un- 
scathed, but  heightened;  and  this  is  saying  much,  for, 
although  due  public  recognition  of  his  services  had  scarcely 
been  extended,  —  except  in  conferring  the  IVIarines  upon  him, 
—  he  had  already,  before  its  beginning,  made  upon  all  who 
were  brought  into  contact  with  him  that  impression  of  un- 
usual efhciency,  zeal,  and  sound  judgment,  to  which  subse- 
quent employment  and  opportunity  apply  a  sure  and  searching 
test.  As  he  entered  upon  his  detached  duties,  the  Viceroy  of 
Corsica,  who  had  necessarily  seen  and  known  much  of  his  past 
conduct,  wrote  to  him  thus  :  "  Give  me  leave,  my  dear  Sir,  to 
congratulate  you  on  the  Agamemnon's  supporting  uniformly, 
on  all  occasions,  the  same  reputation  which  has  always  dis- 
tinguished that  ship  since  I  have  been  in  the  j\[editerranean. 
It  gives  me  great  pleasure  also  to  see  you  employed  in  your 
present  important  service,  which  requires  zeal,  activity,  and 
a  spirit  of  accommodation  and  co-operation,  qualities  which 
will  not  be  wanting  in  the  Commodore  of  your  squadron.  I 
consider  the  business  you  are  about,  I  mean  the  expulsion  of 


') 


i 


'W 


) 


\ 


174 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


the  enemy  from  the  Genoese  and  IMedmontese  territories,  as 
the  most  important  feature  in  tlie  southern  campaign."  These 
anticipations  of  worthy  service  and  exceptional  merit  were 
confirmed,  after  all  the  misfortunes  and  disappointments  of 
the  campaign,  by  the  singularly  competent  judgment  of  the 
new  commander-in-chief,  Sir  Jolm  Jervis.  The  latter  at  his 
fii3t  interview  with  Nelson,  nearly  two  months  after  his 
arrival  on  the  station,  so  that  time  enough  had  elapsed  to 
mature  his  opinion,  asked  him  to  remain  under  his  command, 
as  a  junior  admiral,  when  he  received  his  promotion.  Having 
regard  to  Jervis's  own  high  endowments,  it  was  not  then  in 
the  power  r>f  the  British  Navy  to  pay  an  officer  of  Nelson's 
rank  a  higher  compliment. 

During  these  months  of  service  upon  the  Riviera,  there 
occurred  an  incident,  whicli,  from  the  reflectun"!  made  upon 
Nelson's  integrity,  drew  from  him  a  letter,  struck  off  at  such 
white  heat,  and  so  transparently  characteristic  of  his  tempera- 
ment, aspirations,  and  habit  of  tliought,  as  to  merit  quotation. 
A  report  had  been  spread  that  the  commanders  of  the  British 
ships  of  war  coiniivt-d  at  tlio  entry  of  supply-vessels  into  the 
ports  held  by  the  French,  and  a  statement  to  that  effect  was 
forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs.  The 
latter  sent  the  paper,  for  investigation,  to  the  Minister  to 
Genoa,  who  mentioned  its  tenor  to  Nelson.  The  latter,  justly 
stigmatizing  the  conduct  imputed  to  him  and  his  officers  as 
"  scandalous  and  infamous,"  requested  a  copy  of  the  accusa- 
tion, in  order  that  by  his  refutation  he  might  convince  the 
King,  that  he  was  "an  officer  who  had  ever  pursued  the  road 
of  honour,  very  different  from  that  to  wealth."  Having  re- 
ceived the  copy,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  as  follows  :  — 

Agamejinox,  Genoa  Road,  23d  November,  1795. 

]My  Lord,  —  Having  receivtul,  from  IMr.  Drake,  a  copy  of  your 
Lordsliip's  letter  to  him  of  October,  enclosing  a  paper  highly  rellect- 
ing  on  the  lionom-  of  myself  and  other  of  His  IMajesty's  OlFicers  em- 
ployed on  this  Coast  under  my  Orders,  it  well  becomes  me,  as  far 
as  in  my  power  lies,  to  wipe  away  this  ignominious  stain  on  our 
characters.  I  do,  tiierefore,  in  behalf  of  myself,  and  much  injured 
Brethren,  demand,  that  the  person,  whoever  ho  may  be,  that  wrote, 
or  gave  that  paper  to  your  Lordship,  do  fully,  and  expressly  bring 
home  liis  charge;  which,  as  he  states  that  tliis  agreement  is  made  by 


OPEltATIONS  ON  THE  RIVIERA,   1795 


175 


numbers  of  people  on  both  sides,  there  can  be  no  difficulty  in  doing. 
We  dare  him,  my  Lord,  to  the  proof.  If  he  cannot,  1  do  mc  »t 
humbly  implore,  that  His  Majesty  will  be  most  graciously  pleased  to 
direct  his  Attorney-General  to  prosecute  this  infamous  libeller  in  His 
Courts  of  Law  ;  and  I  likewise  feel,  that,  without  impropriety,  I  may 
on  behalf  of  my  brother  Officers,  demand  the  support  of  His  Majesty's 
Ministers :  for  as,  if  true,  no  punishment  can  be  too  great  for  the 
traitors ;  so,  if  false,  none  can  be  too  heavy  for  the  villain,  who  has 
dared  to  allow  his  pen  to  write  such  a  paper.  Perhaps  I  ought  to 
stop  my  letter  here ;  but  I  feel  too  much  to  rest  easy  for  a  moment, 
whep  the  honour  of  the  Navy,  and  our  Country,  is  struck  at  through 
us ;  for  if  nine  [ten]  Captains,  whom  chance  has  thrown  together,  can 
instantly  join  in  such  a  traitorous  measure,  it  is  fair  to  conclude  we 
are  all  bad. 

As  this  traitorous  agreement  could  not  be  carried  on  but  by  concert 
of  all  the  Captains,  if  they  were  n  the  Stations  allotted  them,  and  as 
they  could  only  be  drawn  from  J.iose  Stations  by  orders  from  me,  I 
do  most  fully  ac(piit  all  my  brother  Captains  from  such  a  combina- 
tion, and  have  to  i-equest,  that  I  may  be  considered  as  the  only  re. 
sponsible  person  for  what  is  done  under  my  command,  if  I  approve 
of  the  conduct  of  those  under  my  orders,  which  in  this  most  public 
manner  I  beg  leave  to  do:  for  Officei's  more  alert,  and  more  anxious 
for  the  good,  and  honour,  of  their  King  and  Country,  can  scarcely 
ever  fall  to  the  lot  of  any  Commanding  Officer  :  their  Names  I  place 
at  the  bottom  of  this  letter. 

For  myself,  from  my  earliest  youth  I  have  been  in  the  Naval 
Service ;  and  in  two  Wars,  have  been  in  more  than  one  hundred  and 
forty  Skirmishes  and  Battles,  at  Sea  and  on  shore ;  have  lost  an  eye, 
and  otherwise  blood,  in  fighting  the  Enemies  of  my  King  and  Coun- 
try; and,  God  knows,  instead  of  riches,  my  little  fortune  has  been 
diminished  in  the  Service :  but  I  shall  not  trouble  your  Lordship 
further  at  present,  than  just  to  say  —  that  at  the  close  of  this  Cam- 
paign, where  I  have  had  the  pleasure  to  receive  the  approbation  of 
the  Generals  of  the  Allied  Powers ;  of  his  Excellency  Mr.  Drake,  who 
has  always  been  on  the  spot ;  of  Mr.  Trevor,  who  has  been  at  a  dis- 
tance ;  when  I  expected  and  hoped,  from  the  representation  of  His 
Majesty's  IMinisters,  that  His  INIajesty  would  have  most  graciously 
condescended  to  have  favourably  noticed  my  earnest  desire  to  serve 
Him,  and  when,  instead  of  iJl  my  fancied  approbation,  to  receive  an 
accusation  of  a  most  traitorous  nature  —  it  has  almost  been  too  much 
for  me  to  bear.  Conscious  innocence,  I  hope,  will  support  me. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be. 
My  Lord, 
Your  Lordship's  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

HOUATIO   NELSON. 


Ilk 


'  i! 


176 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Except  this  vexatious  but  passinpr  cloud,  his  service  upon 
the  liiviera,  despite  the  procrastinations  and  final  failure  of 
his  associates  in  the  campaign,  was  pleasant  both  personally 
and  officially.  He  earned  the  warm  esteem  of  all  with  whom 
he  acted,  notably  the  British  ministers  at  Turin  and  Genoa ; 
and  though  necessarily  in  constant  collision  with  the  Genoese 
authorities  upon  international  questions,  he  upheld  the  inter- 
ests and  policy  of  his  own  government,  without  entailing 
upon  it  serious  cause  of  future  reclamations  and  disputes.^ 
Hotham's  very  indiiference  and  lethargy,  while  crippling  his 
enterprise,  increased  his  independence.  "  I  cannot  get  Hotham 
on  the  coast,"  he  said,  "  for  he  hates  this  co-operation ;  "  but 
he  owns  to  tlie  fear  that  the  admiral,  if  he  came,  might  over- 
rule his  projects.  The  necessity  for  exertion  delighted  him. 
"  My  command  here  is  so  far  pleasant,"  he  wrote  to  his  friend 
Collingwood,  "as  it  relieves  me  from  the  inactivity  of  our 
fleet,  which  is  great  indeed,  as  you  will  soon  see."  "  At 
present,"  he  tells  his  wife,  "I  do  not  write  less  than  from 
ten  to  twenty  letters  every  day;  which,  with  the  Austrian 
general,  and  aide-de-camps,  and  my  own  little  squadron,  fully 
employ  my  time :  this  I  like  ;  active  service  or  none."  As 
usual,  when  given  room  for  the  exercise  of  his  powers,  he 
was,  for  him,  well.  He  had  a  severe  attack  of  illness  very 
soon  after  assuming  the  duty  —  "a  complaint  in  the  breast " 
—  the  precursor  perhaps  of  the  similar  trouble  from  which  he 
suffered  so  mucli  in  later  years  ;  but  it  wore  off  after  an  acute 
attack  of  a  fortnight,  and  he  wrote  later  that,  except  being  at 
home,  he  knew  no  country  so  pleasant  to  serve  in,  nor  where 
his  health  was  so  good.     This  well-grounded  preference  for 


S' 


1  A  year  later,  when  all  his  transactions  with  Genoa  as  an  independent  re- 
public were  concluded,  Nelson  received  from  the  British  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  through  the  Adniiraltj',  the  following  strong  and  comprehensive 
endorsement  of  his  political  conduct:  — 

"I  esteem  it  an  act  of  justice  due  to  that  officer,  to  inform  your  lordships 
that  His  Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  entirely  to  approve  of  the  con- 
duct of  Commodore  Nelson  in  all  his  transactions  with  the  Republic  of  Genoa. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c.,  &c.  Grenville." 

The  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  about  the  same  time  expressed  "the  great 
satisfaction  derived  heie  from  the  very  spirited,  and  at  the  same  time  dignified 
and  temperate  manner,  in  which  your  conduct  has  been  marked  both  at  Leg- 
horn and  Genoa." 


OPERATIONS  ON  THE  RIVIERA,   1795 


m 


the  Mediterranean,  as  best  suited  to  his  naturally  frail  con- 
stitution, remained  with  him  to  the  end. 

Besides  his  official  correspondence,  he  wrote  freely  and 
fully  to  those  at  home,  unburdening  to  them  the  thoughts, 
cares,  and  disappointments  of  his  career,  as  well  as  the  com- 
mendations he  received,  so  dear  to  himself  as  well  as  to  them. 
Mrs.  Nelson  and  his  father  lived  together,  and  to  her  most 
of  his  home  letters  were  addressed.  "  I  have  been  very  neg- 
ligent," he  admits  to  her,  •'  in  writing  to  my  father,  but  I 
rest  assured  he  knows  I  would  have  done  it  long  ago,  had 
you  not  been  under  the  same  roof.  .  .  .  Pray  draw  on  me," 
he  continues,  "  for  £200,  my  father  and  myself  can  settle  our 
accounts  when  we  meet ;  at  present,  I  believe  I  am  the  richer 
man,  therefore  I  desire  you  will  give  my  dear  father  that 
money."  One  wonders  whether,  in  the  slightly  peremptory 
tone  of  the  last  sentence,  is  to  be  seen  a  trace  of  the  feeling 
she  is  said,  by  one  biographer,  to  have  shown,  that  he  was  too 
liberal  to  his  relatives  ;  an  indication  of  that  lack  of  sym- 
pathy, which,  manifested  towards  other  traits  of  his,  no  less 
marked  than  openhandedness,  struck  a  jarring  note  within 
him,  and  possibly  paved  the  way  to  an  indifference  which 
ended  so  unfortunately  for  both.  An  absent  husband,  how- 
ever, very  possibly  failed  to  realize  what  his  extreme  gener- 
osity might  mean,"  to  one  who  had  to  meet  household  expenses 
with  narrow  means. 

The  political  surmises  Avith  which  his  correspondence  at 
this  period  abounds  were  often  crude,  though  not  infrequently 
also  characterized  by  the  native  sagacity  of  his  intellect, 
as  yet  undisciplined,  and  to  some  extent  deficient  in  data 
for  accurate  forecasts.  The  erroneous  military  conception 
which  colored  much  of  his  thought,  the  propositions  for 
ex-centric  movements  in  an  enemy's  rear,  by  bodies  com- 
paratively small,  out  of  supporting  distance  from  the  rest  of 
the  army,  and  resting  upon  no  impregnable  base,  contributed 
greatly  to  the  faulty  anticipations  entertained  and  expressed 
by  him  from  time  to  time.  When  applied  to  operations 
directed  by  the  consummate  and  highly  trained  genius  of 
Bonaparte,  speculations  so  swayed  naturally  flew  wide  of  the 
mark.  His  sanguine  disposition  to  think  the  best  of  all 
persons  and  all  things  —  except  Frenchmen  — made  him  also 

13 


■i 


•  ;|J; 


r  <n' 


1    w' 


178 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


\i 


a  ready  invy  to  the  flattering  rumors  of  which  war  is  ever 
fertile.  These  immaturities  will  be  found  to  disappear,  as 
his  sphere  widens  and  his  responsibilities  increase. 

After  the  close  of  the  campaign,  Nelson  made  a  short 
cruise  from  Genoa  to  the  westward,  seeing  the  French  on 
November  29  in  full  possession  of  Vado  Bay.  He  then  went 
to  Leghorn,  where  he  'arrived  on  the  Gth  of  December  and 
remained  till  the  middle  of  January,  repairing,  to  make  the 
"Agamemnon"  "as  tit  for  sea  as  a  rotten  ship  can  be."  The 
longing  for  rest  and  for  home,  after  nearly  three  years'  ab- 
sence, was  again  strong  upon  liim  in  this  moment  of  relaxa- 
tion. "  I  fear  ouv  new  admiral  is  willing  to  keep  me  with 
hin),"  he  wrote  to  his  brother.  "He  has  wrote  me,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  a  most  flattering  letter,  and  I  hear  I  am  to  be 
offered  St.  George  or  Zealous  [much  larger  ships],  but,  in  my 
present  mind,  I  shall  take  neither.  My  wish  is  to  see  Eng- 
land once  more,  and  I  want  a  few  weeks'  rest"  But  here 
again,  having  regard  to  that  fame  which  was  to  him  most 
dear,  he  was  mistaken,  as  he  now  owned  he  had  been  in  the 
Avish,  a  year  before,  to  accompanj^  Lord  Hood  on  his  return. 
In  Sir  John  Jervis  he  was  to  meet,  not  only  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  and  resolute  officers  of  the  IJritish  Navy,  closely 
akin  to  himself  in  enterprise  and  fearlessness,  though  without 
his  exceptional  genius,  but  also  a  man  capable  of  appreciating 
perfectly  the  extraordinary  powers  of  his  subordinate,  and  of 
disregarding  every  obstacle  and  all  clamor,  in  the  determina- 
tion to  utilize  his  qualities  to  the  full,  for  the  good  of  the 
nation. 


1'  \ 


ClIArTEll  VII. 

Nelson's  Skuvicks  in  tiik  Mkditkruankan   dlmuni;  thk  .Ykau  1796. — 
BoNAi'AiiTK's   Italian'  Campaign.  —  Thk  Biiitimu  abanuoin'  Cohsica, 

AND   Tilli   IYeKT    LliAVKti   THE   MkUITEKUANEAN. 

Januauy-Deoembek,  179G.     Age,  o8. 

WHILE  tJie  "  Agamemnon  "  was  refitting  in  Leghorn,  the 
sensitive  mind  of  her  captain,  no  longer  preoccupied 
with  the  can's  oi'  campaigning  and  negotiations,  dwelt  with 
restless  anxiety  upon  tlie  reliections  to  which  the  British 
Kavy  Avas  liable,  ior  its  alleged  failure  to  support  the  Aus- 
trians  throughout  the  operations,  and  especially  at  the  critical 
moment  of  the  Battle  of  Loano,  Avhen  the  left  flank  of  their 
army  was  harassed  with  impunity  by  the  French  gunboats. 
Nelson  felt  rightly  that,  with  the  British  superiority  at  sea, 
this  should  have  been  impossible  ;  and  he  feared  thnt  his  own 
name  might  be  unpleasantly  involved,  from  the  facu  that  the 
"Agamemnon"  had  remained  throughout  at  Genoa,  instead 
of  being  where  the  fighting  was.  He  was  by  nature,  and  at 
all  times,  over-forward  to  self-vindication,  —  an  infirmity 
springing  from  the  innate  nobility  of  his  temperament,  which 
was  impatient  of  the  faintest  suspicion  of  backwardness  or 
negligence,  and  at  the  same  time  resolved  that  for  any  short- 
coming or  blunder,  occurring  by  his  order  or  sanction,  no  other 
than  himself  should  bear  blame,  directly  or  indirectly. 

After  the  first  unsuccessful  pursuit  of  Bonaparte's  expe- 
dition to  Egypt,  in  1798,  in  the  keenness  of  his  emotions  over 
a  failure  that  might  by  some  be  charged  to  a  precipitate  error 
of  judgment,  he  drew  up  for  Lord  St.  Vincent  a  clear  and  able 
statement  of  all  the  reasons  which  had  determined  liis  action, 
arraigning  himself,  as  it  were,  at  the  bar  of  his  Lordship's 
opinion  and  that  of  the  nation,  and  assuming  entire  responsi- 
bility for  the  apparent  mistake,  while  at  the  same  time 
justifying  the  step  by  a  review  of  the  various  considerations 


w 

'.1 

!;. 


k' 


\ 


180 


THK  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


(ll 


■'. '    ■ 


J!     '     . 


which  at  the  time  had  occasioned  it.  His  judicious  frierd 
and  subordinate,  Captain  Ball,  whom  he  consulted,  strongly 
advised  him  not  to  send  the  paper.  "I  was  particularly 
struck,"  he  wrote,  "  with  the  clear  and  accurate  style,  as  well 
avj  v/ith  the  candour  of  the  statement  in  your  letter,  hut  I 
should  recommend  a  friend  never  to  begin  a  defence  of  his 
conduct  before  he  is  accused  of  error."  Nevertheless,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1805,  when  he  once  more  went  to  Alexandria  in  search 
of  Villeneuve,  this  time  really  misled  by  the  elaborate  mys- 
tifications of  Kapoleon,  he  again  brought  himself  before  the 
Admiralty.  ''  I  am  entirely  responsible  to  my  King  and 
Country  for  the  whole  of  my  conduct.  ...  I  have  consulted 
no  man,  therefore  the  wl'.ole  blame  of  ignorance  in  forming 
my  judgment  must  rest  with  me.  I  would  allow  no  man  to 
take  from  me  an  atom  of  my  glory,  had  I  fallen  in  with  the 
Trench  fleet,  nor  do  I  desire  any  man  to  partake  any  of  the 
responsibility  —  all  is  mine,  right  or  wrong." 

In  1795,  being  a  much  younger  man,  of  less  experience  of 
the  world,  and  with  a  reputation,  already  brilliant  indeed,  but 
still  awaiting  the  stamp  of  solidity  which  the  lapse  of  time 
alone  can  give,  Nelson  felt  strongly,  and  not  improperly,  that 
it  was  necessary  to  be  vigilant  against  any  possible  imputa- 
tions upon  his  action.  This  was  the  more  true,  because  blame 
certainly  did  attach  to  the  service  of  which  he  was  the  repre- 
sentative on  the  spot,  and  the  course  he  had  been  obliged  to 
follow  kept  him  to  the  rear  instead  of  at  the  front.  There 
would  have  been  no  greater  personal  danger  to  a  man  on 
board  the  "  Agamemnon  "  in  one  place  than  in  the  other ;  but 
current  rumor,  seeking  a  victim,  does  not  pause  to  analyze 
conditions.  Not  only,  therefore,  did  he  draw  up  for  Sir  John 
Jervis  a  succinct  synopsis  of  occurrences  subsequent  to  his 
taking  command  of  the  operations  along  the  Eiviera,  in  which 
he  combined  a  justification  of  his  own  conduct  with  the  gen- 
eral information  necessary  for  a  new  commander-in-chief,  but 
to  all  his  principal  correspondents  he  carefully  imparted  the 
facts  necessary  to  clear  him  from  blame,  and  to  show  just 
what  the  Navy  had  effected,  and  where  it  had  fallen  short 
through  inadequate  force. 

To  the  British  minister  to  Genoa,  who  was  constantly  at  the 
Austrian  headquarters,  he  wrote  with  clear  emphasis,  as  to 


\ .    ii 


DEFENCE  OF  IIIS  OWN  CONDUCT 


181 


one  cognizant  of  all  the  truth,  and  so  a  witness  most  important 
to  himself.  Having  first  asked  certain  certificates,  essential 
to  be  presented  in  the  Admiralty  Courts  when  Genoese  prizes 
came  to  be  adjudicated,  he  continued  characteristically  :  "  The 
next  request  much  more  concerns  my  honour,  than  the  other 
does  my  interest  —  it  is  to  prove  to  the  world,  to  my  own 
admiral,  or  to  whoever  may  have  a  right  to  ask  the  question, 
why  I  remained  at  Genoa.  I  have  therefore  to  desire  that  you 
will  have  the  goodness  to  express,  in  writing,  what  you  told 
me,  that  the  Imperial  minister  and  yourself  were  assured,  if  I 
left  the  port  of  Genoa  unguarded,  not  only  the  Imperial  troops 
at  St.  Pierre  d' Arena  and  Voltri  would  be  lost,  but  that  the 
French  plan  for  taking  post  between  Voltri  and  Savona  would 
certainly  succeed  ;  and  also,  that  if  the  Austrians  should  be 
worsted  in  the  advanced  Dosts,  the  retreat  by  the  Bocchetta 
would  be  cut  off:  to  which  you  added,  that  if  this  happened, 
the  loss  of  the  Army  would  be  laid  to  my  leaving  Genoa,  and 
recommended  me  most  strongly  not  to  think  of  it.  I  am 
anxious,  as  you  will  believe,  to  have  proofs  in  my  possession, 
that  I  employed  to  the  last  the  Agamemnon  as  was  judged 
most  beneficial  to  the  common  cause." 

A  week  later  he  wrote  again,  having  heard  that  the  Austrian 
commander-in-chief,  General  Wallis,  had  declared  that  the 
defeat  was  due  to  the  failure  of  the  British  to  co-operate. 
Nelson  thought  that  they  had  a  strong  hold  on  Wallis,  and  he 
therefore  enclosed  a  letter  to  him,  which  he  asked  might  be 
forwarded  by  the  minister.  The  experience  and  training  of 
the  latter,  however,  here  interposed  to  prevent  his  sensitive 
uneasiness  leading  to  a  false  step,  and  one  that  might  involve 
him  farther  than  he  foresaw.  While  bearing  the  clearest  and 
strongest  witness  to  the  facts  which  Nelson  had  asked  him  to 
establish,  he  hinted  to  him,  tactfully  and  with  deference,  that 
it  was  scarcely  becoming  a  public  servant  to  justify  his  con- 
duct to  a  foreign  official,  he  being  accountable  only  to  his  own 
government.  Nelson  accepted  the  suggestion,  and  in  so  doing 
characterized  aptly  enough  the  temperament  which  then  and 
at  other  times  carried  him  farther  than  discretion  warranted. 
"My  feelings  ever  alive,  perhaps,  to  too  nice  a  sense  of 
honour,  are  a  little  cooled." 

Along  with  this  care  for  the   stainless  record  of  the  past. 


m 


I 


t.> 


m 


> ' 

'  )k 

1 

'  N 

j   .         t  i 

M 

u 

it 

i  ". 


(I        I 


i  i   (,. 


i  I' 


189 


THE  TJFE  OF  NELSON 


y 


thore  went  on  in  liis  mind  a  continiuil  roasoninjjj  upon  tho 
probable  conr.se  of  the  next  year's  operations.  In  bis  fore- 
casts it  is  singular  to  notice  liow,  starting  from  tbo  accurate 
premise  that  it  is  necessary  ff)r  tho  French  to  get  into  the 
plains  of  Italy,  —  "the  gold  mine,"  —  he  is  continually  misled 
by  his  old  prepossession  'a  favor  of  landing  in  rear  of  tho 
enemy  a  body  of  troops,  supported  neither  b}-  sure  communi- 
cation with  their  nuiin  army,  nor  by  a  position  in  itself  of 
great  strength.  The  mistake,  if  mistake  it  was,  illustrates 
aptly  the  errors  into  which  a  man  of  great  genius  for  war,  of 
quick  insight,  such  as  Nelson  indisputably  had,  can  fall,  from 
want  of  antecedent  study,  of  familiarity  with  those  leading 
principles,  deduced  from  the  experience  of  the  past,  which  are 
perhaps  even  more  serviceable  in  warning  against  error  than 
in  prompting  to  right.  Everything  assures  him  that  the 
French  will  carry  some  twenty  tliousand  men  to  Italy  by  sea. 
"If  they  mean  to  carry  on  tho  war,  th(>y  must  penetrate  into 
Italy.  I  am  convinced  in  my  own  mind,  th;i*-  I  know  their 
very  landing-place."  This,  it  appears  afterwards,  he  believed 
would  be  between  Spezia  and  Leghorn,  in  tho  districts  of  ]\[assa 
and  Carrara,  whence  also  they  Avould  doubtless  turn  \ipou 
Leghorn,  though  neutral,  as  a  valuable  and  fortified  seaport. 
"The  prevention,"  he  continues,  "requires  great  foresight; 
for,  if  once  landed,  our  fleet  is  of  no  use." 

The  importance  of  Yado  l>ay,  so  discreditably  lost  tho  year 
before,  strikes  him  from  this  point  of  view,  as  it  did  also 
Bonaparte  from  his  more  closely  coherent  plan  of  operations. 
Nelson  reasoned  that,  if  Vado  were  possessed  by  the  allies,  the 
French,  in  their  attempt  to  reach  the  Tuscan  coast,  would  be 
compelled  to  put  to  sea,  where  they  would  be  exposed  to  the 
British  fleet,  while  such  an  anchorage  would  enable  the  latter, 
when  necessary,  to  keep  the  coast  close  aboard,  or  would  pro- 
vide a  refuge  to  a  small  squadron,  if  threatened  by  the  sudden 
appearance  of  a  superior  force.  Bonaparte  thought  Vado 
important,  because,  on  tho  one  hand,  essential  to  uninter- 
rupted coasting-trade  with  Genoa,  and  on  the  other  as  advanc- 
ing his  water  line  of  communications  —  that  by  land  being 
impassable  for  heavy  articles,  such  as  siege-guns  and  carriages 
—  to  Savona,  from  which  point  the  mountains  could  be  crossed 
at  their  lowest  elevation,  and  by  their  most  practicable  passes. 


FIRST  MEETING  WITH  JERViS 


l.s;] 


Nelson's  analysis  of  the  conditions,  in  other  respects  than 
the  one  mentioned,  was  not  nn  worthy  of  his  great  natural 
aptitudes.  There  are  three  things  to  be  guarded  against,  he 
says.  One  is  that  pet  scheme  of  his  imagination,  the  trans- 
port of  a  corps  by  sea  to  Tuscany ;  the  other  two  are  an  inva- 
sion of  Piedmont,  and  the  entrance  into  Italy  by  the  ])ass  of 
the  l>occhetta,  behind  (renoa.  "If  three  are  to  be  attended 
to,  depend  upon  it  one  will  fall,  and  the  Emperor,  very  pos- 
sibly, may  be  more  attentive  to  the  Milanese  than  to  I'ied- 
moiit."  Upon  this  divergence  of  interests  in  a  coalition 
l^)onaparte  also  explicitly  counted  ;  and  his  plan,  in  its  first 
inception,  as  laid  before  the  Directory  in  the  summer  of  1795, 
lo(^l  .-^d  primarily  to  the  subjugation  of  I'iedmont,  by  separat- 
ing it  from  the  support  of  the  Austrian  Army.  The  bearing 
of  Vado  Bay  upon  this  project  is  not  definitely  recognized  by 
Nelson.  He  sees  in  the  possession  of  it  only  the  frustration 
of  both  the  enemy's  supposed  alternatives,  —  invasion  of  Italy 
by  the  Bocchetta,  and  of  Tuscany  by  sea. 

With  these  views  Nelson  arrived,  at  San  Fiorenzo,  on  the 
19th  of  January,  and  had  his  first  interview  with  Jervis.  His 
reception  by  the  latter,  whom  he  never  before  had  met,  was 
not  only  cordial  but  flattering.  He  was  at  once  offered  the 
choice  of  two  larger  ships,  which  were  declined,  "  but  Avith 
that  respect  and  sense  of  obligation  on  my  part  which  such 
handsome  conduct  demanded  of  me."  The  admiral  then  asked 
him  if  he  would  have  any  objection  to  remain  on  the  station, 
when  promoted,  as  he  soon  must  be.  Nelson's  longing  to  go 
home  had  worn  off  with  his  disgust,  occasioned  by  the  im- 
potent conclusions  of  last  year's  work.  Then  he  was  experi- 
encing the  feeling  voiced  hy  the  great  Frenchman,  Suffren, 
some  dozen  years  before  :  "  It  was  clear  that,  though  we  had 
the  means  to  impose  the  law,  all  would  be  lost.  I  heartily 
})ray  you  may  permit  me  to  leave.  War  alone  can  make  bear- 
able the  weariness  of  certain  thing?."  Now  his  keen  enjoy- 
ment of  active  service  revived  as  the  hour  of  opening  hostilities 
drew  near.  With  these  dispositions,  the  graciousness  of  his  re- 
ception easily  turned  the  scale,  and  before  long  he  was  not  only 
willing  to  remain,  but  fearful  lest  he  should  be  disappointed, 
despite  the  application  for  his  retention  which  the  admiral 
hastened  to  make. 


fih 


'i^: 


!> 


d^jjl 


\i' 


I- 


184 


THE  LIFF.   OF  NELSON 


;i 


i' 


"  The  credit  I  derive  from  all  these  compliments,"  he  wrote 
to  his  wife,  "  mu.st  be  satisfactory  to  yoii;  and,  should  I 
remain  until  peace,  which  cannot  be  very  long,  you  will,  I 
sincerely  lope,  make  your  mind  easy."  lint  more  grateful 
than  oi)en  flattery,  to  one  so  interested  in,  and  proud  of,  his 
military  activities,  was  the  respect  paid  by  Jervis  to  his 
views  and  suggestions  relative  to  the  approaching  operations. 
"  He  was  so  well  satisfied  with  my  opinion  of  what  is  likely 
to  happen,  and  the  means  of  prevention  to  be  taken,  that  ho 
had  no  reserve  with  me  respecting  his  information  and  ideas 
of  what  is  likely  to  be  done ; "  or,  as  he  wrote  a  month  later, 
"  he  seems  at  present  to  consider  me  more  as  an  associate  than 
a  subordinate  officer;  for  I  am  acting  without  any  orders. 
This  may  have  its  difficulties  at  a  future  day ;  but  I  make 
none,  knowinfr  the  uprightness  of  my  intentions.  'You  must 
have  a  larger  ship,'  (M)ntinued  the  admiral,  'for  we  cannot 
spare  you,  either  as  captain  or  admiral.' "  Such  were  tiie 
opening  relations  between  these  two  distinguished  officers, 
who  were  in  the  future  to  exert  great  influence  upon  each 
other's  career. 

It  is  far  from  improbable  that  the  ready  coincidence  of 
Jervis's  views  with  those  of  Nelson,  as  to  future  possibilities, 
arose,  partly  indeed  from  professional  bias  a  d  prepossession 
as  to  the  potency  of  navies,  but  still  more  from  the  false 
reports,  of  which  H^  aparte  was  an  apt  promoter,  and  which 
a  commission  of  the  allies  in  Genoa  greedily  swallowed  and 
transmitted.  The  deterrent  effect  of  their  own  fleet,  "  in 
being,"  seems  not  to  have  prevented  either  of  them  from 
believing  that  the  attempt  upon  Tuscany  by  sea  was  seriously 
intended.  True,  Nelson  does  at  times  speak  of  the  French  as 
being  so  unreasonable  that  one  may  expect  anything  from 
them ;  but  this  scheme,  which  probably  had  not  even  a  paper 
existence  in  France,  Avas  accepted  by  him  as  imminent,  because 
he  thought  it  suitable.  As  he  cogently  remarked  to  Beaulieu, 
it  is  likely  that  your  enemy  will  not  do  the  thing  which  you 
wish  him  to  do ;  and  conversely,  in  this  case,  what  to  him 
appeared  most  threatening  to  his  own  cause  was  just  what  he 
expected  to  occur.  Jervis,  sharing  his  views,  and  already 
knowing  his  man,  despatched  him  again  to  the  Gulf  of  Genoa, 
within  forty-eight  hours  of  his  arrival  in  San  Fiorenzo,  some- 


:  i 


ADMIRAL,  SIR   JOHN    JERVIS,  EARL   OF 

ST,  VINCENT. 

F>-om  an  t-ii-^niving  by  II.  RoHmou,  after  the  painthi};  by  John 
Ilop/'iur,  ill  St.  James's  PaUice. 


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will  pus 


ON  THE  RIVIERA,  1796 


185 


what  to  the  disgust  of  the  other  captains,  weary  of  being  ever 
under  the  eye  of  an  observant  and  exacting  admiral.  "  You 
did  as  you  pleased  in  Lord  Hood's  time,"  said  one  grumbler, 
"the  same  in  Admiral  Hotham's,  and  now  again  with  Sir 
John  Jervis ;  it  makes  no  difference  to  you  who  is  commander- 
in-chief."  The  tone  of  these  words,  which  in  the  reading  are 
almost  flattering,  is  evident  from  Nelson's  comment :  "  I  re- 
turned a  pretty  strong  answer  to  this  speech." 

The  object  of  his  present  mission  was  to  ascertain  what  prep- 
arations for  the  expected  descent  were  being  made  along  the 
Riviera,  and  to  frustrate  them  as  far  as  lay  in  the  power  of 
his  squadron.  He  soon  reported  to  Jervis  that  there  was  as 
yet  no  collection  of  vessels  between  Nice  and  Genoa.  He 
then  went  on  to  recon  icitre  Toulon,  where  he  saw  thirteen 
sail-of-the-line  and  live  irrigates  lying  i.  the  outer  roads,  ready 
for  sea,  while  five  more  uf  the  line  he  learned  were  fitting  at 
the  arsenal.  During  the  six  days  he  remained  off  the  port  he 
noted  that  continual  progress  was  being  made  in  the  enemy's 
preparations.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  on  the  23d  of  Feb- 
uruary,  1796,  the  admiral  joined  with  the  fleet,  and  the  same 
afternoon  the  "  Agamemnon "  again  parted  company  for 
Genoa,  where  she  anchored  on  the  2d  of  March. 

The  bustle  on  board  the  French  ships  confirmed  Nelson's 
belief  in  the  descent  upon  Tuscany ;  and  it  is  interesting  here 
to  quote  his  words  upon  the  possibilities  of  tho  operation,  re- 
garded from  the  naval  point  of  view  by  one  of  the  ablest  of 
sea-generals.  His  opinion  throws  light  upon  the  vexed  ques- 
tion of  the  chances  for  and  against  Napoleon's  projected 
invasion  of  England  in  1805,  —  so  far,  that  is,  as  the  purely 
naval  part  of  the  latter  project  is  concerned.  He  imagines  as 
perfectly  feasible  ("I  firmly  believe,"  are  his  words)  a  com- 
bination at  Toulon,  of  the  fleet  already  there  with  divibions 
arriving  from  Cadiz  and  Brest,  giving  a  total  much  superior 
to  that  actually  with  Jervis.  This  anticipates  Napoleon's 
projected  concentration  under  Villeneuve  in  the  Channel. 
Nelson  then  continues  :  "  One  week's  very  superior  fleet  will 
effect  a  landing  between  Port  Especia  and  Leghorn,  I  mean  on 
that  coast  of  Italy.  .  .  .  We  may  fight  their  fleet,  but  unless 
we  can  destroy  them  [i.  e.  the  transports],  their  transports 
will  push  on  and  effect  their  landing.     What  will  the  French 


;  1 


\'.'  I 


> 


.     > 


b 

;     •       \ 
I 

I 


180 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


care  for  the  loss  of  a  few  men-of-war  ?  It  is  nothing  if  they 
can  get  into  Italy."  "  Make  us  masters  of  the  channel  for 
three  days,  and  we  are  masters  of  the  world,"  wrote  Napoleon 
to  his  admirals,  with  preparations  far  more  complete  than 
those  Nelson  was  considering  in  1796,  and  the  distance  across 
the  Channel  is  less  than  from  Vado  to  Spezia.^ 

With  tliese  convictions,  Nelson  immediately  began  to  urge 
the  necessity  of  again  occupying  Vado  upon  the  Austrian  com- 
mander-in-chief, tiirough  the  medium  of  the  British  ministers 
to  Genoa  and  Turin,  with  whom  he  was  in  frequent  corre- 
spondence. If  this  were  not  done,  he  assured  them,  the 
enemy's  fleet  could  with  ease  convoy  a  body  of  troops  in 
transports  to  Italy,  which  they  could  not  do  with  their  present 
force  unless  they  held  Vado.  It  was  also  the  only  means,  he 
added,  by  which  tlie  French  could  be  prevented  from  receiv- 
ing plenty  of  provisions  from  Genoa.  "  Unless  the  Austrians 
get  possession  of  a  point  of  land,  Ave  cannot  stop  the  coasting- 
trade."  The  latter  argument,  at  any  rate,  was  incontestable ; 
and  it  was  also  true  that  only  by  an  advance  to  Vado  could 
communication  between  the  army  and  the  British  fleet  be  re- 
stored and  maintained.  Beaulieu,  who  had  lately  acquired  a 
high  reputation  on  the  battle-fields  of  Belgium,  had  now  suc- 
ceeded De  Vins  in  the  command.  He  was  averse  to  opening 
the  campaign  by  an  advance  to  the  sea,  a  feeling  shared  by 
the  Austrians  geuerall}'.  He  wished  rather  to  await  the 
enemy  in  the  plains  of  Lombardy,  and  to  follow  up  by  a  decisive 
blow  the  victory  which  he  confidently  expected  there.  It  was 
in  this  connection  that  Nelson  warned  him,  that  he  must  not 
reckon  upon  the  French  following  the  line  of  action  which  he 
himself  w^ould  prefer. 

The  time  for  hostilities  had  now  arrived  ;  from  February  to 
August  being  the  period  that  Bonaparte,  who  knew  the  wars 


1  This  indicates  no  opinion  as  to  tho  fortune  of  the  military  operations  in 
England,  a  landing  once  effucted.  It  has,  liowever,  seemed  to  the  author 
singular  that  men  fail  to  consider  that  Napoleon  would  not  have  hesitated  to 
abandon  an  army  in  England,  as  he  did  in  Egyjjt  and  in  j\i  sia.  A  few 
hours'  fog  or  calm,  and  a  (luick-pulUng  boi't,  would  have  landed  himself  again 
iu  France  ;  while  the  loss  of  L')0,000  men,  if  it  came  to  that,  would  have 
been  cheajily  bought  with  the  damage  such  an  organized  force  could  Juivc  don(! 
London  and  the  dock  yards,  not  to  s[)eak  of  the  moral  effect. 


ON  THE  RIVIERA,  1796 


187 


to 


bs  in 
Ithor 
U  to 

fuw 
(gaiu 

iiive 
Idouo 


of  Italy  historically,  considered  the  most  proper  for  operations 
in  the  held,  because  the  least  sickly.  But  for  the  backward- 
ness of  the  spring,  —  for  snow  that  year  lay  upon  the  moun- 
tains late  into  jVIarch,  —  the  campaign  doubtless  would  have 
been  begun  before.  At  the  same  time  came  fresh  reports, 
probably  set  afloat  by  the  French,  of  large  reinforcements  of 
seamen  for  the  fleet  and  transports,  in  Toulon  and  Marseilles ; 
and  Nelson  furthermore  received  precise  information  that  the 
enemy's  movement  would  be  in  three  columns,  —  one  upon 
Ceva,  which  was  Bonaparte's  original  scheme,  one  by  the 
Bocchetta,  and  the  third  either  to  march  through  Genoese 
territory  to  Spezia,  or  to  be  carried  thither  by  sea.  Nelson 
felt  no  doubt  that  the  last  was  the  real  plan,  aiming  at  the 
occupation  of  Leghorn  and  entrance  into  the  plains  of  Italy. 
The  others  he  considered  to  be  feints.  There  will  in  this 
opinion  be  recognized  the  persistency  of  his  old  ideas.  In 
fact,  he  a  month  later  revived  his  proposal  of  the  previous 
year,  to  occupy  San  llemo,  —  this  time  with  British  troops. 

The  urgency  of  the  British,  aided,  perhaps,  by  the  reports 
of  the  French  designs,  prevailed  at  last  upon  Beaulieu  to  ad- 
vance as  requested ;  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  taking  of 
Vado  was  in  itself  a  most  proper  and  desirable  accessory  ob- 
ject of  the  campaign.  Unfortunately,  the  Austrian  general, 
as  is  well  known,  fastening  his  eyes  too  exclusively  upon  the 
ulterior  object  of  his  movement,  neglected  to  provide  for  the 
immediate  close  combination  and  mutual  support  of  the  organ- 
ized forces,  —  his  own  and  the  Piedmontese,  —  upon  which 
final  success  would  turn.  Manoeuvring  chiefly  by  his  own 
left,  towards  the  lliviera,  and  drawing  in  that  direction  the 
efforts  of  the  centre  and  right,  he  weakened  the  allied  line  at 
the  point  where  the  Austrian  right  touched  the  Sardinian  left. 
Through  this  thin  curtain  Bonaparte  broke,  dividing  the  one 
from  the  other,  and,  after  a  series  of  combats  which  extended 
over  several  days,  rendering  final  that  division,  both  political 
and  military,  for  the  remainder  of  the  war. 

To  one  who  has  accustomed  himself  to  see  in  Nelson  the 
exponent  of  the  chief  obstacle  Napoleon  had  to  meet,  —  who 
has  recognized  in  the  Nile,  in  Copenhagen,  and  in  Trafalgar,  the 
most  significant  and  characteristic  incident  attending  tlie  fail- 
ure of  each  of  three  great  and  widely  separated  schemes,  — 


I  ! 


',\V' 


^'' 


!    K 


ll^i 


Hi 


I'll 

i'mf  > 


I! 


188 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


there  is  something  impressive  in  noting  the  fact,  generally- 
disregarded,  that  Nelson  was  also  present  and  assisting  at 
the  very  opening  scene  of  the  famous  campaign  in  Italy.  This 
was  not,  certainly,  the  beginning  of  Napoleon's  career  any 
more  than  it  was  of  Nelson's,  who  at  the  same  moment  hoisted 
for  the  first  time  his  broad  pendant  as  commodore  ;  but  it  was 
now  that,  upon  the  horizon  of  the  future,  toward  which  the 
world  was  fast  turning,  began  to  shoot  upward  the  rays  of 
the  great  captain's  coming  glory,  and  the  sky  to  redden  with 
the  glare  from  the  watchfires  of  the  unseeA  armies  which,  at 
his  command,  were  to  revolutionize  the  face  of  Europe,  caus- 
ing old  things  to  pass  away,  never  to  be  restored. 

The  Austrians  had  asked  for  a  clear  assurance  that  their 
movement  to  the  seashore  should  receive  the  support  of  the 
fleet,  whether  on  the  Riviera  or  at  Spezia;  Nelson  having  laid 
stress  upon  the  possession  of  the  latter,  as  a  precaution  against 
the  invasion  of  Tuscany.  These  engagements  he  readily  made. 
He  would  support  any  movement,  and  provide  for  the  safety 
of  any  convoys  by  water.  He  told  the  aid-de-camp  whom 
Beaulieu  sent  to  him  that,  whenever  the  general  came  down 
to  the  sea-coast,  he  would  be  sure  to  find  the  ships;  and  to 
the  question  whether  his  squadron  would  not  be  risked  there- 
by, he  replied  that  it  would  be  risked  at  all  times  to  assist 
their  allies,  and,  if  lost,  the  admiral  would  find  another.  "  If 
I  find  the  French  convoy  in  any  place  where  there  is  a  proba- 
bility of  attacking  them,"  he  wrote  about  this  time,  "you 
may  depend  they  shall  either  be  taken  or  destroyed  at  the 
risk  of  my  squadron,  .  .  .  which  is  built  to  be  risked  on 
proper  occasions."  Here  was  indeed  a  spirit  from  which 
much  might  be  expected.  The  fleet,  doubtless,  must  be  hus- 
banded in  coastwise  work  so  long  as  the  French  fleet  remained, 
the  legacy  of  pasL  errors, — this  Nelson  clearly  maintained; 
but  such  vessels  as  it  could  spare  for  co-operation  were  not  to 
1)0  deterred  from  doing  their  work  by  fear  of  harm  befalling 
them.  Warned  by  the  recriminations  of  the  last  campaign, 
he  had  minutes  taken  of  his  interview  Avith  the  Austrian 
oflKcer,  of  the  questions  he  himself  put,  as  well  as  of  the  un- 
dertakings to  which  he  pledged  himself;  and  these  he  caused 
to  be  witnessed  by  the  British  consul  at  Genoa,  who  was 
present. 


ON  THE  RIVIERA,  1790 


189 


On  the  8tli  of  April  the  "Agamemnon,"  having  «huillv 
before  left  the  fleet  in  San  Fiorenzo  Bay,  anchored  at  Genoa ; 
and  the  following  morning  the  port  saluted  the  broad  pendant 
of  the  new  commodore.  The  next  day,  April  10,  Beaulieu 
attacked  the  French  at  Voltri.  The  **  Agamemnon,"  with 
another  sixty-four-gun  ship,  the  "  Diadem,"  and  two  frigates, 
sailed  in  the  evening,  and  stood  along  the  shore,  by  precon- 
certed arrangement,  to  cover  the  advance  and  harass  the 
enemy.  At  11  p.  m.  the  ships  anchored  abreast  the  positions 
of  the  Austrians,  whose  lights  were  visible  from  their  decks 
—  the  sails  hanging  in  the  clewlines,  ready  for  instant  move- 
ment. They  again  got  under  way  the  following  day,  and  con- 
tinued to  the  westward,  seeing  the  French  troops  in  retreat 
upon  Savona.  The  attack,  Nelson  said,  anticipated  the  hour 
fixed  for  it,  which  was  daylight ;  so  that,  although  the  ships 
had  again  started  at  4  a.  m.  of  the  11th,  and  reached  betimes 
a  point  from  which  they  commanded  every  foot  of  the  road, 
the  enemy  had  already  passed.  "  Yesterday  afternoon  1  re- 
ceived, at  five  o'clock,  a  note  from  the  Baron  de  INIalcamp  [an 
aid-de-camp],  to  tell  me  that  the  general  had  resolved  to  at- 
tack the  French  at  daylight  this  morning,  and  on  the  right  of 
Voltri.  Yet  by  the  Austrians  getting  too  forward  in  the 
afternoon,  a  slight  action  took  place ;  and,  in  the  night,  the 
French  retreQ,ted.  They  were  aware  of  their  perilous  situa- 
tion, and  passed  our  ships  in  the  night.  Had  the  Austrians 
kept  back,  very  few  of  the  French  could  have  escaped." 
Whether  this  opinion  was  wholly  accurate  may  be  doubted; 
certain  it  is,  however,  that  the  corps  which  then  passed  rein- 
forced betimes  the  positions  in  the  mountains,  which  stead- 
fastly, yet  barely,  checked  the  Austrian  attack  there  the 
following  day.  Beaulieu  wrote  that  the  well-timed  co-opera- 
tion of  the  squadron  had  saved  a  number  of  fine  troops,  which 
must  have  been  lost  in  the  attack.  This  was  so  far  satis- 
factory ;  but  the  economizing  of  one's  own  force  was  not  in 
Nelson's  eyes  any  consolation  for  the  escape  of  the  enemy, 
whose  number  he  estimated  at  four  thousand,  "I  beg  you 
will  endeavour  to  impress  on  those  about  the  general,"  he 
wrote  to  the  British  minister,  "  the  necessity  of  punctuality 
in  a  joint  operation,  for  its  success  to  be  complete." 

There  was,  however,  to  be  no  more  co-operation  that  year 


I 


1^^ 


>♦ 


'Ml''' 


1'  ■ 
I    k 


t 


ill 


I 


I 


I 


; 


'  '     • 


: 


i 


i  li 


r 


IflO 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


oil  the  Kiviera.  For  a  few  clays  Kelson  remained  in  suspense, 
hoping  for  good  news,  and  still  very  far  from  imagining  the 
hail-storm  of  ruinous  blows  which  a  master  hand,  as  yet 
unrecognized,  was  even  then  dealing  to  thj  allied  cause.  On 
the  loth  only  he  heard  from  Beaulieu,  through  tlie  minister, 
that  the  Austrians  had  been  repulsed  at  Montenotte ;  and  on 
the  16th  he  wrote  to  Collingwood  that  this  reverse  had  been 
inflicted  by  the  aid  of  those  who  slipped  by  his  ships.  On  tlie 
18th  news  had  reached  him  of  the  affairs  at  Millesimo  and 
Dego,  as  well  as  of  further  disasters ;  for  on  that  day  he  wrote 
to  the  Duke  of  Clarence  that  the  Austrians  had  taken  posi- 
tion between  Novi  and  Alessandria,  with  headquarters  at 
Acqui.  Their  loss  he  gave  as  ten  thousand.  "Had  the 
general's  concerted  time  and  plan  been  attended  to,"  he  re- 
peats, "  I  again  assert,  none  of  the  enemy  could  have  escaped 
on  the  niglit  of  the  10th.  By  what  has  followed,  the  disasters 
commenced  from  the  retreat  of  those  troops." 

There  now  remained,  not  the  stirring  employment  of  accom- 
panying and  supporting  a  victorious  advance,  but  only  the 
subordinate,  though  most  essential,  duty  of  impeding  the  com- 
munications of  the  enemy,  upon  which  to  a  great  extent  must 
depend  the  issues  cii  unseen  and  distant  fields  of  war.  To 
this  Nelson's  attention  had  already  been  turned,  as  one  of  the 
most  important  functions  intrusted  to  him,  even  were  the  allies 
successful,  and  its  difficulties  had  been  impressed  upon  him  by 
the  experience  of  the  previous  year.  But  since  then  the  con- 
ditions had  become  far  more  onerous.  The  defeat  of  the 
Austrians  not  only  left  Vado  Bay  definitively  in  the  power  of 
the  French,  but  enabled  the  latter  to  push  their  control  up  to 
the  very  walls  of  Genoa,  where  they  shortly  established  a 
battery  and  depot  on  the  shore,  at  St.  Pierre  d'Arena,  within 
three  hundred  yards  of  the  mole.  Thus  the  whole  western 
Riviera,  from  the  French  border,  was  in  possession  of  tlie 
enemy,  who  had  also  throughout  the  previous  year  so  mul- 
tiplied and  strengthened  the  local  defences,  that,  to  use 
Nelson's  own  words,  "  they  have  batteries  from  one  end  of 
the  coast  to  the  other,  within  shot  of  each  other."  Such  were 
the  means,  also,  by  which  Napoleon,  the  true  originator 
of  this  scheme  for  securing  these  communications,  insured 
the  concentration  of  the   flotilla  at  Boulogne,  eight  or  ten 


(i 


ON   TIIK    lUVlKRA,  1700 


1S)1 


years  later,  without  serious  molestation  iroiu  the  British 
Kavy. 

It  may  not  unnaturally  cause  some  surprise  that,  with  tlie 
urgent  need  Xelson  had  felt  the  year  before  for  snjall  armed 
vessels,  to  control  the  coastwise  movements  of  tlie  enemy, 
upon  which  so  much  then  depended,  no  serious  effort  had  been 
made  to  attach  a  flotilla  of  tliut  kind  to  the  fleet.  The  reply, 
however,  to  this  very  obvious  criticnsm  is,  that  the  British 
could  not  supply  the  crews  for  them  without  crippling  the 
eiliciency  of  the  cruising  fleet;  and  it  was  justly  felt  then,  as 
it  was  some  years  later  at  the  time  of  the  r>o)dogne  flotilla, 
that  the  lirime  dutv  of  Great  I'ritain  was  to  secure  the  sea 
against  the  heavy  fleets  of  the  enemy.  If,  indeed,  the  Italian 
States,  whose  immediate  interests  were  at  stake,  had  supplied 
seamen,  as  they  might  have  done,  these  could  quickly  have 
been  formed  to  the  comparatively  easy  standard  of  discipline 
and  training  needed  for  such  guerilla  warfare,  and,  supported 
by  the  cruising  fleet,  might  have  rendered  invaluable  service, 
so  long  as  the  system  of  coast  defence  was  defective.  How 
far  the  rulers  of  those  States,  trained  heretofore  to  the  narrow- 
est considerations  of  personal  policy,  could  have  been  induced 
to  extend  this  assistance,  is  doubtful.  They  did  nothing,  or 
little. 

Nelson  measured  the  odds  against  him  accurately,  and  saw 
that  the  situation  was  well-nigh  hopeless.  Xevertheless,  there 
was  a  chance  that  by  vigorous  and  sustained  action  the  enemy 
might  be  not  only  impeded,  but  intimidated.  He  sought 
earnestly  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of  the  Sardinians  and 
Neapolitans  in  manning  a  flotilla,  h  which  to  grapple  the 
convoys  as  they  passed  in  shore.  l>y  this  means,  and  the 
close  securing  of  the  coast  by  the  vessels  of  his  squadron, 
something  might  be  effected.  He  contemplated  also  using  the 
crews  of  the  British  vessels  themselves  in  gunboats  and  light- 
armed  feluccas ;  but  he  said  frankly  that,  important  as  was 
the  duty  of  intercepting  communications,  the  efficiency  oi 
the  fleet  was  more  important  still,  and  tlat  to  divert  their 
crews  overmuch  to  such  objects  would  hazard  the  vessels 
themselves,  and  neutralize  their  proper  work.  The  resort, 
therefore,  could  only  be  occasional.  The  general  political  com- 
don  of  affairs  in  the  ^Mediterranean  depended  greatly  upon 


■;s. 


> 


V  ' 


1 


plexi 


1  I 


im 


THE   LIFK   OF  NKLSON 


'.1 


'i: 


the  presence  and  readiness  of  the  British  fleet,  and  its  efficiency 
therefore  conld  not  be  risked,  to  any  serions  extent,  except 
for  the  object  of  destroying  the  enemy's  naval  forces,  to  which 
it  was  then  the  counterpoise. 

Acting,  however,  on  his  determination  to  co-operate  effec- 
tively, at  whatever  risk  to  his  own  squadron,  —  to  the  detach- 
ment, that  is,  which  the  commander-in-chief  thought  could 
safely  be  spared  from  liis  main  force  for  the  secondary  object, 
—  Nelson  applied  all  his  intelligence  and  all  his  resolution  to 
the  task  before  him.  In  words  of  admirable  force  and  clear- 
ness, he  manifests  that  exclusiveness  of  purpose,  which 
Napoleon  justly  characterized  as  the  secret  of  great  operations 
and  of  great  successes.  "  I  have  noi,  a  thought,"  he  writes  to 
the  minister  at  Genoa,  "on  any  subject  separated  from  the 
immediate  object  of  my  command,  nor  a  wish  to  be  employed 
on  any  other  service.  So  far  the  allies,"  he  continues,  with 
no  unbecoming  self-assertion,  "are  fortunate,  if  I  may  bo 
allowed  the  expression,  in  having  an  officer  of  tliis  character." 
He  felt  this  singleness  of  mind,  which  is  so  rare  a  gift,  to  bo 
the  more  important,  from  his  very  consciousness  that  the  diffi- 
culty of  his  task  approached  the  border  of  impossibility.  "  I 
cannot  command  winds  and  weather.  A  sea-officer  cannot,  like 
a  land-officer,  form  plans  ;  his  object  is  to  embrace  the  happy 
moment  which  now  and  then  offers,  —  it  may  be  this  day, 
not  for  a  month,  and  perhaps  never."  Nothing  can  be  more 
suggestive  of  his  greatest  characteristics  than  this  remark, 
which  is  perhaps  less  applicable  to  naval  officers  to-day  than 
it  was  then.  In  it  we  may  fairly  see  one  of  those  clearly  held 
principles  which  serve  a  man  so  well  in  moments  of  doubt  and 
perplexity.  At  the  Nile  and  at  Trafalgar,  and  scarcely  less  at 
St.  Vincent  and  Copenhagen,  the  seizure  of  opportunity,  the 
unfaltering  resolve  "to  embrace  the  happy  moment,"  is  per- 
haps even  more  notable  and  decisive  than  the  sagacity  which  so 
accurately  chose  the  proper  method  of  action. 

Nelson's  deeds  did  not  belie  his  words.  Immediately  after 
definite  news  of  Beaiilieu's  retreat  to  the  Po  was  received,  Sir 
John  Jervis  appeared  off  Genoa  with  the  fleet.  The  "  Aga- 
memnon "  joined  him,  and  remained  in  company  until  the  23d 
of  April,  when  by  Nelson's  request  she  sailed  on  a  cruise  to 
the  westward.     From  that  time  until  the  4th  of  June  she  was 


ON  THE  UIVIEHA,  1790 


IttJ 


after 
Sir 

Aga- 
23d 

>e  to 
was 


actively  employed  between   Nlee   and   CJeiioa,   engaging   the 
batteries,  and  from  time  to  time  cutting  out  vessels  from  the 
ancliorages.     ilis  attempts  were  more  or  less  successful;  on 
one  occasion  he  captured  a  considerable  portion  of  the  French 
siege-train  going  forward  for  the  niege  of  Mantua ;  but  upon 
the   whole   the   futility    of    the    attempt    became    apparent. 
"  Although  I  will  do  my  utmost,  1  do  not  believe  it  is  in  my 
power  to  prevent  troops  or  stores  from  passing  along  shore. 
Heavy  swells,  light  breezes,  and  the  near  iipproach  to  the 
sliore  which  these  vessels  go  are  our  obstacles.  .  .  .  You  may 
perceive  I  am  distressed.    Do  you  really  think  we  are  of  any 
use  here  ?     If  not,  we  may  serve  our  country  mu(;h  more  by 
being  in  other  places.     The  Levant  and  coast  of  Spain  call 
aloud  for  ships,  and  they  are,  I  fancy,  employed  to  no  purpose 
here."     The  position  w;i.s  almost  hopelessly   complicated  by 
the  Genoese  coasters,   which  plied  their  trade  close  to   the 
beach,  between  the  mother  city  and  the  little  towns  occupied 
by   the   French,   and    which   Nelson    felt   unable    to    touch. 
"There  are  no  vessels  of  any  consequence  in  any  bay  from 
Monaco  to  Vado,"  he  wrote  to  Jervis ;  "but  not  less  than  a 
hundred  Genoese  are  ever}'^  day  passing,  which  may  or  may  not 
have  stores  for  the  French."     "  The  French  have  no  occasion 
to  send  provisions  from  France.     The  coasts  are  covered  with 
Genoese  vessels  with  corn,  wine,  hay,  t&c,  for  places  on  the 
coast ;  and  they  know  I  have  no  power  to  stop  the  trade  with 
the  towns.     I  saw  this  day  not  less  than  forty-five  Genoese 
vessels,  all  laden,  passing  along  the  coast.     What  can  I  do  ?  " 
Although  not  definitely  so  stated,  it  is  shown,  by  an  allu- 
sion, that  Nelson  at  this  time  entertained,  among  other  ideas, 
the  project  of  keeping  afloat  in  transports  a  body  of  three 
thousand  troops,  which  should  hover  upon  the  coast,  and  by 
frequent  descents  impose  a  constant  insecurity  upon  the  long 
line  of  comnmnications  from  Nice  to  Genoa.     The  same  plan 
was  advocated  by  him  against  the  Spanish  peninsula  in  later 
years.^    Of  this  conception  it  may  be  said  that  it  i-  sound  in 
principle,  but  in  practice  depends  largely  upon  the  distance 
from  the  centre  of  the  enemy's  power  at  which  its  execution 
is  attempted.     Upon  the  Spanish  coast,  in  1808,  in  the  hands 
of  Lord  Cochrane,  it  was  undoubtedly  a  most  effective  second- 

^  Naval  Chronicle,  vol.  xxi.  p.  60. 
13 


'    V 


r     ; 


■\ 


104 


T1!K  LIFE  OV  NKLSON 


i 


!■    t, 


IM 


hi 


ary  operation;  but  when  that  distinguished  oiliuer  proposed 
to  apply  a  like  method,  even  tliough  ou  a  luueh  greater  scale, 
to  the  western  eoast  ol'  Franee,  aguinst  tin-  high-road  south  of 
Bordeaux,  it  can  scarcely  bo  doubted  tha«  he  would  have  met 
a  severe  disappointment,  sucli  as  atteniUid  similar  actions 
upon  the  Channel  in  the  JSeven  Vears'  War.  On  the  lliviera,  in 
171)5,  this  means  might  have  been  decisive;  in  17%,  in  the 
lace  of  Uonaparte's  fortitied  coast,  it  could  scarcely  have  been 
more  than  aJi  annoyance.  At  all  events,  the  advocacy  of  it 
testiHes  to  the  acuteness  and  energy  with  which  Nelson  threw 
himself  into  the  operations  especiaJly  intrusted  to  him. 

His  letters  during  this  period  retiect  the  varying  phases 
of  hope  and  of  discouragejuent ;  but,  upon  the  whole,  the 
latter  prevails.  There  is  no  longer  the  feeling  of  neglect  by 
his  superior,  of  opportunity  slipping  away  through  the  inade- 
quate force  which  timid  counsels  and  apathetic  indolence  al- 
lowed him.  He  sees  that  the  chance  which  was  permitted  to 
pass  unimproved  has  now  gone  forever.  ''  As  the  French  can- 
not want  supplies  to  be  brought  into  the  (rulf  of  Genoa,  for 
their  grand  army,"  he  writes  to  the  admiral,  "I  am  still  of 
opinion  that  if  our  frigates  are  wanted  for  other  services,  they 
may  very  well  be  spared  from  the  Gulf."  And  again,  "  As 
the  service  for  which  my  distinguishing  pendant  was  intended 
to  be  useful,  is  nearly  if  not  quite  .at  an  end,  I  assure  you  I 
shall  have  no  regret  in  striking  it."  Sir  John  Jervis,  he 
asserts  with  pride,  has  cruised  with  the  fleet  in  the  Gulf  of 
Genoa,  close  to  shore,  "  where  I  will  vcTiture  to  say  no  fleet 
ever  cruised  before  —  no  officer  can  be  more  zealous  or  able  to 
render  any  service  in  our  profession  to  England ; "  yet  from 
the  decks  of  the  flagship  he  and  Nelson  had  helplessly  watched 
a  convoy  passing  close  in  shore,  and  directly  to  windward,  but 
wholly  out  of  reach  of  their  powers  of  offence.  At  times,  in- 
deed, somewhat  can  be  accomplished.  For  several  days  the 
"  Agamemnon "  "  has  kept  close  to  shore,  and  harassed  the 
enemy's  troops  very  much.  Field  pieces  are  f'rawn  out  on 
our  standing  in  shore.  You  must  defend  nio  if  any  Genoese 
towns  are  knocked  down  by  firing  at  enemy's  batteries.  I 
will  not  fire  first."  Six  weeks  later  he  writes  again :  "  Our 
conduct  has  so  completely  alarmed  the  French  that  all  their 
coasting  trade  is  at  an  end;  even  the  corvette,  gunboats, &c., 


LKA VKS  TIIK   " A(iAM KMX( )N " 


106 


which  wore  moored  un<ler  th(3  fortress  of  Viulo,  have  not 
thought  themselves  in  security,  but  are  all  gone  into  Savona 
iMole,  and  unbent  their  sails." 

This  movement,  however,  wlin^h  he  notes  under  tlie  date  of 
June  -3,  proceeded  probably  less  from  fc'ar  than  from  the 
growing  inditlerenee  of  the  FriMich  (!oncerning  their  communi- 
cations by  water,  now  that  their  ocuaipation  of  the  lino  of  the 
Adige  liiver  had  solidiiied  their  control  over  the  ample  re- 
sources of  I'iedmont  and  Lombardy.  At  the  very  liour  when 
>.'elson  was  thus  writing,  he  learned  also  the  critical  condition 
of  Leghorn  through  the  approach  of  a  French  division,  the 
niere  sending  of  wliieh  showed  lionaparte's  sense  of  his 
present  security   of  tenure. 

Nelson  had  severed  by  this  time  his  long  and  affectionate 
connection  with  the  battered  **  Agamemnon."  On  the  4th  of 
.June  the  old  ship  anchored  at  8an  Fiorenzo,  having  a  few 
days  before,  with  the  assistance  of  the  scpiadron,  cut  out  from 
under  the  French  batteries  the  vessels  carrying  lionaparte's 
sioge-train,  as  well  as  the  gunlmats  whi'  li  convoyed  them. 
Tliore  was  then  in  the  bay  the  •'  Egmont,"  seventy-four,  whoso 
commander  had  expressed  to  the  admiral  his  wish  to  return  to 
England.  Jervis,  therefore,  had  ordered  Nelson  to  the  spot, 
to  make  the  exchange,  iind  the  latter  thought  the  matter 
settled ;  but  to  his  surprise  he  found  the  captain  did  not  wish 
to  leave  the  station  unless  the  ship  went  also.  This  did  away 
with  the  vacancy  he  looked  to  fill ;  and,  as  the  "  Agamemnon," 
from  her  condition,  must  be  the  first  of  the  fleet  to  go  home, 
it  seemed  for  the  moment  likely  that  he  would  have  to  go  in 
her  with  a  convoy  then  expected  in  the  bay.  "  1  remained  in 
a  state  of  uncertainty  for  a  week,"  he  wrote  to  his  wife; 
"and  had  the  corn  ships,  which  were  momentarily  expected 
from  Naples,  arrived,  I  should  have  sailed  for  England." 
The  dilemma  caused  him  great  anxiety  ;  for  the  longing  for 
home,  which  he  had  felt  in  the  early  part  of  the  winter,  had 
given  way  entirely  before  the  pride  and  confidence  he  felt  in 
the  new  admiral,  and  the  keen  delight  in  active  service  he 
was  now  enjoying.  "  I  feel  full  of  gratitude  for  your  good 
wishes  towards  me,"  he  wrote  to  Jervis  in  the  first  moment  of 
disappointment,  "  and  highly  flattered  by  your  desire  to  have 
me  continue  to  serve  under  your  command,  which  I  own  would 


>.  I 


{' 


V 


196 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


«S    I' 


afford  me  infinite  satisfaction."  The  following  clay  he  is  still 
more  restless.  "I  am  not  less  anxious  than  yesterday  for 
having  slept  since  my  last  letter.  Indeed,  Sir,  I  cannot  bear 
the  thoughts  of  leaving  your  command."  He  then  proposed 
several  ways  out  of  the  difficulty,  which  reduced  themselves, 
in  short,  to  a  readiness  to  hoist  his  pendant  in  anything,  if 
only  he  coi;ld  remain. 

No  violent  solution  was  needed,  as  several  applicants  came 
forward  when  Nelson's  >vish  was  known.  On  the  11th  of 
June,  1796,  he  shifted  his  broad  pendant  to  the  "  Captain," 
of  seventy-four  guns,  taking  with  him  most  of  his  officers. 
Soon  afterwards  the  "  Agamemnon  "  sailed  for  England.  Up 
to  the  last  day  of  his  stay  on  board,  Nelson,  although  a  com- 
modore, was  also  her  captain  ;  it  was  not  until  two  months 
after  joining  his  new  ship  tliat  another  captain  Avas  appointed 
to  her,  leaving  to  himself  the  duties  of  commodore  only.  In 
later  years  the  "Agamemnon"  more  than  once  bore  a  share  in 
his  career.  She  was  present  at  Copenhagen  and  at  Trafalgar, 
being  in  this  final  scene  under  the  command  of  an  officer  who 
had  served  in  her  as  his  first  lieutenant,  and  was  afterwards 
his  flag-captain  at  the  Nile.  In  1809  she  was  totally  lost  in 
the  river  La  Plata,  having  run  aground,  and  then  settled  on 
one  of  her  anchors,  which,  upon  the  sudden  shoaling  of  the 
water,  had  been  let  go  to  bring  her  up.^  It  is  said  that  there 
were  then  on  board  several  seamen  who  had  been  with  her 
during  Nelson's  command. 

On  the  iSth  of  June  the  "Captain"  sailed  from  San 
Fiorenzo  Bay,  and  on  the  17th  joined  the  fleet  off  Cape  Sicie, 
near  Toulon,  where  Jervis,  six  weeks  before,  had  established 
the  first  of  those  continuous  close  blockades  which  afterwards, 
off  Brest,  became  associated  with  his  name,  and  proved  so 
potent  a  factor  in  the  embarrassments  that  drove  Napoleon  to 
his  ruin.  There  were  then  twelve  British  ships  off  the  port, 
while  inside  the  enemy  had  eleven  ready  for  sea,  and  four  or 
five  more  fitting.  T'^e  following  day  Nelson  again  left  the 
fleet,  and  on  the  21st  of  June  arrived  at  Genoa,  where  very 
serious  news  was  to  be  received. 

The  triumphant  and  hitherto  unchecked  advance  of  Bona- 

*  An  nrcouiit  of  this  disaster,  suiil  to  ho  tlint  of  an  eye-witness,  is  to  bo 
found  in  Colbnrn's  United  Seivico  Journal,  1846,  part  1. 


J) 


San 

jicie, 
Lshed 
lards, 
Id   so 

)n  to 
[port, 
\\v  or 
the 

I  very 

>ona- 
to  bo 


\ 


IMI'OJITANCE  OF  LKGIIORN 


197 


l)aite  had  greatly  encouraged  the  French  i)arty  in  Corsica, 
whitrh  had  been  increased  by  a  number  of  malcontents,  dis- 
satisfied with  their  foreign  rulers.  Owing  to  the  disturbed 
condition  of  the  interior,  the  British  troops  had  been  drawn 
down  to  the  seacoast.  lionaparte,  from  the  beginning  of  his 
successes,  had  kept  in  view  the  deliverance  of  his  native 
island,  which  he  expected  to  effect  by  the  exertions  of  her 
own  people,  stimulated  and  supported  by  the  arrival  upon  the 
spot  of  Corsican  olficers  and  soldiers  from  the  French  armies. 
These  refugees,  proceeding  in  parties  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
each,  in  small  boats,  movable  by  sail  or  oars,  and  under  cover 
of  night,  could  seldom  be  stoi)ped,  or  even  dete^^ted,  by  the 
British  cruisers,  while  making  the  short  trip,  of  little  more 
than  a  hundred  miles,  from  Genoa,  Nice,  and  Leghorn.  The 
latter  port,  from  its  nearness,  was  particularly  favorable  to 
these  enterprises ;  but,  although  neutral,  and  freely  perndt- 
ting  the  ingress  and  egress  of  vessels  belonging  to  both 
belligerents,  its  facilities  for  supporting  a  Corsican  uprising 
Avore  not  so  great  as  they  would  be  if  the  place  were  held  for 
the  French.  For  this  reason,  partly,  Bonaparte  had  decided 
to  seize  it ;  and  ho  was  still  more  moved  to  do  so  by  the  fact  that 
it  was  a  centre  of  British  trade,  that  it  contributed  much  to 
the  supply  and  repair  of  the  British  fleet,  and  that  the  pres- 
ence of  vessels  from  the  latter  enabled  an  eye  to  be  kept  upon 
the  movements  of  the  Corsicans,  and  measures  to  be  taken  for 
impeding  them. 

"  The  enemy  possessing  themselves  of  Leghorn,"  Nelson  had 
written  in  the  middle  of  March,  when  expecting  them  to  do 
so  by  a  "oastvvise  expedition,  "cuts  off  all  our  supplies,  such 
as  fresh  meat,  fuel,  and  various  other  most  essential  neces- 
saries ;  and,  of  course,  our  fleet  cannot  always  [in  that  case]  be 
looked  for  on  the  northern  coast  of  Italy."  Bonaparte  had  not, 
indeed,  at  that  time,  contemplated  any  such  ex-centric  move- 
ment, which,  as  things  then  were,  would  have  risked  so  large 
a  part  of  his  army  out  of  his  own  control  and  his  own  support ; 
but  in  the  middle  of  June,  having  driven  the  Austrians  for  the 
moment  into  the  Tyrol,  consolidated  his  position  upon  the 
Adige,  established  the  siege  of  Mantua,  and  enforced  oider 
and  submission  throughout  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Po, 
which  lay  in  rear  of  his  army  and  amply  supplied  it  with  the 


'•rv 


■ 


t! 


198 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


necessaries  of  sabsistence,  he  fe.'t  not  only  able  to  spare  the 
force  required,  but  that  for  the  security  of  the  right  flank  and 
rear  of  his  army  it  had  become  essential  to  do  so.  The  Papacy 
and  Naples,  although  they  had  contributed  little  to  the  active 
campaigning  of  the  allies,  were  still  nominally  at  war  with 
France,  and  might  possibly  display  more  energy  now  that  opera- 
tions were  approaching  their  own  frontiers.  Should  the  British 
take  possession  of  Leghorn  with  a  body  of  troops,  —  their  own 
or  Neapolitan,  —  the  port  would  remain  a  constant  menace  to  the 
operations  and  communications  of  the  French,  and  especially 
at  the  critical  moments  when  the  Austrians  advanced  to  the 
relief  of  Mantua,  as  they  must  be  expected  to  do,  and  actually 
did  on  four  several  occasions  during  the  succeeding  six  months. 
Bonaparte,  as  he  was  ever  wont,  diligently  improved  the 
opportunity  permitted  to  him  by  the  need  of  the  Austrians  to 
reorganize  and  reinforce  Beaulieu's  beaten  army  before  again 
taking  the  field.  Threatened,  as  often  again  in  later  years, 
by  enemies  in  divergent  directions,  he  with  the  utmost  promp- 
titude and  by  the  most  summary  measures  struck  down  the 
foe  on  one  side,  before  the  other  could  stir.  Occupying 
Verona  i:.!  the  first  days  of  June,  lie  immediately  afterwards 
detached  to  the  southward  a  corps  under  Augereau  to  enter 
the  Papal  States  ;  and  at  the  same  time  another  small  d  vision, 
commanded  by  General  Vaubois,  started  from  the  upper  valley 
of  the  Po,  ostensibly  destined  to  proceed  against  Home  by 
passing  through  Tuscany.  The  effect  of  Augereau's  move- 
ment, whic'-  was  closely  followed  by  the  commander-in-chief 
in  person,  was  to  bring  both  Naples  and  the  Pope  speedily  to 
terms.  An  armistice  was  signed  by  the  former  on  the  5th, 
and  by  the  latter  on  the  24th  of  June.  Vaubois,  on  the  other 
hand,  after  passing  the  Arno  below  Florence,  instead  of  con- 
tinuing on  to  Siena,  as  the  Grand  Duke  had  been  assured  that 
he  would,  turned  sharp  to  the  westward,  and  on  the  28th  of 
June  entered  Leghorn,  which  was  thencefortli  held  by  the 
French.  Thus  within  a  brief  month  were  the  British  deprived 
of  two  allies,  lethargic,  it  is  true,  in  actual  performance,  but 
possessed  of  a  degree  of  potential  strength  that  could  not  but 
enter  largely  into  Bonaparte's  anxieties ,  while  at  the  same 
time  they  lost  the  use  of  ii  seaport  that  liad  heretofore  been 
considered  essential  to  tlicir  support. 


!■ 


THE  FRENCH  OCCUPY  LEGHORN 


199 


con- 

that 

Jthof 

the 

H'ived 

,,  but 

It  but 

I  same 

beeu 


Kumors  of  Vaubois'  movement  reached  Nelson  in  Genoa  at 
noon  of  June  23,  but  somewhat  vaguely.  *'  Eeports  ate  all  we 
have  here,"  he  wrote  to  Jervis  the  same  day,  '•'  nothing  official 
from  the  armies ; "  but  he  thought  the  situation  critical,  and 
started  without  delay  for  Leghorn.  Arriving  there  on  the 
morning  of  June  27,  after  a  passage  rendered  tedious  by  light 
airs  and  calms,  he  found  the  British  merchant  vessels  that 
had  been  in  the  harbor,  to  the  number  of  nearly  forty  sail, 
already  under  way,  laden  with  British  merchants  and  their 
property,  and  standing  out  under  convoy  of  several  ships  of 
war ;  while  in  pursuit  of  them  —  a  singular  indication  of  the 
neutrality  possible  to  small  States  like  Tuscany  and  Genoa  at 
that  time  —  were  a  dozen  French  privateers,  which  had  been 
lying  beside  them  within  the  mole.  One  or  two  of  the  depart- 
ing vessels  were  thus  taken. 

The  first  impression  upon  Nelson's  mind  was  that  the  occu- 
pation of  Leghorn  was  only  the  prelude  to  an  invasion  oi 
.Corsica  in  force.  "  I  have  no  doubt,"  he  wrote  to  the  Viceroy, 
"but  the  destination  of  the  French  army  was  Corsica,  and  it 
is  natural  to  suppose  their  fleet  was  to  amuse  ours  whilst  they 
cross  from  Leghorn."  Thus  reasoning,  he  announced  his 
purpose  of  rejoining  the  admiral  as  soon  as  possible,  so  as  not 
to  lose  his  share  in  the  expected  battle.  "  My  heart  would 
break,"  he  says  to  Jervis,  "  to  be  absent  at  such  a  glorious 
time ;  "  but  it  is  difficult  to  understand  why  he  imagined  that 
the  French  would  transfer  their  army  into  the  destitution  of 
the  Corsican  mountains  from  the  fertile  plains  of  Louibardy, 
abandoning  the  latter  to  their  enemy,  and  exchanging  their 
assured  communications  with  France  for  the  uncertainties  and 
irregularities  of  a  water  transit  over  seas  commanded  by  the 
Ihitish  fleet.  The  tenure  of  tho  island,  as  he  well  knew, 
depended  upon  the  willing  support  of  the  Corsicans  them- 
selves ;  in  the  equal  balance  of  the  existing  war,  neither 
l)el]igerent  could  maintain  its  control  against  the  opposition 
of  the  natives. 

This  anticipation,  in  its  disregard  of  the  perfectly  obvious 
conditions,  Avas  scarcely  worthy  of  Nelson's  real  native 
sngacity,  and  shows  clearly  how  much  a  man,  even  of  genius, 
is  hampered  in  the  conclusions  of  actual  life  by  the  lack  of 
that  systematic  ordering  and  training  of  the  ideas  which  it  is 


i  •  ^1 


,  s 


'  '\  '  :'\ 


200 


THE  LIB'.:  OF  NELSON 


the  ])iirt  of  education  to  supply.  Genius  is  one  thing,  the 
acquirements  of  an  accomplished  —  instructed  —  officer  are 
another,  yet  there  is  between  the  two  nothing  incompatible, 
rather  the  reverse;  and  when  to  the  former,  which  nature 
alone  can  give,  —  and  to  Xelson  did  give,  —  is  added  the  con- 
sciou^i  recognition  of  principles,  the  practised  habit  of  view- 
ing, under  their  clear  light,  all  the  circumstances  of  a  situation, 
assigning  to  each  its  due  weight  and  relative  importance,  then, 
and  then  only,  is  the  highest  plune  of  military  greatness 
attained.  Whether  in  natural  insight  Nelson  fell  short  of 
Najjoleon's  measure  need  not  here  be  considered ;  that  he  was 
at  this  time  far  inferior,  in  the  powers  of  a  trained  intellect, 
to  his  yoi.nger  competitor  in  tlie  race  for  fame,  is  manifest  by 
the  r'\idiness  with  which  he  accepted  such  widely  ex-centric 
conjectures  as  that  of  an  attempt  by  sea  upon  Leghoru  at  the 
opening  of  the  campaign,  and  now  upon  Corsica  by  a  great 
part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  army  of  Italy. 

*'  0-\  the  side  of  the  French,"  says  Joniini,  speaking  of 
Bonaparte  at  this  very  period,  "  was  to  be  seen  a  young 
warrior,  trained  in  the  best  schools,  endowed  with  an  ardent 
imagination,  brought  up  upon  the  examples  of  antiquity, 
greedy  of  glory  and  of  power,  knowing  thoroughly  the  Apen- 
nines, in  which  he  had  distinguished  himself  in  1794,  and 
already  measuring  with  a  practised  eye  the  distances  he  must 
overpass  before  becoming  master  of  Italy.  To  these  advan- 
tages for  a  war  of  invasion,  Bonaparte  united  an  inborn 
genius,  and  clearly  established  principles,  the  fruits  of  an 
enlightened  theory." 

Jomini  doubtless  may  be  considered  somewhat  too  absolute 
and  pedantic  in  his  insistence  upon  deiinite  formulation  of 
principles  ;  but  in  tliese  words  is  nevertheless  to  be  recognized 
the  fundamental  difference  betvveen  these  two  great  warriors, 
a  difference  by  which  the  seaman  was  heavily  handicapped  in 
the  opening  of  his  career.  As  time  passed  on,  responsibility, 
the  best  of  educators,  took  under  her  firm  and  steady  guid- 
ance the  training  of  his  yet  undeveloped  genius,  gleams  of 
which  from  time  to  time,  but  fitfully  and  erratically,  illumine 
his  eariifr  correspondence.  The  material  was  there  from  the 
first,  but  inchoate,  ill-ordered,  confused,  and  therefore  not 
readily  available  to  correct  passing  impressions,  wild  rumors, 


I       f!       Il 


in 

lid- 

of 

fine 

ithe 

Inot 

)rs, 


COMMERCIAL  BLOCKADE  OF  LEGHORN 


201 


or  even  to  prevent  the  radically  false  conceptions  of  an 
enemy's  possible  movements,  such  as  we  have  had  before  us. 
Bonaparte,  furthermore,  whose  career  began  amid  the  troubled 
scenes  of  a  revolution  which  had  shattered  all  the  fetters  of 
established  custom,  —  so  strong  in  England  to  impede  a  man's 
natural  progress,  —  had  enjoyed  already  for  some  time  the 
singular  advantage  of  oeing  military  adviser  to  the  Directory, 
a  duty  which  compelled  him  to  take  a  broad  view  of  all  cur- 
rent conditions,  to  consider  them  in  their  mutual  relations, 
and  not  narrowly  to  Jook  to  one  sphere  of  operations,  without 
due  reference  to  its  effects  upon  others. 

As  to  the  invasion  of  Corsica  after  the  manner  he  had 
imagined,  Nelson  was  soon  undeceived.  Bonaparte  himself, 
after  a  hurried  visit  to  Leghorn,  again  departed  to  press  the 
siege  of  Mantua,  having  assured  himself  that  for  a  measurable 
time  he  had  nothing  to  apprehend  from  movements  on  his 
flank  and  rear.  Orders  were  received  from  Jervis  on  the 
2d  of  July  to  institute  a  commercial  blockade  of  Leghorn, 
permitting  no  vessels  to  enter  or  depart.  The  conduct  of  this 
business,  as  well  as  the  protection  oi  British  trade  in  that 
district,  and  the  support  of  the  Viceroy  in  securing  Corsica 
against  the  attempts  of  French  partisans,  were  especially 
intrusted  to  Nelson,  whose  movements  during  the  following 
months,  until  the  first  of  October,  were  consequently  confined 
to  the  waters  between  Corsica  and  Tuscany,  Avhile  the  Kiviera 
west  of  Genoa  saw  him  no  more.  Leghorn  became  the  chief 
centre  of  his  activities.  These  redoubled  with  the  demands 
made  upon  him ;  his  energy  rose  equal  to  every  call.  A  few 
weeks  before,  he  had  made  a  conditional  application  to  the 
admiral,  though  with  evident  reluctance,  for  a  short  leave  of 
absence  on  account  of  his  health.  "  I  don't  much  like  what  I 
have  written,"  he  confessed  at  the  end  of  his  diffident  request, 
and  some  days  later  he  again  alludes  to  the  subject.  "  My 
complaint  is  as  if  a  girth  was  buckled  taut  over  my  breast, 
and  my  endeavours,  in  the  night,  is  to  get  it  loose.  To  say  the 
truth,  when  I  am  actively  employed,  I  am  not  so  bad.  If  the 
Service  will  admit  of  it,  perhaps  I  shall  at  a  future  day  take 
your  leave."  The  service  now  scarcely  admitted  it,  and  the 
active  duty  apparently  restored  his  health  ;  at  all  events  we 
now  hear  no  more  of  it.     Everything  yielded  to  the  require- 


!^*'  !i 


h  "■ 


■> 

,1        •» 

i 

f     :■ 

i 

1  .    ;     '■ 

iV 


II 


^ 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


'■  ^ 


ments  of  the  war.  "  The  Captain  has  wants,  but  I  intend  she 
shall  last  till  the  autumn :  for  I  know,  when  once  we  begin, 
our  wants  are  innumerable." 

In  his  still  limited  sphere,  and  on  all  matters  directly  con- 
nected with  it  and  his  professional  duties,  hio  judgment  was 
sound  and  acute,  as  his  activity,  energy,  and  zeal  were  un- 
tiring. The  menace  to  Corsica  from  the  fall  of  Leghorn  was 
accurately  weighed  and  considered.  Midway  betwecii  the 
two  lay  the  since  famous  island  of  Elba,  a  dependence  of 
Tuscany,  so  small  as  to  be  held  readily  by  a  few  good  troops, 
and  having  a  i)ort  large  enough,  in  Nelson's  judgment,  to 
harbor  the  British  fleet  with  a  little  management.  "  The  way 
to  Corsica,"  he  wrote  to  the  viceroy,  "if  our  fleet  is  at  hand, 
is  through  Elba ;  for  if  they  once  set  foot  on  that  island,  it  is 
not  all  our  fleet  can  stop  their  passage  to  Corsica."  The  Vice- 
roy took  upon  himself  to  direct  that  the  island  be  occupied  by 
the  British.  Nelson  complied  without  waiting  for  Jervis's 
orders,  and  on  the  10th  of  July  a  detachment  of  troops,  con- 
voyed by  his  squadron,  were  landed  in  the  island,  and  took 
charge,  without  serious  opposition,  of  the  town  of  Porto 
Ferrajo  and  the  works  for  the  defence  of  the  harbor.  The 
measure  was  justified  upon  the  ground  that  the  seizure  of 
Leghorn  by  the  French  showed  that  Tuscany  was  unable  to 
assure  Elba  against  a  similar  step,  prejudicial  to  the  British 
tenure  in  Corsica.  The  administration  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  Tuscan  officials,  the  British  occupation  being  purely 
military,  and  confined  to  the  places  necessary  for  that  purpose. 

The  blockade  of  Leghorn  was  enforced  with  the  utmost 
rigor  and  great  effectiveness.  For  a  long  time  no  vessels 
were  allowed  to  go  either  out  or  in.  Afterwards  the  rule  was 
gradually  relaxed,  so  far  as  to  permit  neutrals  to  leave  the 
port  in  ballast;  but  none  entered.  The  trade  of  the  place 
was  destroyed.  Nelson  hoped,  and  for  a  time  expected,  that 
the  populace,  accustomed  to  a  thriving  commerce,  and  draw- 
ing their  livelihood  from  its  employments,  would  rise  against 
the  feeble  garrison,  whose  presence  entailed  upon  them  such 
calamities  ;  but  herein,  of  course,  he  underestimated  the  coer- 
cive power  of  a  few  resolute  men,  organized  for  mutual  sup- 
port, over  a  mob  of  individuals,  incapable  of  combined  action 
and  each  uncertain  of  the  constancy  of  his  fellows. 


PLANS  AN  ASSAULT  ON  LEGHORN 


203 


up- 
ion 


The  Austrian  preparations  in  the  Tyrol  gradually  matured 
as  the  month  of  July  wore  on.  Towards  its  end  Marshal 
Wurmser,  the  successor  of  Beaulieu,  advanced  for  the  relief 
of  Mantua  and  the  discomfiture  of  Bonaparte,  whose  numbers 
were  much  inferior  to  his  opponents.  The  projected  move- 
ment was  of  course  known  to  the  British,  and  its  first  results 
in  raising  the  siege  of  Mantua,  and  throwing  reinforcements 
into  the  place,  gave  them  great  hopes.  Amid  the  conflicting 
rumors  of  the  succeeding  days,  the  wondei-ful  skill  and  success 
of  Bonaparte,  who  overthrew  in  detail  forces  greatly  superior 
in  the  aggregate  to  his  own,  escaped  notice  for  the  time  ;  the 
superf.cial  incidents  of  his  abandoning  his  previous  positions 
alone  received  attention,  and  nothing  less  than  his  retreat  in 
confusion  was  confidently  expected.  Nelson,  justly  estimat- 
ing the  importance  of  Leghorn,  and  over-sanguine  of  the 
support  he  might  hope  from  the  inhabitants,  projected  a  sud- 
den assault  upon  the  town,  by  troops  to  be  drawn  from  the 
garrisons  in  Corsica,  supported  by  seamen  of  the  squadron. 
Speaking  of  the  steady  intercourse  between  that  island  and 
the  mainland  by  way  of  Leghorn,  he  says  :  "The  only  way  is 
to  cut  at  the  root,  for  whilst  Leghorn  is  open,  this  communi- 
cation must  constantly  be  going  on.  This  moment  brings  tj 
my  eyes  a  body  of  about  200  men,  with  the  Corsican  flag 
carrying  before  them  ;  they  are  partly  from  Nice,  and  joined 
by  Grenoese,  &c.,  on  the  road.  The  time  approaches,"  he 
rightly  forecasts,  "  when  we  shall  either  have  to  fight  them 
in  Corsica  or  Leghorn."  The  imminence  of  the  danger  was 
evident.  "  Our  affairs  in  Corsica  are  gloomy,"  he  had  already 
written  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence.  "  There  is  a  very  strong 
republican  party  in  that  island,  and  they  are  well  supported 
from  France ;  the  first  favourable  moment,  they  will  certainly 
act  against  us," 

The  details'  of  the  intended  assault  upon  Leghorn  do  not 
appear,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  never  passed  beyond  the 
stage  of  discussion  to  that  of  acceptance,  although  he  alludes 
to  the  plans  as  "laid."  Clear-sighted  for  the  key  of  a  situ- 
ation, and  ardent  to  strike  "  at  the  root,"  as  five  years  later 
in  the  Baltic  he  was  eager  to  cut  away  the  Russian  root  of 
the  Armed  Neutrality,  instead  of  hewing  off  the  Danish 
branch,  Nelsoii  urged  the  speedy  adoption  of  the  measure, 


,  ,  -  JBf 


.  r: 


:.v  I       I 


il 


!     ( 


204 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


and  pressed  Ids  own  fitness  to  harmonize  the  land  and  sea 
forces  under  one  command,  in  virtue  of  Ins  rank  as  Colonel 
of  Marines.  "  Leghorn  is  in  such  a  state/'  lie  writes  to  Elliot 
on  the  5th  of  August,  "  that  a  respectable  for-^e  landed,  would, 
I  have  every  reason  to  suppose,  insure  the  immediate  posses- 
sion of  the  town.  Not  less  than  a  thousand  troops  should  be 
sent,  to  which  I  will  add  every  soldier  in  my  squadron,  and 
a  party  of  seamen  to  make  a  show.  In  every  way,  })ray  con- 
sider this  as  private,  and  excuse  my  opinions.  I  well  know 
the  difficulty  of  getting  a  proper  person  to  command  this 
party.  Firmness,  and  that  the  people  of  Leghorn  should 
krow  tiie  person  commanding,  will  most  assuredly  have  a 
great  effect,  /i  cordial  co-operati-»u  \\ith  me  (for  vanity 
apart,  no  one  is  so  much  I'eared  or  respected  in  Leghorn  as 
myself)  is  absolutely  necessary.  I  am  going  further :  we 
know  the  jealousy  of  the  army  against  the  navy,  bat  I  am  by 
the  King's  commission  a  Colonel  in  the  army  from  June  1st, 
1795."  After  discussing  this  difficult  question  of  professional 
susceptibilities,  he  concludes :  "  You  will  «.-onsider.  Sir,  all 
these  points,  and  form  a  much  better  judgment  than  I  can, 
only  give  me  credit  that  the  n^«,rcst  Avish  of  my  heart  is  to 
servo  my  King  and  my  Country,  at  every  personal  risk  and 
consideration.  It  has  ever  pleased  God  to  prosper  all  my 
undertakings,  and  I  feel  confident  of  His  blessing  on  this 
occasion.     I  e'ver  consider  my  motto,  Fides  et  Opera."  ^ 

Having,  with  true  strategic  insight,  chosen  the  place  where 
the  blow  ought  to  be  struck  for  the  pr^iservation  of  Corsica, 
he  pressed,  with  characteristic  fervor,  the  necessity  of  taking 
risks.  He  discusses  details  indeed ;  he  proposes  no  mere  ad- 
venture, real  as  was  his  personal  enjoyment  of  danger  and 
action.  What  man  can  do,  shall  be  done;  but  being  done, 
still  "  something  must  be  left  to  chance.  Our  only  considera- 
tion, is  the  honour  and  benefit  to  our  Country  worth  the  risk  ? 
If  it  is  (and  I  think  so),  in  God's  name  let  us  get  to  woi'k, 
and  hope  for  His  blessing  on  our  endeavours  to  liberate  a 
people  who  have  been  our  sincere  friends.'  Hearing  at  the 
same  time  that  an  army  officer  of  general  rank  will  have  the 
command   instead  of  himself,  he   adds :    "  Pray   assure   him 

^  This  motto  was  subsequently  atlojited  by  Nelson,  when  arms  were  as- 
signed to  him  as  a  Knight  of  the  Batl')  in  May,  TTU?. 


„•  V^. : 


■  ■-'•.  ■■•i:;^ 


lilS  AMBITION  AND  SELF-RELIANCK 


205 


as- 


there  is  nothing  I  feel  greater  pleasure  in  than  hearing  he  is 
to  command.  Assure  him  of  my  most  sincere  wishes  for  his 
speedy  success,  and  that  he  shall  have  every  suppo.t  and 
assistance  from  me."  Truly,  in  generosity  as  in  ardor, 
Nelson  was,  to  use  the  fine  old  phrase,  "  all  for  the  service." 

The  project  upon  liCghorn  had  the  approval  of  the  Viceroy 
and  of  Jervis ;  but  the  latter,  while  expressing  perfect  reli- 
ance upon  "  the  promptitude  of  Commodore  Nelson,"  Avas 
clear  tliat  the  attempt  must  depend  upon  the  continued  ad- 
vance of  the  Austrians.  This  was  also  Nelson's  own  view. 
"  All  will  be  well,  I  am  satisfied,  provided  Wurmser  is  vic- 
torious ;  upon  this  ground  only  have  I  adopted  the  measure." 
This  qualification  redeems  the  plan  from  the  rep^'oach  of 
rashness,  which  otherwise  might  have  been  applied  to  the 
somewhat  desperate  undertaking  of  carrying  a  fortified  town 
by  such  a  feat  of  hardihood.  It  loses  thus  the  color  of  reck- 
lessness, and  falls  into  place  as  one  part  of  a  great  common 
action,  to  harass  the  retreat  of  a  beaten  enemy,  and  to  insure 
the  security  of  one's  own  positions. 

On  the  15th  of  August,  when  the  above  words  were  written. 
Nelson  was  still  ignorant  of  the  Austrian  defeats  at  Lonato 
and  Castiglione,  nearly  two  v/eeks  before,  and  of  their  sub- 
sequent retreat  to  die  Tyrol.  A  rumor  of  the  reverse  had 
reached  him  thror.gh  Florence,  but  he  gave  it  little  attention, 
as  the  French  in  Leghorn  were  not  claiming  a  victory.  On 
the  19th  he  knew  it  definitely,  and  had  to  abandon  the  ex- 
pectation, confi'lcd  to  his  brother,  that  the  next  letter  seen 
from  him  would  be  in  the  "  Public  Gazette."  "  An  expedi- 
tion is  thought  of,  and  of  course  I  shall  be  there,  for  most  of 
these  services  fall  to  my  lot."  "  One  day  or  other,"  he  had 
written  to  his  wife,  apparently  with  this  very  enterjjrise  in 
iiiind,  "I  will  have  a  long  Gazette  to  myself;  1  feel  that  such 
an  opportunity  will  be  given  me.  I  cannot,"  he  continued 
'.v'tii  prophetic  self-reliance,  "if  I  am  in  the  field  of  glory,  bo 
kept  out  of  sight." 

Du'ing  the  remainder  of  the  month  he  continued  to  be 
anuisee'  with  those  unfounded  reports  of  victories,  which  are 
among  the  invariable  concomitants  of  all  wai'S,  and  which  his 
sanguine  temj)erament  and  peculiar  readiness  to  trust  others 
made  him  especially  ready  to  accept.     He  Avas   not  AvhoUy 


I  !' 


/'I 


l|^^, 
f^R 


!l 


»*  I 


i:> 


ft 


I 

V!  i 


I 


■:i 


1 

II 

' 

( 

r " 

' 

!f 

1 

+' 

i 

•; 

'ii 

:f 

THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


unaware  of  this  tendency  in  liimself,  though  ho  continued  to 
re|)ea,t  with  apparent  belief  reports  of  the  most  startling  and 
erroneous  character,  and  never  seems  to  have  apprecjiated,  up 
to  the  time  of  liis  leaving  th.  IMediterranean,  the  astonishing 
quickness  and  sagacity  with  which  Jionaparte  frustrated  the 
overwhelming  combinations  against  liim.  "We  hear  what  we 
Avish,"'  he  says  on  one  occasion.  "  The  Toulon  information 
is,  as  I  always  thought  it,  i)leasant  to  know  but  never  to  be 
depended  upon;  all  is  guess.  I  have  long  had  leason  to 
suspect  great  part  is  fabricated  in  Genoa}"  but  he  was  con- 
tinually deceived  by  it. 

Throughout  the  discomfitures  of  the  Austrians  on  shore,  the 
jmrely  naval  ])art  of  the  war  continued  to  be  successfully 
maintained.  .lervis,  with  unrelaxicg  gri]),  ke])t  his  position 
before  Toulon,  effectually  checking  every  attempt  of  the 
Fren(!h  fleet  to  escape  unobserved  into  the  open,  while  Nelson 
shut  up  Leghorn  so  rigonmsly  that  the  enemy  lost  even  the 
partial  advantage,  as  a  port  of  sujiply,  which  tlu^y  had  before 
drawn  from  its  neutrality.  l>ut,  during  this  ])regnant  sum- 
mer, grave  causes  for  anxiety  were  rolling  up  in  the  western 
basin  of  the  jNIediterranean.  The  attirude  of  Spain  had  long 
been  doubtful,  so  much  so  that  before  Sir  John  JerAis  left 
England,  in  the  previous  autumn,  the  ministry  had  deliberated 
upon  the  contingency  of  her  declaring  war,  and  a  conditional 
decision  had  been  reached  to  evacuate  Corsica,  if  that  event 
occurred.  During  the  spring  of  179G  reports  of  coming 
hostilities  were  current  in  the  fleet.  Nelson's  first  opinion 
was  that,  if  they  ensued,  there  was  no  object  ii:  remaining  in 
the  Mediterranean,  except  to  preserve  Corsica  from  the 
French.  This,  he  thought,  was  not  a  sufficient  motive,  nor 
had  the  conduct  of  the  natives  entitled  them  to  protection. 
With  all  the  powers  making  peace  with  France,  he  hoped 
Great  Britain  would  leave  the  INIediterranean.  This,  how- 
ever, \'as  but  a  passing  expression  of  discouragement,  whence 
h^  sooi.  rallied,  and,  with  a  spirit  worthy  of  his  race,  which 
Avas  soon  to  face  all  Europe  luidismayed,  his  courage  mounted 
continually  as  the  storm  drew  nearer. 

The  summer  of  1796  was  in  truth  the  period  of  transition, 
when  the  victories  of  Bonaparte,  by  bringing  near  a  cessation 
of  warfare  upon  the  land,  were  sweeping  from  the  scene  the 


the 
nor 


OPINION  OF  QT'ITTINT,   MEDITERRANEAN 


207 


accessories  that  ooiifused  the  view  of  the  future,  removing 
conditions  and  details  which  perplexed  men's  attention,  and 
bringing  into  dear  relief  the  one  tield  upon  wiiich  the  (iontest 
was  finally  to  be  fought  out,  and  the  one  foe,  the  British  sea- 
power,  upon  whose  strength  and  constancy  would  hinge  the 
issues  of  the  struggle;.  The  British  Navy,  in  the  slight 
person  of  its  indomitable  champion,  was  gradually  rising  to 
tbe  appreciation  of  its  own  might,  and  gathering  together  its 
energies  to  endure  single-handed  the  gigantic  strife,  with  a 
spirit  luiequalled  in  its  past  history,  glorious  as  that  had  often 
been.  From  ITDG  began  the  rapid  ascent  to  that  short  no<Mi- 
tido  of  unparalleled  brilliancy,  in  which  Nelson's  fame  out- 
shone all  others,  and  which  may  be  said  to  have  begun  with 
the  Spanish  declaration  of  war,  succeeded  though  that  was  by 
the  retreat  in  apparent  discomfiture  from  the  Mediterranean, 
now  at  hand. 

The  approach  of  this  extraordinary  outburst  of  maritime 
vigor  is  aptly  foretokened  in  the  complete  change,  gradual 
yet  ra})id,  that  passed  over' Nelson's  opinions,  from  the  time 
when  rumors  of  a  Spanish  war  first  assumed  probability,  up 
to  the  moir'^nt  when  the  fact  became  tangible  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Spanish  fleet  in  the  waters  of  Corsica.  Ac- 
centuated thus  in  a  man  of  singidar  perceptions  and  heroic 
instincts,  it  f.irther  affords  an  interesting  illustration  of  the 
manner  in  w.  Ich  a  eond)ativo  race  —  for  Nelson  was  through 
and  through  a  child  of  his  people  —  however  at  first  averse 
to  war,  from  motives  of  well-understood  interest,  gradually 
Warms  to  the  idea,  and  finally  grows  even  to  welcome  tl.o 
fierce  joy  which  warriors  feel,  as  the  clash  of  arms  draws 
near.  "  If  all  the  states  of  Italy  make  peace,"  he  writes  on 
the  20th  of  May,  "we  have  nothing  to  look  to  but  Con''  .: 
which,  in  the  present  state  of  the  inhabitants,  is  not  my 
opinion,  an  object  to  keep  us  in  the  ^Mediterranean  :  we  shall, 
1  hope,  quit  it,  and  employ  our  fleet  more  to  our  advantage." 
"Reports  here,"  on  the  20th  of  June,  "are  full  of  a  Spanish 
■war.  If  that  should  be  the  case,  we  shall  probably  draw 
towards  Gibraltar  and  receive  large  reinforcements." 

On  the  ir)th  of  August,  however,  he  writes  to  Jervis,  be- 
traying the  incipient  revulsion,  as  yet  not  realized,  against 
abandoning  the  Mediterranean,  which   was  already  affecting 


UK 


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208 


THE   LIFK  OF  NELSON 


the  current  of  his  thoughts.  *'  1  hope  we  shall  have  settled 
Leghorn  before  the  Dons,  if  they  intend  it,  arrive.  I  have 
still  my  doubts  as  to  a  Spanish  war ;  and  if  there  should  be 
one,  with  your  management  1  have  no  fears.  Should  the 
Dons  come,  I  shall  then  hope  1  may  be  spared,'  in  my  own 
person,  to  help  to  mvke  you  at  least  a  Viscount."  A  few 
days  later,  having  meantime  heard  of  Wurmser's  disasters  at 
Castiglione :  "  Austria,  1  suppose,  must  make  peace,  and  we 
shall,  as  usual,  be  left  to  fight  it  out :  however,  at  the  worst, 
we  only  give  up  Corsica,  an  acquisition  which  I  believe  we 
cannot  keep,  and  our  fleet  will  draw  down  the  Mediterra- 
nean ; "  but  at  the  same  time,  August  19,  he  writes  to  the 
Duke  of  Clarence  with  glowing  hopes  and  rising  pride:  "I 
hope  Government  will  not  be  alarmed  for  our  safety  —  I  mean 
more  than  is  proper.  Under  such  a  commander-in-chief  as 
Sir  John  Jervis  nobody  has  any  fears.  We  are  now  twenty- 
two  sail  of  the  line;  the  combined  fleet  will  not  be  above 
thirty-five  sail  of  the  line.  I  will  venture  my  life  Sir  John 
Jervis  defeats  them.  This  country  is  the  most  favourable 
possible  for  skill  with  an  ii.^erior  fleet ;  for  the  winds  are  so 
variable,  that  some  one  time  in  twenty-four  hours  you  must 
be  able  to  attack  a  part  of  a  large  fleet,  and  the  other  will  be 
becalmed,  or  have  a  contrary  wind."  That  the  Duke  trembled 
and  demurred  to  such  odds  is  not  wonderful ;  but  the  words 
have  singular  interest,  both  as  showing  the  clear  tactical  ap- 
prehensions that  held  sway  in  Nelson's  mind,  and  still  more, 
at  the  moment  then  present,  as  marking  unmistakably  his 
gradual  conversion  to  the  policy  of  remaining  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  pursuing  the  most  vigorous  aggressive 
measures. 

A  fortnight  after  this  letter  was  written,  Genoa,  under 
pressure  from  Bonaparte,  closed  her  ports  against  British 
ships,  interdicting  even  the  embarkation  of  a  drove  of  cattle, 
already  purchased,  and  ready  for  shipment  to  the  fleet  off 
Toulon.  Nelson  immediately  went  there  to  make  inquiries, 
and  induce  a  revocation  of  the  orders.  While  the  "Captain" 
lay  at  anchor  in  the  roads,  three  of  the  crew  deserted,  and 
when  her  boats  were  sent  to  search  for  them  they  were  fired 

1  That  is,  apparently,  from  detached  service,  and  ordered  to  the  main 
fleet. 


U 

in 

gi 
aj, 

ai 


i   i 


HIS  CONFIDENCE   IN  THE   FLEET 


200 


upon  by  a  French  battery,  established  near  the  town.  Nelson, 
in  retaliation,  seized  a  French  supply  ship  from  under  the 
guns  of  the  battery,  whereupon  the  Genoese  forts  opened 
against  the  "  Captain,"  which  had  meantime  got  under  way 
and  was  lying-to  off  the  city.  Nelson  did  not  return  the  fire 
of  the  latter,  which  was  kept  up  for  two  hours,  but  tlirew 
three  shot  into  the  French  battery,  "  to  mark,"  as  he  said,  the 
power  of  the  English  to  bombard  the  town,  and  their  Inunan- 
ity  in  not  destroying  the  houses  and  innocent  Genoese  in- 
habitants. In  the  communications  which  followed  under  a 
flag  of  truce.  Nelson  was  informed,  verbally,  that  all  the  pprts 
of  the  Republic  were  closed  against  Great  Britain.  This 
stand,  and  the  firing  on  the  ship,  being  considered  acts  of 
hostility,  the  little  island  of  Capraia,  between  Corsica  and 
Genoa,  and  belonging  to  the  latter,  was  seized  by  Nelson,  act- 
ing under  the  counsel  of  the  Viceroy  of  Corsica.  This  was 
done  both  as  a  retaliatory  measure,  and  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
use  which  French  privateers  and  parties  of  Corsicans  had 
hitherto  made  of  it,  under  cover  of  Genoese  neutrality. 

As  Jervis  was  already  under  apprehension  of  an  outbreak 
of  scurvy  in  the  fleet,  consecjuent  upon  the  failure  of  supplies 
of  live  cattle  following  the  French  occupation  of  Leghorn,  the 
closure  of  the  Genoese  ports  was  a  severe  blow.  It  was,  how- 
ever, but  one  among  several  incidents,  occurring  nearly  simul- 
taneously, which  increased  his  embarrassments,  and  indicated 
the  close  approach  of  the  long-muttering  storm.  To  use  his 
own  words,  "  The  lowering  aspect  of  Spain,  with  the  advanced 
state  of  the  equipment  of  the  French  fleet  in  Toulon,"  impelled 
him  to  concentrate  his  force.  Rear- Admiral  Man,  who  had 
been  blockading  Cadiz  since  his  detachment  there  by  Hotham, 
in  October,  1795,  was  ordered  up  to  the  main  fleet.  Swayed 
by  fears  very  unlike  to  Nelson's  proud  confidence  in  his 
admiral  and  his  service,  he  acted  with  such  precipitation  as 
to  leave  Gibraltar  without  filling  with  provisions,  and  arrived 
so  destitute  that  Jervis  had  to  send  him  back  at  once,  with 
orders  to  replenish  with  stores  and  then  to  rejoin  without 
delay.  Under  the  influence  of  the  panic  which  prevailed  at 
Gibraltar,  Man  had  also  sent  such  advices  to  the  coast  of 
Portugal  as  caused  the  commander-in-chief  to  fear  that  ex- 
pected supplies  might  be  arrested.     "  Oh,  our  convoy  !  "  cried 

14 


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210 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


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V 


Nelson ;  "  Admiral  Man,  how  could  you  quit  Gibraltar  ?  "  Yet, 
as  he  wrote  to  Jervis,  he  had  expected  some  such  step,  froi.' 
what  he  had  already  seen  "  under  his  hand  to  you." 

Thus,  for  the  time  at  least,  there  were  lost  to  the  British 
seven  of  the  ships-of-the-line  upon  which  Nelson  had  reckoned 
in  his  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence.  It  was  possibly  on  this 
account  that  Jervis  wrote  him  to  shift  his  commodore's  pen- 
dant to  a  frigate,  and  send  the  "  Captain  "  to  the  fleet.  Nelson 
obeyed,  of  course,  and  at  once ;  but  taking  advantage  of  the 
fact  that  no  captain  had  yet  joined  his  ship,  he  thought  it 
"  advisable  to  go  in  her  myself."  In  this  he  doubtless  was 
influenced  chiefly  by  his  unwillingness  to  miss  a  battle, 
especially  against  such  great  numerical  odds.  "I  take  for 
granted,"  be  admitted  to  the  Viceroy,  "  that  the  admiral  will 
send  me  back  in  a  cutter,  but  I  shall  give  him  a  good  ordered 
seventy-four,  and  take  my  chance  of  helping  to  thrash  Don 
Langara,  than  which  few  things,  I  assure  you,  would  give  me 
more  real  pleasure."  The  particular  emergency  seems,  how- 
ever, soon  to  have  passed ;  for  after  two  days  with  the  fleet  he 
returned  off  Leghorn  in  the  "  Captain,"  somewhat  comforted  as 
to  the  apprehensions  of  the  British  Cabinet.  "  Whatever  fears 
we  may  have  for  Corsica,  it  is  certain  Government  at  home 
have  none,  by  taking  so  very  respectable  a  part  of  your  force 
away."  A  regiment  had  been  transferred  to  Gibraltar  with 
Man's  squadron,  when  the  latter  returned  there. 

These  rising  hopes  and  stirring  expectations  of  brilliant 
service  were  speedily  dashed.  On  <.he  25th  of  September 
Jervis  received  orders  from  the  Admiralty  to  abandon  Corsica, 
to  retreat  frcni  the  Mediterranean,  and  to  proceed  with  the 
fleet  to  England.  In  pursuance  of  these  instructions  Nelson 
was  directed  to  superintend  the  evacuation  of  Bastia,  the 
"  most  ^ecret "  letter  to  that  effect  reaching  him  at  that  port 
on  the  29th  of  September,  —  his  birthday.  The  purpose  of 
the  ministry  filled  him  with  shame  and  indignation.  Con- 
fronted abruptly  with  the  course  which  four  months  before 
had  seemed  to  him  natural  and  proper,  the  shock  brought  out 
the  fulness  of  the  change  through  which  he  had  passed  mean- 
time. Ho  has  no  illusions  about  Corsica.  The  inhabitants 
had  disappointed  all  the  expectations  of  the  British,  —  "  At 
a  peace  I   should  rejoice  at  having  given  up  the   island." 


r 


I  i!^ 


rr\ 


CHANGES  OF  OPINION 


211 


But  the  days  passing  over  his  head  had  brought  wider  and 
niaturer  views  of  the  general  policy  of  Great  Britain,  as  well 
as  increasing  faith  in  the  powers  of  the  fleet,  vigorously  used 
in  aggressive  warfare.  "Whilst  we  can  keep  the  combined 
fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  [by  our  own  presence],  so  much  the 


more  advantageous 


to  us;    and  the  moment 


we  retire,  the 


whole  of  Italy  is  given  to  the  French.  If  the  Dons  detach 
their  fleet  out  of  the  Mediterranean,  we  can  do  the  same  — 
howevei,  that  is  distant.  Be  the  successes  of  the  Austrians 
on  the  other  hand  what  they  may,  their  whole  supply  of  stores 
and  provisions  comes  from  Trieste,  across  the  Adriatic  to  the 
Po,  and  when  this  is  cut  off  [as  by  our  uncovering  the  sea  it 
must  be],  they  must  retire."  Above  all  he  grieves  for  Naples. 
If  a  weak  and  vacillating  ally,  there  was  no  doubt  her  heart 
was  with  them.  "  I  feel  more  than  all  for  Naples.  The  King 
of  Naples  is  a  greater  sacrifice  than  Corsica.  If  he  has  been 
induced  to  keep  off  the  peace,  and  perhaps  engaged  in  the  war 
again  by  the  expectation  of  the  continuance  of  the  fleet  in  the 
Mediterranean,  hard  indeed  is  his  fate ;  his  kingdom  must 
inevitably  be  ruined."  In  the  impression  now  made  ujion 
him,  may  perhaps  be  seen  one  cause  of  Nelson's  somewhat 
extravagant  affection  in  after  days  for  the  royal  family  of 
Naples,  independent  of  any  influence  exerted  ujwn  him  by 
Lady  Hamilton. 

With  these  broad  views  of  the  general  strategic  situation, 
which  are  unquestionably  far  in  advance  of  the  comparatively 
narrow  and  vague  conceptions  of  a  year,  or  even  six  months 
before,  and  doubtless  indicate  the  results  of  independent  com- 
mand and  responsibility,  acting  upon  powers  of  a  high  order, 
he  at  the  same  time  shows  his  keen  appreciation  of  the  value 
of  the  organized  force,  whose  movements,  properly  handled, 
should  dominate  the  other  conditions.  "When  Man  arrives, 
who  is  ordered  to  come  up,  we  shall  be  twenty-two  sail  of  such 
ships  as  England  hardly  ever  produced,  and  commanded  by  an 
admiral  who  will  not  fail  to  look  the  enemy  in  the  face,  be 
their  force  what  it  may :  I  suppose  it  will  not  be  more  than 
thirty-four  of  the  line.  There  is  not  a  seaman  in  the  fleet  who 
docs  not  feel  confident  of  success."  "  The  fleets  of  England," 
he  says  again,  "  are  equal  to  meet  the  world  in  arms ;  and  of 
all  fleets  I  ever  saw,  I  never  beheld  one  in  point  of  officers  and 


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212 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


P. 


'i 


^^  ' 


men  equal  to  Sir  John  Jervis's,  Avho  is  a  couimauder-in-chief 
able  to  lead  them  to  ^lory." 

Reasoning  so  clearly  and  accurately  upon  the  importance  to 
Great  P)iitain's  interests  and  honor,  at  that  time,  of  maintain- 
ing her  position  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  upon  the  power  of 
her  fleet  in  battle,  it  is  not  strange  that  Nelson,  writing  in 
intimate  confidence  to  his  wife,  summed  up  in  bitter  words  his 
feelings  upon  the  occasion  ;  unconscious,  apparently,  of  the 
great  change  they  indicated,  not  merely  in  his  opinions,  but  in 
his  power  of  grasping,  in  well-ordered  and  rational  sequence, 
the  great  outlines  of  the  conditions  amid  which  he,  as  an 
officer,  Avas  acting.  "  We  are  all  preparing  to  leave  the  Medi- 
terranean, a  measure  which  I  cannot  approve.  They  at  home 
do  not  know  what  this  fleet  is  capable  of  performing ;  any- 
thing, and  everything.  Much  as  I  shall  rejoice  to  see  Eng- 
land, 1  laniriiit  our  present  orders  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  so 
dishonourable  to  the  dignity  of  England."  To  the  British 
minister  at  Naples  his  words  were  even  stronger:  "Till  this 
time  it  has  been  usual  for  the  allies  of  England  to  fall  from 
her,  but  till  now  she  never  was  known  to  desert  her  friends 
whilst  she  had  the  power  of  supporting  them.  I  yet  hope  the 
Cabinet  may,  on  more  information,  change  their  opinion ; 
it  is  not  all  we  gain  elsewhere  which  can  compensate  for  our 
loss  of  honour.  The  whole  face  of  affairs  is  totally  different 
to  what  it  was  when  the  Cabinet  formed  tl.jir  opinion." 

Nevertheless,  although  Nelson's  perceptions  and  reasoning 
were  accurate  as  far  as  they  went,  they  erred  in  leaving  out 
of  the  calculation  a  most  important  consideration,  —  the  main- 
tenance ot  the  communications  with  England,  which  had 
assumed  vital  importance  since  the  general  defection  of  the 
Italian  States,  caused  by  Bonaparte's  successes  and  his  im- 
perious demands.  It  would  be  more  true  to  say  that  he 
underestimated  this  factor  than  that  he  overlooked  it ;  for  he 
had  himself  observed,  six  weeks  earlier,  when  the  approach  of 
a  Spanish  war  first  became  certain:  "I  really  think  they 
would  do  us  more  damage  by  getting  off  Cape  i'inisterre  ;^  it 
is  there  I  fear  them,"  and  the  reason  for  that  fear  is  shown 

1  On  the  northwest  coast  of  Spain,  at  tlie  entrance  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 
anil  tlicreforo  right  in  tlio  track  of  vessels  from  the  Channel  to  the  St.  jits  of 
Gibraltar. 


th 

Nt 

t.'i 

pre 

wil 


'  I 


MILITARY  OPINIONS 


213 


by  his  reproach  against  IMan,  already  quoted,  for  his  neglect 
of  the  convoy.  The  position  of  the  Spanish  Navy  in  its 
homo  ports  was  in  fact  intermediate  —  interior  —  as  regarded 
the  British  fleet  and  tlie  source  of  its  most  essential  supplies. 
So  long  as  its  future  direction  remained  uncertain,  it  lay  upon 
the  flank  of  the  principal  British  line  of  communications. 
Nelson  did  not  use,  perhaps  did  not  know,  the  now  familiar 
terms  of  the  military  art;  and,  with  all  his  insight  and  com- 
prehensive sagacity,  ho  suffered  from  the  want  of  proper  tools 
with  which  to  transmute  his  acute  intuitions  into  ^)recise 
thought,  as  well  as  of  clearly  enunciated  principles,  which 
serve  to  guide  a  man's  conclusions,  and  would  assuredly  have 
qualified  his  in  the  present  instance.  Upon  the  supposition 
that  the  Spanish  Navy,  practically  in  its  entirety,  entered 
the  Mediterranean  and  appeared  off  Corsica,  —  as  it  did,  — 
Nelson's  reasoning  was  correct,  and  his  chagrin  at  a  retreat 
justified  ;  but,  as  lie  himself  had  wisely  remarked  to  Beaulieu, 
it  is  not  safe  to  count  upon  your  enemy  pursuing  the  course 
you  wish.  Had  the  Spanish  Government  chosen  the  other 
alternative  open  to  it,  and  struck  at  the  communications,  such 
a  blow,  or  even  such  a  threat,  must  have  compelled  the  with- 
drawal of  the  fleet,  unless  some  other  base  of  supplies  could 
be  found.  The  straitness  of  the  situation  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  Jervis,  after  he  had  held  on  to  the  last  moment  in  San 
Fiorenzo  Bay,  sailed  for  Gibraltar  with  such  scanty  provisions 
that  the  crews'  daily  rations  were  reduced  to  one-third  the 
ordinary  amount ;  in  fact,  as  early  as  the  first  of  October 
they  had  been  cut  down  to  two-thirds.  Wliether,  therefore, 
the  Government  was  right  in  ordering  the  withdrawal,  or 
Nelson  in  his  condemnation  of  it,  may  be  left  to  the  decision 
of  those  fortunate  persons  who  can  be  cock-sure  of  the  true 
solution  of  other  people's  perplexities. 

In  evacuating  the  Mediterranean,  Jervis  determined,  upon 
his  own  responsibility,  to  retain  Elba,  if  the  troops,  which 
were  not  under  his  command,  would  remain  there.  This  was 
accordingly  done ;  a  strong  garrison,  adequately  provisioned, 
tlius  keeping  for  Great  Britain  a  foothold  within  the  sea,  at  a 
time  when  she  had  lost  Minorca  and  did  not  yet  possess 
Malta.  Nelson  hoped  that  this  step  would  encourage  the  Two 
Sicilies  to  stand  firm  against  the  French  ;  but,  however  valu- 


I 


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1 

1 

214 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


able  Elba  would  be  to  the  fleet  as  a  base,  if  held  until  its 
return,  it  was  useless  to  protect  Naples  in  the  absence  of  the 
fleet,  and  upon  the  news  of  tlie  latter's  proposevi  retirement 
that  Kingdom  at  once  made  peace. 

After  the  receipt  of  liis  orders  for  the  evacuation  of  Bastia, 
and  pending  the  assembling  of  the  transports,  Nelson  was 
despatched  by  the  admiral  to  Genoa,  to  present  reclamations 
for  injuries  alleged  to  have  been  done  to  Groat  Britain,  and  to 
propose  terms  of  accommodation.  The  little  Republic,  how- 
ever, under  the  coercive  influence  of  Bonaparte's  continued 
success,  was  no  longer  in  doubt  as  to  the  side  which  policy 
dictated  her  to  take,  between  the  two  belligerents  who  vexed 
her  borders.  During  this  visit  of  Nelson's,  on  the  9th  of 
October,  she  signed  a  treaty  with  France,  stipulating,  besides 
the  closure  of  the  ports  against  Great  Britain,  the  payment  of 
a  sum  of  money,  and  free  passage  to  troops  and  supplies  for 
the  army  of  Italy.  Thus  was  Genoa  converted  formally,  as 
she  for  some  time  had  been  actually,  into  a  French  base  of 
operations.  Returning  from  this  fruitless  mission.  Nelson 
rejoined  the  commander-in-chief  on  the  13Lh  of  October,  at 
San  Fiorenzo,  and  the  same  afternoon  left  again  for  Bastia, 
where  he  arrived  the  following  day. 

During  the  fortnight  intervening  since  he  left  the  place,  the 
fact  that  the  Spanish  fleet  was  on  its  Avay  to  Corsica  had  be- 
come knov.'n,  and  the  French  partisans  in  the  island  were  pro- 
portiona'xly  active.  It  was  impossible  for  the  British  to  go 
into  the  interior ;  their  friends,  if  not  in  a  minority,  were 
effectually  awed  by  the  preponderance  of  their  eneni"  >s,  on 
land  and  sea.  Nelson,  wishing  to  cross  overlau  i  to  San 
Fiorenzo  to  visit  Jervis,  was  assured  he  could  not  do  so  with 
safety.  In  Bastia  itself  the  municipality  had  wresteci  the 
authority  tvom  the  Viceroy,  and  consigned  the  administration 
to  a  Committee  of  Thirty.  The  ships  of  war  and  transports 
being  blown  to  sea,  the  inhabitants  became  still  more  aggres- 
sive ;  for,  foreseeing  the  return  of  the  French,  they  wei'e 
naturally  eager  to  propitiate  their  future  masters  by  a  display 
of  zeal.  British  property  was  sequestered,  and  shipping  not 
l)ermitted  to  leave  the  mole. 

Nelson  was  persuaded  that  only  the  arrival  of  the  ships 
accompanying  him  saved  the  place.     Except  a  guard  at  the 


Vic 


ci 


4-n 


(( 


lips 


ORDERED  TO  EVACUATE  BASTIA 


215 


Viceroy's  house,  the  British  troops  had  been  withdrawn  to  tlie 
citadel.  Even  there,  at  the  gates  of  the  citadel,  and  within 
it,  Corsican  guards  were  present  in  numbers  equal  to  the 
British,  while  the  posts  in  the  towns  were  all  held  by  them. 
Arriving  at  early  dawn  of  the  14th,  Nelson  at  once  visited  the 
general  and  the  Viceroy.  The  former  saw  no  hope,  under  the 
conditions,  of  saving  either  stores,  cannon,  or  provisions. 
"  The  Army,"  said  Nelson  in  a  private  letter  to  Jervis,  with 
something  of  the  prejudiced  chafE  of  a  seaman  of  that  day, 
"  is,  as  usual,  ^Vell  dressed  and  powdered.  I  hope  the  general 
will  join  me  cordially,  but,  as  you  well  know,  greau  exertions 
belong  exclusively  to  the  Navy."  After  the  evacuation,  how- 
ever, ho  admitted  handsomely  that  it  was  impossible  to  *'do 
justice  to  the  good  dispositions  of  the  general." 

Between  the  heads  of  the  two  services  such  arrangements 
were  perfected  as  enabled  almost  everything  in  the  way  of 
British  property  —  public  and  private — to  be  brought  away. 
By  midday  the  ships,  of  which  three  were  of  the  line,  were 
anchored  close  to  the  mole-head,  abrea'.t  the  town,  and  the 
municipality  was  notified  that  any  opposition  to  the  removal 
of  the  vessels  and  stores  would  be  followed  by  instant  bom- 
bardment. Everything  yielded  to  the  threat,  made  by  a  man 
whose  determined  character  left  no  doubt  that  it  would  be 
carried  into  execution.  "  Nothing  shall  be  left  undone  that 
ought  to  be  done,"  he  wrote  to  Jervis,  "even  should  it  be 
necessary  to  knock  down  Bastia."  From  time  to  time  inter- 
ference was  attempted,  but  the  demand  for  immediate  desist- 
ence,  made,  watch  in  hand,  by  the  naval  officer  on  the  spot, 
enforced  submission.  "The  firm  tone  held  by  Commodore 
Nelson,"  wrote  Jervis  to  the  Admiralty,  "  soon  reduced  these 
gentlemen  to  order,  and  quiet  submission  to  the  embarkation." 
Owing  to  the  anarchy  prevailing,  the  Viceroy  was  persuaded 
to  go  on  board  before  nightfall,  he  being  too  valuable  as  a 
hostage  to  be  exposed  to  possible  kidnappers. 

On  the  18th  of  October  a  large  number  of  armed  French 
landed  at  Cape  Corso,  and  approached  the  town.  On  the  19th 
they  sent  to  the  municipality  a  demand  that  the  British  should 
not  be  permitted  to  embark.  Under  these  circumstances  even 
Nelson  felt  that  nothing  more  could  be  saved.  The  work  of 
removal  was  continued  actively  until  sunset,  by  which  time 


'M 


iii 


1  ■■.!•; 


1 
i 


>  'ifei 


216 


THE  LIFE   OF   NELSON 


I 


'i; 


i      i 


; 


two  hundred  thousand  pounds  worth  of  cannon,  stores,  and 
provisions  had  been  taken  on  board.  At  uidnight  the  troops 
evacuated  the  citadel,  and  marched  to  the  north  end  of  the 
town,  where  they  embarked  —  twenty-tour  hours  ahead  of  the 
time  upon  which  Nelson  had  reckoned  four  days  before.  It 
was  then  blowing  a  strong  gale  of  wind.  Last  of  all,  about 
six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  20th,  Nelson  and  the  general 
entered  a  barge,  jvery  other  man  being  by  that  time  afloat, 
and  were  pulled  off  to  the  ships,  taking  with  then  two  field- 
guns,  until  then  kept  ashore  to  repel  a  possible  attack  at  the 
last  moment.  The  French,  who  "  were  in  one  end  of  Bastia 
before  we  quitted  the  other,"  had  occupied  the  citadel  since 
one  in  the  morning,  and  the  Spanish  fleet,  of  over  twenty  sail- 
of-the-line,  which  had  already  arrived,  was  even  then  off  Gape 
Corso,  about  sixty  miles  distant ;  but  the  little  British  squad- 
ron, sailing  promptly  with  a  fair  wind,  in  a  few  hours  reached 
Elba,  where  every  vessel  was  safely  at  anchor  before  night. 
On  the  24th  Nelson  joined  the  commander-in-chief  in  Martello 
Bay,  the  outei  anchorage  of  San  Fiorenzo.  Everything  was 
then  afloat,  and  ready  for  a  start  as  soon  as  the  transports, 
still  at  Elba,  should  arrive.  The  evacuation  of  Corsica  was 
complete,  though  the  ships  remained  another  week  in  its 
waters. 

The  Spanish  fleet  continued  cruising  to  the  northward  of 
the  island,  and  was  every  day  sighted  by  the  British  lookout 
frigates.  Jervis  held  grimly  on,  expecting  the  appearance  of 
the  seven  ships  of  Admiral  Man,  who  had  been  ordered  to  re- 
join him.  That  officer,  however,  acting  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility, weakly  buttressed  by  the  opinion  of  a  council  of  his 
captains,  had  returned  to  England  contrary  to  his  instructions. 
The  commander-in-chief,  ignorant  of  this  step,  was  left  in  the 
sorely  perplexing  situation  of  having  his  fleet  divided  into 
two  parts,  each  distinctly'  inferior  to  the  Spanish  force  alone, 
of  twenty-six  ships,  not  to  speak  of  the  French  in  Toulon. 
Under  the  conditions,  the  only  thing  that  could  be  done  was 
to  await  his  subordinate,  in  the  appointed  spot,  until  the  last 
moment.  By  the  2d  of  November  further  delay  had  become 
impossible,  from  the  approaching  failu.'e  of  provisions.  On 
that  day,  therefore,  the  fleet  weighed,  and  after  a  tedious 
passage    anchored  on  the  first  of    December  at  Gibraltar. 


INCKEASING   KKl'UTATION 


217 


There  Nelson  remained  until  the  10th  of  the  month,  when 
he  temporarily  quitted  the  '*  Captain,"  hoisted  his  broad  pen- 
dant on  board  the  frigate  "  Minerve,"  and,  taking  with  him 
one  frigate  besides,  returned  into  the  !Mediteirauean  upon  a 
detached  mission  of  importance. 

Nelson's  last  services  in  Corsica  were  associated  with  the 
momentary  general  collapse  of  the  British  operations  and  in- 
fluence in  the  Mediterranean  ;  and  his  final  duty,  by  a  curious 
coincidence,  was  to  abandon  the  position  which  he  more  than 
any  other  man  had  been  instrumental  in  securing.  Yet,  amid 
these  discouraging  circumstances,  his  renown  had  been  steadily 
growing  throughout  the  year  1796,  which  may  justly  be  looked 
upon  as  closing  the  first  stage  in  the  history  of  British  Sea 
Power  during  the  wars  of  the  French  llevolution,  and  as 
clearing  the  way  for  his  own  great  career,  which  in  the  i-e- 
pcssession  of  the  Mediterranean  reached  its  highest  plane, 
and  there  continued  in  unabated  glory  till  the  hour  of  his 
death.  It  was  not  merely  the  exceptional  brilliancy  of  his 
deeds  at  Cape  St.  Vincent,  now  soon  to  follow,  great  ar  d  dis- 
tinguished as  those  were,  which  designated  him  to  inen  in 
power  as  beyond  dispute  the  coming  chief  of  the  British 
Navy ;  it  was  the  long  antecedent  period  of  unswerving  con- 
tinuance in  strenuous  action,  allowing  no  flagging  of  earnest- 
ness for  a  moment  to  appear,  no  chance  for  service,  however 
small  or  distant,  to  pass  unimproved.  It  was  the  same  unre- 
mitting pressing  forward,  which  had  brought  him  so  vividly 
to  the  front  in  the  abortive  fleet  actions  of  the  previous  year, 
—  an  impulse  born,  partly,  of  native  eagerness  for  fame,  partly 
of  zeal  for  the  interests  of  his  country  and  his  profession. 
"  Mine  is  all  honour ;  so  mich  for  the  Navy  !  "  as  he  wrote, 
somewhat  incoherently,  to  his  brother,  alluding  to  a  disap- 
pointment about  prize  money. 

Nelson  himself  had  an  abundant,  but  not  an  exaggerated, 
consciousness  of  this  increase  of  reputation ;  and  he  knew, 
too,  that  he  was  but  reaping  as  he  had  diligently  sowed.  ''  If 
credit  and  honour  in  the  service  are  desirable,"  he  tells  his 
brother,  "  I  have  my  full  share.  I  have  never  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity of  distinguishing  myself,  not  only  as  a  gallant  man, 
but  as  having  a  head ;  for,  of  the  numerous  plans  I  have  laid, 
not  one  has  failed."     "You  will  be  informed  from  my  late 


> 


^ 
(   I 


S  y 


'r:i 


1 1 


il 


'      Il 


'.Ml; 


218 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


!>! 


'  1 


I    i 


letters,"  he  writes  to  his  wife,  "that  Sir  John  Jcrvis  has  such 
an  opinion  of  my  conduct,  tliat  ho  is  using  every  influence, 
both  public  and  private,  with  Lord  Spencer,  for  my  continu- 
ance on  this  station  ;  and  I  am  certain  you  must  feel  the 
superior  pleasure  of  knowing,  that  my  integrity  and  plainness 
of  conduct  arc'  the  <!aiise  of  my  beirtg  kept  from  you,  to  the 
receiving  me  as  a  person  whom  no  commander-in-chief  would 
wisli  to  keep  under  his  Hag.  Sir  Jolin  was  a  perfect  stranger 
to  me,  therefore  I  feel  the  ?~^ore  fl'i!  en  1;  and  wiien  I  rctiect 
thai  ""  liave  had  tho  n;)V)or.'  't^d  (•)!!. J^^i  5o  of  three  command- 
ers-m-idiief,  I  cannot  but  i.:  1  a  ctHiscious  pride,  and  that  I 
possess  abilities."  ''If  m^  cl:;  ■''^•*/ r  is  known,"  lie  Avrites  to 
the  Genoese  Government,  whicl!  kn  it  well,  '' it  will  be 
credited  that  this  blockade  [of  Leghorn]  will  be  attended  to 
with  a  degree  of  rigour  unexampled  in  the  present  war."  "  It 
has  pleased  God  tliis  Avar,"  he  tells  the  Duke  of  Clarenee, 
'•'not  only  to  give- me  frequent  opportunities  of  showing  my- 
self an  officer  worthy  of  trust,  but  also  to  prosper  all  my  un- 
dertakings in  the  highest  degree.  I  have  had  the  extreme 
good  fortune,  not  only  to  be  noticed  in  my  immediate  line  of 
duty,  but  also  to  obtain  the  repeated  aj)probation  of  His 
jNlajesty's  ^Ministers  at  Turin,  Genoa,  and  Naples,  as  Avell  as 
of  the  Viceroy  of  Corsica,  for  my  conduct  in  the  various 
opinions  I  have  been  called  upon  to  give ;  and  my  judgment 
being  formed  from  common  sense,  I  have  never  yet  been 
mistaken." 

Already  at  times  his  consciousness  of  distinction  among 
men  betrays  something  of  t)  at  childlike,  delighted  vanity, 
half  unwitting,  which  was  aiterward  forced  into  exuberant 
growth  and  distasteful  prominence,  by  the  tawdry  flatteries  of 
Lady  Hamilton  and  the  Court  of  Naples.  Kow,  expressed  to 
one  who  had  a  right  to  all  liis  conhdence  and  to  share  all  his 
lionors,  it  challenges  rather  the  sympathy  than  the  criticism 
of  the  reader.  "  I  will  relate  another  anecdote,  all  vanity  to 
myself,  but  you  will  partake  of  it :  A  person  sent  me  a  letter, 
and  directed  as  follows,  '  Horatio  Nelson,  Genoa.'  On  being 
asked  how  he  could  direct  in  such  a  manner,  his  answer,  in  a 
large  pOtrty,  was,  '  Sir,  tliere  is  but  one  Horatio  Nelson  in  the 
world.'  I  am  known  thrcughout  Italy,"  he  continues  ;  "  not  a 
Kingdom,  or  State,  where  my  name  will  be  forgotten.     This 


'his 


INCREASING   RKl'UTATION 


210 


is  my  Gazette.  Probably  my  services  may  be  forgotten  by 
the  grej'  ,  by  tlie  time  I  get  iiome;  but  uiy  miiul  will  not  for- 
get, no  iase  to  fee],  a  Uegrec  ot  consolatioa  and  of  applause 
superior  o  rudesjrvod  rc^vards.  Wherever  there  is  anything 
to  1)0  doi  ■'.,  there  l*r'  v^ulence  is  sure  to  diroti.  my  steps.  Crcnlit 
must  br  j;iveu  ae  in  spite  of  envy.  Had  all  my  actions  been 
gazetti  ■:,  not  one  fortnight  would  have  passed  during  t))e 
whole  war  without  r.  le<"lv.r  from  me.  Even  the  French  re- 
spect me."  After  the  conclusion  of  the  campaign,  when  on 
the  way  to  Gibraltar,  he  tells  her  again  :  "  Do  not  Hatter  your- 
self that  I  shall  be  rewarded ;  I  expect  nothing,  and  therefore 
shall  not  be  disappointed:  the  pleasure  of  my  own  mind  will 
be  my  reward.  T  am  niore  interested,  and  feel  a  greater  satis- 
faction, in  obtaining  yours  and  ni}'  father's  applause  than  that 
of  all  the  world  besides."  The  wholesome  balance  between 
self-respect  and  a  laudable  desire  for  the  esteem  of  men  was 
plainly  unimpaired. 

Though  devoid  of  conspicuous  events,  the  year  179C,  from 
the  opening  of  the  campaign,  early  in  April,  up  to  the  evacua- 
tion Lk.  the  Mediterranean,  had  been  to  Nelson  one  of  constant 
and  engrossing  occupation.  There  is  therefore  little  mention 
by  him  of  his  private  affairs  and  feelings.  In  the  home  corre- 
spondence there  is  no  diminution  in  the  calm  tenderness  of 
affection  always  shown  by  him  towards  his  wife  and  father, 
who  continued  to  live  together ;  rather,  perhaps,  the  expres- 
sions to  Mrs.  Nelson  are  more  demonstrative  than  before,  pos- 
sibly because  letters  were  less  frequent.  But  there  is  nothing 
thrilling  in  the  "assurance  of  my  unabated  and  steady  affec- 
tion, which,  if  possible,  is  increasing  by  that  propriety  of 
conduct  which  you  pursue."  He  is  clearly  satisiied  to  remain 
away  ;  the  path  of  honor  has  no  rival  in  his  heart ;  there  is  no 
suggestion  of  an  inward  struggle  between  two  masters,  no 
feeling  of  aloneness,  no  petulant  discontent  with  uneasy  sur- 
roundings, or  longing  for  the  ])resence  of  an  absent  mistress. 
The  quiet  English  home,  the  "little  but  neat  cottage,"  attracts, 
indeed,  with  its  sense  of  repose,  —  "I  shall  not  be  very  sorry 
to  see  England  again.  I  am  grown  old  and  battered  to  pieces, 
and  require  some  repairs  "  —  but  the  magnet  fails  to  deflect 
the  needle;  rot  even  a  perceptible  vibration  of  the  will  is 
produced. 


! 


IIm-P 


t '!? 


¥1' 


li  ii 


u 


t  f 


I    ; 


'I' 


!■ 


u 


'2-20 


THK   LIFK  OF  NKL.SON 


Yet,  while  thus 


)sse(l 


th 


f( 


al 


k'ar,  cage 

distinction  and  tor  the  military  honor  of  his  country,  he  ajtpar- 
ently  sees  in  it  little  object  beyond  a  mere  struggle  tor  superi- 
ority, and  has  no  conception  of  the  broader  ;ind  deeper  issues 
at  stake,  the  recognition  of  which  intensitied  and  sustained 
the  resolution  of  the  peace-loving  minister,  who  then  directed 
the  policy  of  Oreat  liritain.  Of  this  he  himself  gives  the  proof 
in  a  curious  anecdote.  An  Algerino  official  visiting  the  *'  Cap- 
tain" off  Leghorn,  Nelson  asked  him  why  the  IJey  would  not 
make  peace  with  the  Genoese  and  Neapolitans,  for  they  would 
pay  well  for  immunity,  as  the  Americans  at  that  period  always 
did.  His  answer  was:  "If  we  make  peace  with  every  one, 
what  is  the  Dey  to  do  with  his  ships  '/  ''  "  What  a  reason  for 
carrying  on  a  naval  war  !  "  said  Nelson,  when  writing  the  story 
to  Jervis ;  *'  but  has  our  minister  a  better  one  for  the  present  ?  " 
Jervis,  a  traditional  Whig,  and  opposed  in  Parliament  to  the 
war,  probably  sympathi/(Hl  with  this  view,  and  in  any  case  the 
incident  shows  the  close  confidence  existing  between  the  two 
officers  ;  but  it  also  iiulicates  how  narrowly  Nelson's  genius 
and  unquestionable  acuteness  of  intellect  confined  themselves, 
at  that  time,  to  the  sphere  in  which  he  was  visibly  acting.  In 
this  he  presents  a  marked  contrast  to  Bonaparte,  whoso  rest- 
less intelligence  and  impetuous  imagination  reached  out  in 
many  directions,  and  surveyed  from  a  lofty  height  the  bearing 
of  all  things,  far  and  near,  upon  the  destinies  of  France. 


u 


"i     ! 

'■  It 


!■ 


m 


CIIAPTEK  VIII. 

ThK    EvACrATMN   OK    Kl.HA.    —  NitiHT   CoMltAT   WITH   Two   Si'ANISIC    Fuid- 

ATKs.  —  HArri.K  i>K    Cai'k    St,     Viscknt.  —  Nklsun  Pudmoteu  to 

KKAn-AUMIIlAI,.  — SkUVICKS   llEFOHK   CADIZ. 

Decemhku,  179G-J('xk,  1797.     AdE,  38. 

"TTTHEX  we  (luitted  Toulon,"  wrote  Nelson  to  his  old 
W  captain,  Loc^kcr,  while  on  the  passage  to  Gibraltar, 
"  I  remember  we  endeavoured  to  reoon«!ile  ourselves  to 
Corsica;  now  we  are  contcMit  with  Elba  —  such  things  are." 
Even  this  small  foothold  was  next  to  be  resigned.  Upon 
reaching  (iibraltar,  Jervis  received  orders  from  the  Admiralty 
to  evacuate  the  island. 

This  was  the  duty  upon  which  Nelson  was  so  soon  de- 
spatched again  to  the  Mediterranean.  Tliough  "most  im- 
portant," wrote  he  to  his  wife,  "  it  is  not  a  fighting  mission, 
therefore  be  not  uneasy."  Tiie  assurance  was  doubtless 
honestly  given,  but  scarcely  to  be  implicitly  accepted  in  view 
of  his  past  career.  Leaving  the  admiral  on  the  evening  of 
December  14,  with  the  frigates  "Blanche"  and  "Minerve," 
his  commodore's  pendant  lying  in  the  latter,  the  two  vessels, 
about  11  p.  M.  of  the  19th,  encountered  two  Spanish  frigates 
close  to  Cartagena.  The  enemies  pairing  off,  a  double  action 
ensued,  which,  in  the  case  of  the  "  Minerve,"  ended  in  the 
surrender  of  her  opponent,  "La  Sabina,"  at  half-past  one  in 
the  morning.  Throwing  a  prize-crew  on  board,  the  British 
ship  took  her  late  antagonist  in  tow  and  stood  away  to  the 
southeast.  At  half-past  three  another  Spanish  frigate  came 
up,  and,  in  order  to  meet  this  fresh  enemy  on  fairly  equal 
terms,  the  "  Minerve  "  had  to  drop  her  prize.  The  second  fight 
began  at  4.30,  and  lasted  half  an  hour,  when  the  Spaniard 
haided  otT.  With  daylight  appeared  also  two  hostile  ships- 
of-the-line,  which  had  been  chasing  towards  the  sound  of  the 
guns.    These  had  already  been  seen  by  the  "  lilanche,"  which 


;  ! 


':  •    V 


'il 


i  ■ 


it 


;l 


U  I  • 


I 


222 


TIIK  LIKK  OF   NKLSON 


■vviis  by  them  provonted  from  taking  possession  of  her  antago- 
nist, after  the  hitter  struck.  The  pursuit  histed  through  the 
day,  the  "Minerve"  being  hard  pressed  in  eonsequenoe  of 
tlu!  injuries  received  by  all  her  masts  during  the  engagement; 
but  both  British  frigates  succeeded  in  siiaking  oft"  tlieir  pur- 
suers. "La  Sabina"  was  recaptured;  she  had  already  lost 
one  mast,  and  the  remaining  two  were  seen  to  go  over  the  side 
as  she  was  bringing-to,  when  the  enemy  overtook  her.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  her  captain,  Don  Jacobo  Stuart,  was 
descended  from  the  British  royal  house  of  Stuart,  lie,  with 
many  of  his  crew,  had  been  transferred  to  the  "  Miuerve,"  and 
remained  prisoners. 

Nelson  reached  Porto  Ferrajo  a  week  later,  on  the  2Gth  of 
December.  "On  my  arrival  here,"  wrote  he  to  his  brother, 
"  it  was  a  ball  night,  and  being  attended  by  the  captains,  I 
was  received  in  due  form  by  the  General,  and  one  particular 
tune  was  played :  ^  the  second  was  '  Rule  Britannia.'  From 
Italy  T  am  loaded  with  compliments."  Having  regard  to  com- 
parative strength,  the  action  was  in  all  respects  most  creditable, 
but  it  received  additional  lustre  from  being  fought  close  to  the 
enemy's  coast,  and  in  full  view  of  a  force  so  superior  as  that 
from  which  escape  had  been  handsomely  made,  under  condi- 
tions requiring  both  steadiness  and  skill.  Though  on  a  small 
scale,  no  such  fair  stand-up  fight  had  been  won  in  the  JMedi- 
terranean  during  the  war,  and  the  resultant  exidtation  was 
heightened  by  its  contrast  with  tlie  general  depression  then 
weighing  upon  the  British  cause.  Especially  keen  and  warmly 
expressed  was  the  satisfaction  of  the  veteran  commander-in- 
chief  at  Lisbon,  who  first  learned  the  suc(!ess  of  his  valued 
subordinate  through  Spanish  sources.  "  I  cannot  express  to 
you,  and  Captain  Cockburn,  the  feelings  I  imderwent  on  the 
receipt  of  the  enclosed  bulletin,  tlie  truth  of  which  I  cannot 
doubt,  as  far  as  relates  to  jour  glorious  achievement  in  the 
capture  of  the  Sabina,  and  dignified  retreat  from  the  liue-of- 
battle  ship,  which  deprived  you  of  your  woll-f»arned  trophy  ; 
j'our  laurels  were  not  then  Avithin  their  grasp,  and  can  never 
fade." 

General  De  Burgli,  who  connnaiuled  the  troops  in  Elba,  had 

^  It  is  cviilent  that  this  iimst  havo  iiivDlvod  a  compliiiieiit  ixusonal  to 
Nelsou. 


MISSION  TO   KVACUATK   KLBA 


22;i 


received  no  instnictnns  to  quit  the  island,  and  felt  iincertiiin 
about  his  course,  in  view  of  the  navy's  approaehing  departure. 
Nelson's  orders  were  perfectly  clear,  but  applied  only  to  the 
naval  establishment.  He  recognized  the  general's  difticulty, 
though  ho  seems  to  have  thought  that,  under  all  the  circum- 
stances, ho  might  very  well  have  acted  upon  his  own  expressed 
opinion,  that  "  the  signing  of  a  Neapolitan  peace  with  Franco 
ought  to  be  our  signal  for  departure."  "The  army,"  wrote 
Nelson  to  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  "  are  not  so  often 
called  upon  to  exercise  their  judgment  in  political  measures 
as  we  are ;  therefore  the  general  feels  a  certain  diffidence." 
He  told  Do  Burgh  that,  the  King  of  Naples  having  mado 
peace,  Jervis  considered  his  business  with  the  courts  of  Italy 
as  terminated;  that  the  Admiralty's  orders  wore  to  concen- 
trate the  effort  of  the  fleet  upon  preventing  the  allied  fleets 
from  quitting  the  ^[editerranean,  and  upon  the  defence  of 
Portugal,  invaluable  to  the  British  as  a  base  of  naval  opera- 
tions. For  these  reasons,  even  if  he  had  to  leave  the  land 
forces  in  Elba,  he  should  have  no  hesitation  in  following  his 
instructions,  which  were  to  withdraw  all  naval  belongings. 
"  I  have  sent  to  collect  my  s(iiiadron,  and  as  soon  as  they 
arrive,  I  shall  offer  myself  for  embarking  the  troops,  stores, 
&c. ;  and  should  you  decline  quitting  this  post,  I  sliall  pro- 
ceed down.  Lhe  Mediterranean  with  such  ships  of  war  as  aro 
not  ab^julutely  wanted  for  kcei)ing  open  the  communication  of 
Elba  with  the  Continent.'' 

The  necessary  preparations  went  on  apace.  Vessels  were 
sent  out  to  summon  the  scattered  cruisers  to  the  port.  A 
frigate  was  despatched  to  Naples  to  bring  back  Sir  Gilbert 
Elliot,  the  late  Viceroy  of  Corsica,  who,  since  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  latter  island,  had  been  on  a  diplomatic  visit  to 
Home  and  Naples.  It  is  to  this  incident  that  we  owe  tho 
fullest  account  transmitted  of  the  Battle  of  Ca^>e  St.  Vincent ; 
the  narrator.  Colonel  DrinK  ater,  being  then  a  member  of  the 
Viceroy's  suite,  and  attendiii  /  him  upon  his  return  with  Nel- 
son's squadron.  The  Spanish  jirisoners  were  sent  to  Cartagena 
in  a  cartel.  Nelson  restoring  t  the  captain  of  the  "Sabina" 
the  sword  which  he  had  surrendered.  "I  felt  this  consonant 
to  the  dignity  of  my  Country,  and  I  always  act  as  I  feel  right, 
without  regard  to  custom."     By  the  16th  of  January  all  the 


! 

i 


M 


I, 


SI 


',  i 


i:*.^ 


ii 


\u     J. 


,.U l.-'lr-^  J 


224 


THE  LIFK  OF  NELSON 


naval  establishment  was  embarked,  ready  for  departure, 
though  some  of  the  ships  of  war  liad  not  yet  returned,  nor  l)ad 
the  Viceroy  arrived.  The  delay  allowed  the  "Minerve"  to 
be  completely  refitted,  two  of  her  masts  and  most  of  her  rig- 
ging  having  to  be  renewed. 

When  Elliot  came,  it  was  decided  in  a  consultation  between 
him,  Nelson,  and  De  Hurgh,  that  the  troops  should  remain. 
The  transports  had  been  completely  victualled,  and  so  pre- 
pared that  every  soldier  could  be  embarked  in  three  days. 
With  them  were  left  two  frigates  and  a  few  smaller  ships  of 
war.  On  the  20th  of  January,  Nelson  sailed  with  the  rest 
of  his  force  find  the  convoy,  divided  into  three  sections,  which 
proceeded  f'»r  the  Straits  by  different  routes,  to  diminish  the 
chances  of  total  loss  by  c;ipture.  Nelson  himself,  with  another 
frigate,  the  "  llomulus,"  in  company,  intended  to  make  a 
round  of  the  enemy's  ports,  in  order  to  bring  the  admiral  tho 
latest  informati(jn  of  the  number  of  ships  in  each,  and  their 
state  of  preparation.  "  I  hope  to  arrive  safe  in  Lisbon  with 
my  charge,"  he  wrote  to  his  wife  on  the  eve  of  sailing,  "but 
in  war  much  is  left  to  J'rovidence  :  however,  as  I  have  hitherto 
been  most  successful,  confidence  tells  me  I  shall  not  fail :  and 
as  nothing  will  be  left  undone  by  mo,  should  I  not  always 
succeed,  my  mind  vvill  not  suffer;  nor  will  the  world,  I  trust, 
be  willing  to  attach  blame,  where  my  heart  tells  me  none 
would  he  due."  The  habit  of  taking  risks  had  wrought  its 
beneficial  influenc.  upon  mind  and  temper,  when  he  thus 
calmly  and  simply  reasoned  from  the  experience  of  the  past  to 
the  prospective  fortnight,  to  be  passed  in  sight  of  a  hostile 
coast,  and  in  waters  where  he  could  meet  no  friendly  sail.  "  It 
has  ever  pleased  Almighty  God  to  give  his  blessing  to  my  en- 
deavours," was  his  New  Year  greeting  to  his  father  at  this  time. 

During  this  month  in  Elba  a  slight  political  reference  shows 
how  his  views  and  purpose  were  changing  with  the  rapidly 
shifting  political  scene.  In  this  hour  of  deepening  adversity 
he  no  longer  looks  for  peace,  nor  seek.*  the  reason  for  the 
current  war,  which  a  few  months  before  he  had  failed  to  find. 
"  As  to  peace,  I  do  not  expect  it ;  Lord  Malmesbury  will  come 
back  as  be  went,  l^ut  the  people  of  England  will,  I  trust,  be 
more  vigorous  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  which  can  alone 
insure  an  honourable  peace." 


old 
des 


eig 


NAVAL  EVACUATION  OP  ELBA 


225 


my  en- 
is  time, 
shows 
apidly 

ersity 
'or  the 
;o  find. 
I  come 
list,  be 

alone 


The  "  MinervG  "  and  the  "  Romulus  "  looked  first  into  the 
old  British  ancihorage  in  San  Fiorenzo  Bay,  which  was  found 
deserted.  Standing  thence  to  Toulon,  they  remained  forty- 
eight  hours  off  that  port,  in  which  were  to  be  seen  no  ships  in 
condition  for  sailing.  From  there  they  passed  off  Barcelona, 
showing  French  colors,  but  without  succeeding  in  drawing  out 
any  vessel  there  lying.  The  wind  not  being  fair  for  Minorca, 
where  Nelson  had  purposed  to  reconnoitre  Port  Mahon,  the 
frigates  next  went  to  Cartagena,  and  ascertained  that  the  great 
Spanish  fleet  was  certainly  not  there.  As  Toulon  also  had 
been  found  empty,  it  seemed  clear  that  it  had  gone  to  the 
westward,  the  more  so  as  the  most  probable  information  indi- 
cated that  the  naval  enterprises  of  the  French  and  their  allies 
at  that  time  were  to  be  outsule  of  the  Mediterranean.  Nelson 
therefore  pushed  ahead,  and  on  the  9th  of  February  the 
"  Minerve  "  and  "  Romulus  "  anciiored  in  Gibraltar.  All  three 
divisions  from  Elba  passed  the  Straits  within  the  same  forty- 
oight  hours. 

The  Spanish  grand  fleet  had  been  seen  from  the  Rock,  four 
days  before,  standing  to  the  westward  into  the  Atlantic.  Two 
ships-of-the-line  and  a  frigate  had  been  detached  from  it,  with 
supplies  for  the  Spanish  lines  before  Gibraltar,  and  had 
anchored  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  where  they  still  were  when 
Nelson  arrived.  On  board  them  had  also  been  sent  the  two 
British  lieutenants  and  the  seamen,  who  became  prisoners 
when  the  "  Sabina "  was  recaptured.  Their  exchange  was 
effected,  for  which  alone  Nelson  was  willing  to  wait.  The 
fact  that  the  Spanish  fleet  had  gone  towards  Jervis's  rendez- 
vous, and  the  continuance  of  easterly  winds,  which  would 
tend  to  drive  them  still  farther  in  the  same  direction,  gave 
liiin  uneasy  premonitions  of  that  coming  battle  which  it  would 
"  break  his  heart "  to  miss.  It  was,  besides,  part  of  his  in- 
grained military  philosophy,  never  absent  from  his  careful 
mind,  that  a  fair  wind  may  fall  or  shift.  "The  object  of  a 
sea-oflicer  is  to  embrace  the  happy  moment  which  now  and 
then  offers,  —  it  may  be  to-day,  it  may  be  never."  Regrettirg 
at  this  moment  the  loss  even  of  a  tide,  entailed  by  the  engage- 
ments of  the  Viceroy,  whom  he  had  to  carry  to  Jervis,  and 
therefore  could  not  leave,  he  wrote,  "  I  fear  a  westerly  wind." 
The  Providence  in  which  he  so  often  expresses  his  reliance, 

15 


•    'I 

j  • 


li    ' 


^'i' 


^',i 


220 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


now  as  on  many  other  occasions,  did  not  forsake  the  favored 
son,  who  never  by  sluggishness  or  presumption  lost  his  oppor- 
tunities. The  wind  held  fair  until  the  13th  of  February,  when 
Nelson  rejoined  the  commander-in-chief.  That  night  it  shifted 
to  the  westward,  and  the  following  day  was  fought  the  Battle 
of  Cape  St.  Vincent. 

Taken  in  its  entirety,  the  episode  of  this  nearly  forgotten 
mission  to  Elba  is  singularly  characteristic,  not  only  of  Xel- 
son's  own  qualities,  but  also  of  those  concurrences  which, 
whatever  the  origin  attributed  to  them  by  this  or  that  person, 
impress  upon  a  man's  career  the  stamp  of  "  fortunate."  An 
errand  purely  of  evasion,  not  in  itself  of  prime  importance, 
but  for  an  object  essentially  secondary,  it  results  in  a  night 
combat  of  unusual  brilliancy,  which  would  probably  not  have 
been  fought  at  all  could  the  British  liave  seen  the  overwhelm- 
ing force  ready  to  descend  upon  conqueror  and  conquered 
alike.  With  every  spar  wounded,  and  a  hostile  fleet  in  sight, 
the  "Minerve"  nevertheless  makes  good  her  retreat.  Soli- 
tary, in  an  enemy's  sea,  she  roams  it  with  premeditated 
deliberateness,  escaping  molestation,  and,  except  in  the  first 
instance,  even  detection.  She  carries  the  fortunes  of  a  Caisar 
yet  unknown,  who  is  ready  to  stake  them  at  any  moment  for 
adequate  cause;  but  everything  works  together,  not  merely 
for  his  preservation,  but  to  bring  him  up  just  in  time  for  the 
exceptional  action,  which  showed  there  was  more  to  him  than 
even  his  untiring  energy  and  fearlessness  had  so  far  demon- 
strated. As  when,  in  later  years,  burning  anxiety  pressed 
him  to  hasten  after  Villeneuve,  yet  faiU-d  so  to  discompose 
him  as  to  cause  the  neglect  of  any  preparation  essential  to 
due  provision  for  the  abandoned  Mediterranean  ;  so  now,  with 
every  power  at  highest  t(!nsion  to  rejoin  the  admiral,  eager 
not  to  waste  a  moment,  he  mars  his  diligence  by  no  precipi- 
tancy, he  grudges  no  hour  necessary  to  the  rounded  com- 
pletion of  the  present  task, — to  see,  and  know,  and  do,  all 
that  can  be  seen  and  done.  He  might  almost  have  used 
again,  literally,  the  expression  before  quoted :  "  I  have  not 
a  thought  on  any  subject  separated  from  the  imniediate  object 
of  my  command." 

Leaving  the  *•'  Romulus  "  in  Gibraltar,  the  "INrinerve  "  sailed 
again  on   the  11th.      The   Spanish  ships-of-the-lino  followed 


I 


\l 


NARROW  ESCAPE  FROM  CAPTURE 


227 


"  sailed 
kllowed 


her  at  once.  The  east  wind  blows  in  wild  and  irregular  puffs 
upon  the  anchorages  immediately  under  the  lofty  llock,  where 
the  frigate  lay.  Farther  up,  where  the  Spaniards  were,  it 
crosses  the  low  neck  joining  the  peninsula  to  the  mainland, 
and  is  there  more  equable  and  more  constant.  The  "  Minerve  " 
was  consequently  at  a  disadvantage  until  she  got  fairly  from 
under  its  lee,  and  the  chase  through  the  Straits  became  close 
enough  to  draw  the  idlers  of  the  town  and  garrison  in  crowds 
to  the  hillsides.  It  soon  became  evident  that  the  leading 
ship-ol'-the-line  was  gaining  upon  the  frigate,  and  the  latter 
cleared  for  action.  Nelson  had  but  a  poor  opinion  of  the 
Spanisli  navy  of  his  day,  and  doubtless  chose,  before  surren- 
dering, to  take  his  chance  of  one  of  those  risks  which  in  war 
often  give  strange  results.  He  said  to  Drinkwater  that  he 
thought  an  engagement  probable,  but  added,  "IJefore  the  Dons 
get  hold  of  that  bit  of  bunting  I  will  have  astruggle  with  them, 
and  sooner  than  give  up  the  frigate,  I  '11  run  her  ashore." 

About  this  time  the  officers'  dinner  was  announced.  Drink- 
water  went  below,  and  was  just  congratulating  Lieutenant 
Hardy,  who  had  been  captured  in  the  '^  Sabina,"  upon  his  ex- 
change, when  the  cry  "  Man  overboard  !  "  was  heard.  The  party 
dispersed  hurriedly,  in  sympathy  with  tiie  impulse  ■which  in- 
variably causes  a  rush  under  such  circumstances;  and  Drink- 
water,  running  to  tlie  stern  windows,  saw  a  boat  already 
lowering  with  Hardy  in  it,  to  recover  the  man,  who,  however, 
could  not  be  found.  The  boat  therefore,  making  signal  to  that 
elTect,  soon  turned  to  pull  to  the  sliip.  The  situation  was  ex- 
tremely embarrassing,  not  to  say  critical ;  on  the  one  hand, 
the  natural  reluctance  to  abandon  any  one  or  anything  to  he 
enemy,  on  the  other,  the  imminent  risk  of  sacrificing  the  ship 
and  all  concerned  by  any  delay,  —  for  the  leading  Spaniard,  by 
himself  far  superior  in  force,  was  nearly  within  gunshot. 
Temperament  and  habit  decide,  in  questions  where  reason  has 
little  time  and  less  certainty  upon  whii.-h  to  act;  by  nature  and 
experience  Nelson  was  inclined  to  take  risks.  It  was  evident 
the  boat  could  not  overtake  the  frigate  unless  the  latter's  way 
was  lessened,  and  each  moment  that  passed  made  this  step 
more  perilons,  as  the  pursuer  was  already  overhauling  the 
"Minerve."  "J>y  God,  I'll  not  lose  Hardy  !"  ]m3  exclaimed : 
"back   the   mizzen-topsail."      The    sliip's   speed   being   thus 


i  i: 


1!a1 


H     i 


I    i 


228 


TIIK  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


checked,  the  boat  came  alongside,  and  the  party  scrambled  on 
board.  Singularly  enough,  the  enemy,  disconcertec'  by  Nelson's 
action,  stopped  also,  to  allow  his  consort  to  come  np,  •— a 
measure  wholly  inexcusable,  and  only  to  be  accounted  for  by 
that  singular  moral  effect  produced  in  many  men  by  a  sudden 
and  unexpected  occurrence.  The  daring  deed  had  therefore 
the  happiest  results  of  a  stratagem,  and  the  frigate  was 
troubled  no  further. 

Steering  that  night  to  the  southward,  to  throw  off  her  pur- 
suers, the  "  Minerve  "  found  herself  unexpectedly  in  the  midst 
of  a  fleet,  Avhich,  from  the  signals  made,  was  b\^idently  not 
that  of  Jervis,  and  therefore  must  be  hostile.  The  hazy 
atmosphere  veiled  the  British  frigate  from  close  observation, 
and,  by  conforming  her  movements  to  those  of  the  strangers, 
she  escaped  suspicion.  Nelson  was  uncertain  whether  it  was 
the  Spanish  grand  fleet,  or,  possibly,  a  detached  body  proceed- 
ing to  the  "West  Indies.  He  had  heard  q,  rumor  of  such  an 
expedition,  and  the  impression  was  probably  confirmed  by 
these  ships  being  met  when  steering  southerly  from  the 
Straits ;  Cadiz,  the  known  destination  of  the  grand  fleet,  being 
north.  As  the  British  commercial  interests  in  the  Caribbean 
were  of  the  first  importance,  and  would  be  much  endangered, 
he  told  Drinkwater,  who  lay  awake  in  his  cot,  that,  if  he  be- 
came convinced  the  ships  in  sight  were  bound  there,  he  should 
give  up  the  attempt  to  join  the  commander-in-chief,  and  should 
start  at  once  for  the  Islands,  to  forewarn  them  of  the  approach- 
ing danger.  The  colonel  was  naturally  startled  at  the  prospect 
of  an  involuntary  trip  across  the  Atlantic,  and  represented 
the  equally  urgent  necessity  —  as  he  thought  —  of  Jervis  and 
the  British  Cabinet  getting  the  information,  which  Elliot  was 
bringing,  of  the  views  and  intentions  of  the  Italian  govern- 
ments. This  Nelson  admitted,  but  replied  that  he  thought  the 
other  consideration  greater,  and  tliat  —  the  condition  arising 
—  he  must  do  as  he  had  said.  The  incident  illustrates  the 
activity  of  his  mind,  in  comprehending  instantly  the  singular 
opportunity  thrust  unexpectedly  upon  him,  as  well  as  the 
readiness  to  accept  responsibility  and  to  follow  his  own  judg- 
me'l,  which  he  showed  on  so  many  other  occasions,  both  before 
and  a'l' :  tiii  i. 

Later  in  the  nignt  the  hostile  ships  went  about,  evidencing 


BATTLE   OF   CAPE   ST.    VIXCEXT 


229 


J 


thereby  a  desire  to  keep  to  windward,  which  pointed  much 
more  toward  Cadiz  than  to  any  western  destination.  The 
"  Minerve "  imitated  them,  but  altered  her  course  so  as  to 
edge  away  gradually  from  her  dangerous  neighbors.  Nelson, 
some  time  after,  again  entered  the  cabin,  and  told  Drink- 
water  and  Elliot,  the  latter  having  also  waked,  that  he  had 
got  clear  of  the  enemy,  but  that  at  daylight  the  course 
would  be  altered  so  as  to  sight  them  once  more,  if  they  Avere 
really  going  west.  Should  it  prove  to  be  so,  they  must  make 
up  their  minds  to  visit  the  West  Indies.  Nothing,  however, 
being  seen  during  the  12th,  the  commodore,  satisfied  at  last 
that  he  had  been  in  the  midst  of  the  grand  fleet,  hastened  on, 
and  towards  noon  of  the  loth  jo'ned  the  admiral.  Before  do- 
ing so,  some  of  the  Spaniards  wore  again  sighted.  They  had 
been  seen  also  by  the  regular  lUitish  lookouts,  one  at  least  of 
which  had  kept  touch  with  them  through  the  preceding  days 
of  hazy  weather.  Nelson,  after  an  interview  with  Jervis, 
went  on  board  the  "  Captain,"  where  liis  broad  pendant  was 
again  hoisted  at  6  p.  m. 

At  daybreak,  the  position  of  the  two  fleets  was  twenty-five 
miles  west  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  a  headland  on  the  I'ortuguese 
coast,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  northwest  of  Cadiz.  During 
the  night  the  wind  had  shifted  from  the  eastward  to  west  by 
south,  and,  being  now  fair,  the  Spaniards  were  running  for 
their  port,  heading  about  east-southeast;  but  they  were  in 
disorder,  and  were  divided  into  two  principal  fragments,  of 
which  the  headmost,  and  therefore  leewardmost,  numbered  six 
ships.  It  was  separated  from  the  other  division  of  twenty-ono 
by  a  space  of  six  or  eight  miles.  In  the  whole  force,  of 
twenty-seven  ships,  there  Avere  seven  of  three  decks,  the  least 
of  which  carried  one  hundreil  and  twelve  guns  ;  the  remainder 
were  principally  seventy-fours,  there  being,  however,  one  of 
eighty-four  guns.  Jervis's  fleet  consisted  of  fifteen  ships-of- 
tlie-line, — two  of  one  hundred  guns,  four  of  ninety -eight  or 
ninety,  eight  seventy-fours,  and  one  sixty-four.  From  the 
intelligence  received  the  previous  day  of  the  enemy's  proxim- 
ity, the  admiral  kept  the  command  throughout  the  night  in 
two  columns,  in  close  order,  a  formation  suited  by  its  com- 
pactness to  a  hazy  night,  and  at  the  same  time  manageable  in 
case  of  encountering  an  enemy  suddenly.     The   course  was 


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380 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


south  by  west,  almosi  perpendicular  to  that  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  two  fleets  were  thus  running,  one  from  the  westward,  and 
the  other  from  tlio  northward,  to  a  common  crossing.^ 

At  daylight  the  enemy's  fleet  was  partly  visible  to  the 
leading  ships  of  the  British  columns.  As  the  morning  ad- 
vanced, and  the  situation  developeu,  it  was  seen  that  the 
Spanish  line  was  long  and  stragglinj,,  and  the  gap  began  to 
sliow.  As  the  British  were  heading  directly  towards  it, 
Jervis  ordered  a  half-dozen  of  his  ships,  which  were  all  still 
under  moderate  canvas,  to  press  on  and  interpose  between 
the  enemy's  divisions.  An  hour  or  so  later  he  made  the 
signal  to  form  the  single  column,  which  was  the  usual  light- 
ing order  of  those  days.  The  fleet  being  already  properly 
disposed  for  maniuuvres,  this  change  of  order  was  effected, 
to  use  his  own  words,  "with  the  utmost  celerity."  Nelson's 
ship  was  thirteenth  in  the  new  order,  therefore  nearly  the 
last.  Next  after  him  came  the  sixty-four,  the  **  Diadem," 
while  Collingwood,  in  the  "  Excellent,"  brought  up  the  rear. 
Immediately  ahead  of  Nelson  was  the  '-liarfleur,"  carrying 
the  flag  of  one  of  the  junior  admirals,  to  whom  naturally  fell 
the  command  in  that  part  of  the  line. 

Three  of  the  larger  Spanish  body  succeeded  in  crossing 
ahead  of  the  British  coiumn  and  joining  the  lee  group,  thus 
raised  to  nine  ships.  No  others  were  able  to  effect  this,  the 
headmost  British  ships  anticipating  them  in  the  gap.  Jer- 
vis's  plan  was  to  pass  between  their  two  divisions  with  his 
one  column,  jsrotracting  this  separation,  then  to  go  about  in 
succession  and  attack  the  eighteen  to  windward,  because  their 
comrades  to  leeward  could  not  help  them  in  any  short  time. 
This  was  done.  The  lee  ships  did  attempt  to  join  those  to 
windward  by  breaking  through  the  British  order,  but  were 
so  roughly  handled  that  they  gave  it  iip  and  continued  to 
the  south-southwest,  hoping  to  gain  a  better  opportunity. 
The  weather  ships,  on  the  other  hand,  iinding  they  could  not 
pass,  steered  to  the  northward,  —  nearly  yAirallel,  but  oppo- 
site, to  the  course  which  both  the  Britisn  ind  their  own  lee 
group  were  then  following. 

A  heavy  cannonade  now  ensued,  ea'jh  British  ship  engag- 
ing as  its  batteries  came  to  bear,  through  the  advance  of  the 

1  Set'  Plate,  Figure  1. 


BATTLE  OF  CAPE  ST  VINCENT 

FEBRUARY   14.1797. 

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llArTLi:  OF  CAI»K  ST.   VIXCKN  T 


2:il 


column  to  the  south-south wost.  After  an  hour  of  this,  the 
admiral  made  tlie  signal  to  tack  in  succession.  This  was 
instantly  ohoyod  by  the  leader,  the  "  Cullodcn,"  which  was 
expecting  it,  and  each  following  ship  tacked  also  as  it  reached 
tlie  same  point,  lint  as  the  Spaniards  were  continually  re- 
ci'ding  from  this  point,  which  the  British  rear  was  approach- 
ing, it  was  evident  that  in  time  the  latter  would  leave 
uncov(!red  the  ground  that  had  so  far  separated  the  two 
hostile  divisions.  This  the  Spanish  admiral  expected  to  be 
his  opportunity ;  it  proved  to  be  Nelson's. 

At  1  J'.  M.,^  by  Nelson's  journal,  the  "Captain,"  standing 
south  by  west,  had  come  abreast  the  rearmost  of  the  eigh- 
teen weather  ships,  having  passed  the  others.  He  then 
noticed  that  the  leaders  of  that  body  were  bearing  up  be- 
fore the  wind,  to  the  eastward,  to  cross  behind  the  British 
column.  If  this  were  carried  out  unmolested,  they  could 
join  the  lee  ships,  which  heretofore  had  been  separated  from 
them  by  the  centre  and  rear  of  the  British  line,  and  at  this 
moment  were  not  very  far  distant,  being  still  engaged  with 
the  British  centre;  or  else,  so  Nelson  thought,  they  might 
fly  before  the  wind,  making  ineffective  all  that  had  been 
done  so  far.  "To  prevent  either  of  their  schemes  from  tak- 
ing effect,  I  ordered  the  ship  to  be  wore,  and  passing  between 
the  Diadem  and  Excellent,  at  a  quarter  past  one  o'clock,  was 
engaged  with  the  headmost,  and  of  course  leewardmost  of 
the  Spanish  division.  Tlie  ships  which  I  know  were,  the 
Santissima  Trinidad,  126;  San  Josef,  112;^  Salvador  del 
Mundo,  112;-  San  Nicolas,  80  ;'^  another  first-rate,  and 
seventy-four,  names  not  known.  I  was  immediately  joined 
and  most  nobly  supported  by  the  Culloden,  Captain  Trou- 
bridgp.  The  Spanish  fleet,'  from  not  wishing  (I  suppose)  to 
have  a  decisive  battle,  hauled  to  the  wind  [again]  on  the 
larboard  tack,  which  brought  the  ships  afore-mentioned  to 
be  the  leewardmost  and  sternmost  ships  in  their  fleet." 

By  this  spontaneous  und  sudden  act,  for  which  he  had  no 
authority,  by  signal  or  otlierwise,  except  his  own  judgment 
and  (piick  perceptions,  Nelson  entirely  defeated  the  Spanish 
movement.     Devoting  his  own  ship  to  a  most  unequal  con- 


1  See  Plate,  Figure  2. 

'  That  is,  tho  weather  division, 


2  Captured, 
the  eighteen  ships. 


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THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


test,  he  gained  time  for  the  approaching  British  van  to  come 
up,  and  carry  on  the  work  they  liad  already  begun  when  lirst 
passing  these  ships — before  the  moment  of  tacking.  The 
liritish  column  being  then  in  a  V  shape,  —  part  on  one  tack, 
part  on  the  other,  the  point  of  tiie  V  being  that  of  tacking,  — 
Jio  hastened  across,  by  a  short  cut,  from  the  rear  of  one  arm 
of  the  V  to  a  position  on  the  other  side,  toward  which  the 
van  was  advancing,  but  which  it,  being  more  distant,  could 
not  reach  as  soon  as  he,  and  therefore  not  to  as  good  effect. 
To  (juote  Jervis's  words  concerning  this  incident,  "Commo- 
dore Nelson,  who  was  in  the  rear  on  the  starboard  tack,  tuo/c 
the  Irml  on  the  larboard,  and  contributed  very  much  to  the 
fortune  of  the  day."  On  the  intellectual  side,  the  side  of 
skill,  this  is  what  he  did ;  on  the  side  of  valor,  it  is  to  be 
said  that  he  did  it  for  tlu;  moment  single-handed.  The  "  Cul- 
loden,"  the  actual  leader,  camo  up  shortly,  followed  afterwards 
by  the  "  Blenheim  ;  "  and  the  "  Excellent "  was  ordered  by 
Jervis  to  imitate  Nelson's  movement,  and  strengthen  the 
operation  which  he  had  initiated.  It  was  the  concentration 
of  these  ships  at  the  point  which  Nelson  seized,  and  for  a 
moment  held  alone,  that  decided  tlie  day ;  and  it  was  there 
that  the  fruits  of  victory  were  chiefly  reaped. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  of  course,  that  all  the  honors 
of  the  day  are  to  be  claimed  for  Nelson,  even  conjointly  with 
those  present  with  him  at  the  crucial  moment.  Much  was 
done,  both  before  and  after,  which  contributed  materially  to 
the  aggregate  results,  some  of  which  were  missed  by  the 
very  reluctance  of  men  of  solid  military  qualities  to  desist 
from  seeking  enemies  still  valid,  in  order  to  enjoy  what 
Nelson  called  the  "  parade  of  taking  possession  of  beaten 
enemies."  It  seems  probable  that  more  Spanish  ships  might 
have  been  secured,  had  it  not  been  for  the  eagerness  of 
some  British  vessels  to  push  on  to  new  combats.  But, 
while  fully  allowing  the  merits  of  many  others,  from  the 
commander-in-chief  down,  it  is  true  of  St.  Vincent,  as  of  most 
battles,  that  tliCre  was  a  particular  moment  on  which  success 
or  failure  hinged,  and  that  upon  the  action  then  taken  de- 
pended the  chief  outcome,  —  a  decisive  moment,  in  short. 
That  moment  was  when  the  enemy  attempted,  with  good 
prospect,   to  effect  the  junction   which  Nelson  foiled.     As 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


<^>^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M5S0 

(716)  873-4503 


,<lf 


H    -! 


si 


BATTLE  OF  CAPE  ST.VINCENT 
Fig.  3 

At  the  time  when  Ne/son  ut^as  faking  possession 
of  the  San  Nicolas  and  San  Josef.        ^ 

^^   British  Ships 
O  Spanish  Ships 


WIND 

ym^ — 


0 

t 


LETTERS 

t^'  Nelson's  ship,  the  Captain. 
B'  Blenheim 
C'Culloden 
^)  E- Excellent  andherirack, 

.'L    ^^0- Orion  (doHedline). 

^   \P' Prince  George 

y  ■  Lively (frigatelon board 

lA/hich,  Elliot&Drinkwater. 
J'  San  Josef 
5  -  San  Nicolas 
«i>  ;  T"-  Sanlisima  Trinidad 
^\L-  Lee  Dim/on  and  its  track 
<o  J      passing  Br/lish  rear,  close 
on  Ihe  nind.h  rejtin  WeathtrDiv. 
l/il'  hieather  Division 


\\ 


BATl'LE   OF   CAPE   ST.  VINCENT 


233 


CoUingwood  afterwards  summed  up  the  mutter :  "  The  high- 
est rewards  are  due  to  you  ai  :l  Ciillodeu ;  you  formed  the 
phm  of  attack,  —  we  were  only  accessories  to  the  Doiis'  ruin; 
for  had  they  got  on  the  other  tack,  they  would  have  been 
sooner  joined,  and  the  business  would  have  been  less 
complete." 

When  CoUingwood  came  up  with  the  "  Excellent,"  the 
"  Captain "  was  practically  disabled  for  further  movement, 
had  lost  heavily  in  men,  and  was  without  immediate  support. 
The  "Cullotlen"  had  dropped  astern,  crippled,  as  Ijiad  two  of 
the  Spanish  vessels  ;  the  "  Blenheim,"  after  passing  the  "  Cul- 
loden  "  and  the  "  Captain,"  between  them  and  the  enemy,  had 
drawn  ahead.  The  "Excellent,"  steering  between  the  two 
Spanish  ships  that  had  fallen  behind,  lired  into  both  of  them, 
and  Nelson  thought  both  then  struck ;  but  CoUingwood  did 
not  stop  to  secure  thein.  *'  Captain  CoUingwood,"  says  Nel- 
son in  his  account,  "  disdaining  the  parade  of  taking  posses- 
sion of  beaten  enemies,  most  gallantly  pushed  up,  with  every 
sail  set,  to  save  his  old  friend  and  messmate,  who  was  to 
appearance  in  a  critical  state.  The  Excellent  ranged  up 
within  ten  feet  of  the  San  Nicolas,  giving  a  most  tremendous 
fire.  The  San  Nicolaj  luffing  up,  the  San  Josef  fell  on  board 
her,  and  the  Excellent  passing  on  for  the  Santissima  Trinidad, 
the  Captain  resumed  ^  her  situation  abreast  of  them,  and  close 
alongside.  At  this  time  the  Captain  having  lost  her  foretop- 
mast,  not  a  sail,  shroud,'^  or  rope  left,  her  wheel  shot  away, 
and  incapable  of  further  service  in  the  line,  or  in  chase,  I 
directed  Captain  Miller  to  put  the  helm  a-starboard,  and  call- 
ing for  the  boarders,  ordered  them  to  board."  ' 

The  "  Captain  "  fetched  alongside  of  the  "  San  Nicolas,"  her 
bow  touching  the  lee  (starboard)  quarter  of  the  Spanish  ves- 
sel, her  spritsail  yard  hooking  in  the  other's  mizzen  shrouds. 
Commander  Berry,  a  very  young  man,  who  had  lately  been 
first  lieutenant  of  the  '*  Captain,"  leaped  actively  into  the 
mizzen  chains,  the  first  on  board  the  enemy ;  he  was  quickly 
supported  by  others,  who  passed  over  hy  the  spritsail  yard. 
The  captain  of  the  ship  was  in  the  act  of  following,  at  the 

1  That  la,  was  left  in. 

2  Shrouds  arc  liirfje  ropes  which  support  the  masts. 
8  See  Plate,  Figure  3. 


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THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


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head  of  Ms  men,  when  Xelson  stopped  him.  "Xo,  IMiller," 
he  said,  "  /  must  have  that  honour ; "  and  he  directed  him  to 
remain.  One  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  who 
were  serving  on  board  as  marines,  broke  open  the  upper 
quarter-gallery  window  of  the  *'  San  Nicolas,"  and  through 
this  Nelson  entered,  with  a  crowd  of  followers,  to  find  himself 
in  the  cabin  of  the  enemy's  ship.  The  doors  being  fastened, 
tliey  were  held  there  a  few  moments,  while  Spanish  officers 
from  the  quarter-deck  discharged  their  pistols  at  them ;  but 
the  doors  were  soon  broken  down,  and  the  party,  after  firing  a 
volley,  sallied  on  the  spar  deck,  which  the  enemy  yielded  to 
them,  —  a  Spanish  commodore  falling  by  the  wheel  as  he 
retreated.  Berry  had  by  this  time  reached  the  poop,  where 
he  hauled  down  the  colors,  while  Nelson  passed  to  the  forward 
part  of  the  ship,  meeting  on  his  way  several  Spanish  officers, 
who,  being  by  this  time  in  the  hands  of  British  seamen,  gave 
up  to  him  their  swords.  The  Spanish  guns  on  the  lower 
decks  still  continued  firing  for  some  moments,  apparently  at 
the  "  Prince  George,"  which  had  passed  to  leeward  of  the 
"  Captain,"  and  now  kept  her  batteries  playing  upon  the  hull 
of  the  "San  Nicolas"  forward  of  the  part  where  the  "Cap- 
tain" touched  her. 

At  this  moment  a  small-arm  fire  was  opened  from  the  stern 
galleries  of  the  "  San  Josef "  upon  the  British  party  in  the 
"  San  Nicolas."  Nelson  caused  the  soldiers  to  reply  to  it, 
and  ordered  reinforcements  sent  to  him  from  the  "  Captain." 
Pai'ties  were  stationed  at  the  hatchways  of  the  "  San  Nicolas  " 
to  control  the  enemy  and  keep  them  below  decks,  and  then  the 
boarders  charged  again  for  the  Spanish  three-decker.  Nelson 
Avas  helped  by  Berry  into  her  main  chains  ;  but  he  had  got  no 
farther  before  a  Spanish  officer  put  his  head  over  the  rail  and 
said  they  surrendered.  "From  this  most  welcome  informa- 
tion," continues  Nelson,  in  his  narrative,  "it  was  not  long 
before  I  was  on  tlie  qunrter-deck,  w^hen  tlie  Spanish  captain, 
with  a  bow.  presented  me  his  sword,  and  said  the  admiral  was 
dying  of  his  wounds  below.  I  asked  him,  on  his  honour,  if 
the  ship  were  surrendered  ?  he  declared  she  was ;  on  which  I 
gave  him  my  hand,  and  desired  him  to  call  to  his  officers  and 
ship's  company,  and  tell  them  of  it  —  which  he  did ;  and  on 
the  quarter-deck  of  a  Spanish  First-rate,  extravagant  as  the 


I    i 


BATTLE   OF   CAPE   ST.   VINCENT 


235 


story  may  seem,  did  I  receive  the  swords  of  vanquished  Span- 
iards ;  which,  as  I  received,  I  gave  to  William  Fearney,  one  of 
my  bargemen,  who  put  tliem  with  the  greatest  sangfroid  under 
his  arm.  I  was  surrounded  by  Captain  Berry,  Lieiitenant 
Pierson,  69th  Regiment,  John  Sykes,  John  Thomson,  Francis, 
Cook,  all  old  Agamemnons,  and  several  other  brave  men,  sea- 
men and  soldiers  :  thus  fell  these  ships."  The  firing  from  the 
lower  deck  of  the  "  San  Nicolas ''  was  by  this  time  stopped, 
and  the  "  Prince  George  ''  was  hailed  that  both  the  enemy's 
vessels  were  in  possession  of  the  British.  The  "  Victory," 
Jervis's  flagship,  passed  a  few  moments  later  and  cheered,  as 
did  every  ship  in  the  fleet. 

The  dramatic  and  picturesque  surroundings  which  colored 
the  seizure  of  these  two  Spanish  ships  have  doubtless  given 
an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  danger  and  difficulty  attending 
the  exploit.  The  impression  made  upon  a  sympathetic  and 
enthusiastic  eye-witness.  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  who  saw  the 
affair  from  the  decks  of  the  frigate  "  Lively,"  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  posterity  with  little  diminution.  "Xothing  in  the 
world  was  ever  more  noble  than  the  transaction  of  the  Captain 
from  beginning  to  end,  and  the  glorious  group  of  your  ship 
and  her  two  prizes,  fast  in  your  gripe,  was  never  surpassed, 
and  I  dare  say  never  will."  Yet  it  may  better  be  looked  upon 
as  another  of  those  "fortunate"  occurrences  which  attend — ■ 
and  in  Nelson's  career  repeatedly  attended  —  the  happy  meet- 
ing of  opportunity  and  readiness.  Doubtless  they  were  beaten 
ships,  but  other  beaten  ships  have  escaped  in  general  actions 
—  did  at  St.  Vincent.  "I  pretend  not  to  say,"  wrote  Nelson 
a  week  later,  "  that  these  ships  might  not  have  fell,  had  I  not 
boarded  them  ;  but  truly  it  was  far  from  impossible  but  they 
might  have  forged  into  the  Spanish  fleet  as  the  other  two 
ships  did."  He  was  there,  he  could  do  nothing  else,  he  saw 
with  his  rapid  glance  that  he  might  do  this,  and  he  did  it. 
And,  after  all,  it  was  a  big  thing,  —  this  boarding  a  first-rate 
ship  over  the  decks  of  another  hostile  ship,  not  inaptly  char- 
acterized in  the  fleet  as  "Nelson's  patent  bridge."  We  must 
mark,  too,  or  we  shall  miss  significant  indications  of  character, 
that  the  same  qualities  which  led  him  to  the  quarter-deck  of 
the  "  San  Josef "  had  led  him  but  an  hour  before  from  the 
rear  of  the  fleet  to  the  van   to  save  the  fight,  —  the  same 


I  '\ 


iv. 


i'i  '  ■ 


230 


TIIK   LIFK   DF   NEI.SOX 


u 


1  li  i 


J' 


■  il 


yi 


quickness  to  see  opportunity,  the  same  promptness  to  seize  it, 
the  same  audacity  to  control  it.  Tlie  brilliant  crowning  of 
the  (lay  may  he  hut  an  ornament,  but  it  sits  wcjII  and  fitly 
upon  the  knightly  deed  that  rolled  back  the  tide  of  battle  in 
the  hour  of  need. 

Those  Spanish  ships  of  the  weather  division  Avhich  were 
first  encountered  by  Nelson,  after  he  wore  out  of  tlie  line,  bore 
the  brunt  of  the  fighting.  As  the  whole  division  continued  to 
stand  on  close  to  the  wind,  these  ships,  be(!oming  crippled, 
dropped  astern  of  their  consorts,  and  so  first  received  the 
broadsides  of  the  IJritish  van  as  that  arrived.  l>eing  also  the 
leaders  in  the  movement  frustrated  by  Nelson,  they  became 
the  most  leewardly ;  and,  as  the  British  van  on  coming  up 
passed  to  leeward,  tliis  contributed  further  to  concentrate  fire 
upon  the  same  vessels.  Among  them  was  the  "Santisima 
Trinidad,"  of  four  decks  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  guns, 
then  the  largest  ship  of  war  in  the  world.  When  CoUingwood 
passed  ahead  of  Nelson,  he  engaged  her,  but  not  as  near  as  he 
wished,  and  could  have  done,  had  not  the  "  Excellent's " 
rigging  been  so  cut  as  to  j)revent  her  hauling  close  to  the 
wind.  She  was  also  brought  to  action  by  Sir  James  Saumarez, 
in  the  "  Orion,"  and  towards  the  close  of  her  contest  with  the 
latter  ship  showed  a  British  Union  Jack,  —  a  token  of  sub- 
mission possibly  unauthorized,  as  it  was  almost  immediately 
hauled  in  again.  Besides  those  boarded  by  Nelson,  two  other 
enemy's  ships  had  already  struck. 

It  was  now  after  four  o'clock,  and  the  other  Spanish  divi- 
sion, of  eight  ships,  was  heading  for  the  scene  and  near  at 
hand.  Although  effectually  blocked  in  their  first  attempt  to 
pierce  the  British  line,  these  had  not  received  such  injury  as 
to  detract  seriously  from  their  efficiency.  Continuing  to  stand 
south-southwest,  after  the  British  began  tacking,  they  at  last 
gained  ground  sufficiently  to  come  up  to  windward,  the  side 
on  which  their  other  division  was.  In  view  of  the  now  in- 
evitable junction  of  a  great  number  of  comparatively  fresh 
ships,  and  of  the  casualties  in  his  own  vessels,  Jervis  decided 
to  discontinue  the  action.  He  ordered  his  fleet  to  form  on  the 
starboard  tack,  covering  the  four  prizes  and  the  "  Captain  ; " 
and  with  thio  done  the  firing  soon  ceased.  The  Spanish  divi- 
sions united,  and  carried  off  tlieir  other  disabled  ships. 


m 


divi- 
lear  at 
mpt  to 
ury  as 
stand 
last 
le  side 
ow  iu- 
fresli 
ecided 
on  the 
ain  ; " 
h  divi- 


IJATTLE   OF   CAPE   ST,   VINCENT 


::57 


Nelson's  a(',(3ount  of  the  jji-oceedings  of  the  "  Captain "  on 
the  14th  of  February,  having  been  published  not  long  after- 
wards, appar(!iitly  by  his  authority,  was  ehallenged  as  in- 
correct by  Vice-xVdniiral  William  I'arker,  commanding  tlie  van, 
whose  flag  was  onboard  the  third  liritish  ship,  the  "Prince 
George.'"  Parker  claimed  that  the  latter,  with  the  "Blen- 
heim "  and  "  Orion,"  had  been  much  closer  to  the  "  Captain  " 
and  "Cullouen"  than  was  implied  in  Nelson's  narrative  by 
the  words,  "  For  near  an  hour,  I  believe,  (but  do  not  pretend 
to  be  correc't  as  to  time,)  did  the  Culloden  and  Captain  sup- 
port this  apparently,  but  not  really,  unequal  contest ;  when 
the  Blenheim,  passing  between  us  and  the  enemy,  gave  us  a 
respite."  Parker  labored  under  the  misfortune  of  a  singularly 
involved  and  obscure  style,  while  in  two  separate  papers  he 
contradicted  himself  more  than  once  on  points  of  detail ;  but 
the  tone  of  his  letter  to  Nelson  was  temperate  and  dignified, 
and  he  asserted  that,  "so  different  to  your  statement,  very 
soon  after  you  commenced  your  fire,  you  had  four  ships  press- 
ing on  [Culloden,  Blenheim,  Prince  George,  and  Orion], 
almost  on  board  of  each  other,  close  in  your  rear;  but"  —  and 
the  admission  following  must  be  noted  as  well  as  the  charge 
—  "  the  shins  thus  pressing  ui)on  each  other,  and  the  tivo  latter 
not  far  enoiifjh  ahead  to  five  with  ■proper  effect^  besides  having 
none  of  the  enemy's  ships  left  in  the  rear  for  our  succeeding 
ships,  at  forty-three  ^  minutes  past  one  I  made  the  signal  to 
fill  and  stand  on."  Parker  had  also  stated,  in  his  log  of  the 
action,  that  the  brunt  fell  upon  the  "  Captain,"  the  "  Cul- 
loden," and  the  "Blenheim,"  but  more  particularly  the  two 
former;  "  from  their  being  more  in  the  van." 

It  appears  to  the  writer  probable  that  Nelson  overestimated 
the  period  that  he  and  Troubridge  remained  unsupported ; 
time  would  seem  long  to  the  bravest  man,  when  opposed  to 
such  heavy  odds.  Parker  seems  to  have  reckoned  it  to  be 
about  fifteen  minutes,  and  he  admits  that  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  open  fire  with  proper  effect  for  some  time,  although 
close  on  the  heels  of  the  "Captain"  and  the  "Culloden,"  be- 
cause he  could  not  get  abreast  of  the  enemy.     All  the  ships  — 

1  The  italics  are  the  author's. 

-  In  his  letter  to  Nelson  tliis  is  thirteen,  but  evidently  a  slip.  His  log  of 
the  action  savs  fortv-three. 


I      I.; 


i   •■ 


.  1 


23S 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Spanish  and  British  —  were  moving  ahead,  probably  at  not 
very  different  rates  of  speed.  The  "  Prince  George  "  certainly 
becaiue  in  the  end  actively  and  closely  engaged,  much  of  the 
time  with  the  "  San  Josef,"  a  ship  of  force  superior  to  her 
own. 

Nelson's  account  is  a  simple,  if.  somewhat  exultant,  nar- 
rative of  the  facts  as  they  passed  under  his  observation ;  and, 
except  in  the  statement  to  which  Parker  objected,  they  do  not 
even  inferentially  carry  an  imputation  upon  any  one  else. 
There  was  a  reflection,  though  scarcely  intended,  upon  the 
van  ships,  which  should  have  been,  and  Parker  says  were, 
close  behind  the  "  Culloden ; "  but  the  attack  was  upon  the 
extreme  rear  of  the  enemy,  and  Nelson  probably  forgot  that 
readers  might  not  understand,  as  he  did,  that  the  ships  behind 
him  must  need  some  time  to  get  up,  and  that  his  own  posi- 
tion, abreast  the  enemy's  rear,  was  in  itself  an  obstacle  to 
their  reaching  a  place  whence  their  batteries  could  bear,  with 
the  limited  train  of  broadside  guns  in  those  days. 

Another  and  interesting  illustration  of  the  injustice  a  man 
may  thus  unintentionally  do,  through  inadvertence,  is  afforded 
by  Nelson's  accounts  of  St.  Vincent.  There  were  two  drawn 
up  on  board  the  "Cai^tain,"  —  one  by  himself  in  his  own 
hand;  the  second  simply  signed  by  him,  Miller,  and  Berry. 
It  is  quite  evident  that  the  latter  is  based  upon  the  former, 
much  of  the  phraseology  being  identical;  but  the  whole  is 
toned  down  in  many  points.  The  instance  of  unintentional 
injustice  is  this.  In  his  autograph  account.  Nelson,  thinking 
only  of  himself,^  speaks  of  his  going  with  the  boarders,  and 
makes  no  mention  of  the  captain  of  the  ship,  Miller,  whose 
proper  business  it  would  be  rather  than  his.  In  the  revision, 
Miller  would  naturally  feel  that  his  failure  to  board  should 
be  accounted  for,  and  it  contains  accordingly  the  statement, 
"  Captain  Miller  was  in  the  very  act  of  going  also,  but  I 
directed  him  to  remain."  Berry's  hand  also  appears;  for 
whereas  Nelson's  own  account  of  boarding  the  "  San  Josef " 
simply   says,    "  I  got  into   her  main-chains,"   the   published 

^  Both  papei's  are  headed  :  "  A  few  remarks  relative  to  myself  in  the  Cap- 
tain," etc.  It  is  unfortunate  that  Nicolas,  in  giving  these  two  papers,  puts 
first  the  one  which,  from  internal  indicatious,  is  (in  the  author's  judgment) 
the  later  in  date. 


■^J 


he  Cap- 
rs,  puts 
gment) 


CONTROVERSY   WITH    ADMIRAL  PARKER 


239 


copy   reads,    "Captain  Berry   assisting    me   into  the   main- 
chains." 

So  too  with  reference  to  Packer's  controversy.  In  the  first 
draft  there  occurs  tlie  unqualified  statement:  "For  an  hour 
the  CuHoden  and  Captain  supported  this  apparently  unequal 
contest."  The  revision  reads  :  "  For  near  an  hour,  1  believe, 
{l)ut  do  not  ])rete)id  to  be  correct  cs  to  time,y  did  Culloden  and 
Captain,"  etc.  Parker  quotes  from  the  revision,  which  was 
therefore  the  one  published,  but  does  not  quote  the  words 
italicized.  Probably,  if  the  "  Blenheim "  and  the  "  St. 
George  "  had  had  a  hand  in  this  revision,  there  would  have 
been  more  modification;  but  ^Jelson  did  not  realize  where  he 
was  hurting  them,  any  more  than  he  did  in  Miller's  case. 

The  love  of  glory,  the  ardent  desire  for  honorable  dis- 
tinction by  honorable  deeds,  is  among  the  most  potent  and 
elevating  of  military  motives,  which  in  no  breast  has  burned 
with  a  purer  flame  than  in  that  of  Nelson ;  but  it  is  better 
that  officers  leave  the  public  telling  of  their  own  exploits  to 
others,  and  it  is  evident  that  Nelson,  when  taken  to  task, 
realized  uncomfortably  that  he  had  not  exercised  due  thouglit- 
fulness.  Parker  refrained  from  addressing  liim  till  he  had 
received  the  printed  acccmnt.  This  was  not  till  July,  and  his 
remonstrance  reached  Nelson  shortly  after  the  loss  of  his  arm 
at  Teneriffp,  when  on  his  way  home  for  what  proved  to  be  a 
t(!dious  and  painful  recovery.  He  was  then  suffering,  not 
only  from  pain  and  weakness,  but  also  from  discouragement 
about  his  professional  future,  which  he  thought  threatened  by 
disability,  and  for  these  conditions  allowance  must  be  made ; 
but  for  all  this  his  reply  did  not  compare  favorably  with 
Parker's  letter,  which  had  been  explicit  in  its  complaint  as 
well  as  moderate  in  expression.  He  wrote  curtly :  "  I  must 
acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  25th  of  July ; 
and,  after  declaring  that  I  ktiow  nothing  of  the  Prince  George 
till  she  was  hailed  from  the  forecastle  of  the  San  Nicolas,*^  it 
is  impossible  I  can  enter  into  the  subject  of  your  letter." 

This  course  was  the  more  ungenerous,  because  no  explana- 
tion, or  even  admission  of  involuntary  wrong  done,  could  have 
detracted  in  the  least  from  the  abounding  credit  due  and  ac- 

1  Author's  italics. 

^  Hailed  to  .stop  firing,  because  the  "  San  Nicolas"  had  surrendered. 


(   .  ( 


iM 


;); 


'  *>' 


;vi 


■ ) 


ML' 


240 


'IHE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


I  M 


corded  to  Nelson  for  his  conduct  at  St.  Vincent,  wliicli  indeed 
did  not  depend  upon  tlie  length  of  time  ho  remained  unsup- 
ported, but  upon  the  rapidity  and  fearlessness  with  which  he 
had  acted  aright  at  a  very  critical  juncture.  Tliis  had  been 
done  so  openly,  under  the  eyes  of  all  men,  that  it  could  by  no 
means  be  hid.  Collingwood  liad  borne  witness  to  it,  in  words 
wliich  have  been  quoted.  Drinkwater  and  Elliot  had  watched 
the  whole  from  the  d.ok  of  their  frigate.  The  latter  had 
written  to  him  :  "  To  have  had  any  share  in  yesterday's  glory 
is  honour  enough  for  one  man's  life,  but  to  have  been  fore- 
most on  su(di  a  day  could  fall  to  your  share  alone."  The 
commander-in-chief  had  come  out  to  greet  him  upon  the 
quarter-deck  of  the  Hagship,  —  a  compliment  naval  officers 
can  appreciate,  —  had  there  embraced  him,  saying  he  could 
not  sufficiently  thank  him,  and  "  used  every  kind  expression 
which  could  not  fail  to  make  me  happy."  Jervis  had  also 
insisted  upon  his  keeping  the  sword  of  the  Spanish  rear- 
admiral   who   fell  on   board  the   "San  Josef." 

Before  dropping  this  subject,  wMch  has  the  unpleasantness 
that  attends  all  contentions  between  individuals  about  their 
personal  deserts,  it  is  right  to  say  that  Nelson  had  held  from 
the  first  that  Collingwood,  Troubridge,  and  himself  were 
the  only  ones  "who  made  great  exertions  on  that  glorious 
day :  the  others  did  their  duty,  and  some  not  exactly  to  my 
satisfaction."  "  Sir  John  Jervis,"  he  continued,  "  is  not 
quite  contented,  but  says  nothing  publicly."  He  then  quotes 
an  anecdote  which,  if  he  had  it  from  Jervis,  confirms  his  own 
opinion  about  the  support  given.  "Calder  [the  Chief  of 
Staff]  said,  '  Sir,  the  Captain  and  Culloden  are  separated  from 
the  fleet,  and  unsupported :  shall  we  recall  them ? '  'I  will 
not  have  them  recalled.  I  put  my  faith  in  those  ships :  it  is  a 
disgrace  that  they  are  not  supported  and  [are]  separated.' " 

In  his  public  letter  Jervis  refrained  alike  from  praise  and 
from  blame.  He  mentions  but  one  name,  that  of  Calder,  as 
bearer  of  despatches,  and  only  incidentally  says  that  he  has 
been  useful  to  him  at  all  times.  In  a  private  letter  to  the 
First  Lord  he  was  more  explicit,  yet  scarcely  adequately  so. 
Whatever  momentary  expression  of  impatience  escaped  him, 
when  anxious  about  the  "Culloden"  and  "Captain,"  he  knew 
that  his  own  flagship  could  not  get  to  them  in  time  for  effi- 


AN  INTERESTING    ANECDOTE 


241 


ci(  at  support,  and  he  gives  as  the  reason  for  reticence  in  his 
public  letter  that  all  had  behaved  well,  and  that  he  was  "  cou- 
tident  that  had  those  who  were  least  in  action  been  in  the 
situation  of  the  fortunate  few,  their  conduct  would  not  have 
been  less  meritorious."  He  then  mentions  by  name  Trow- 
bridge,—  who  led  the  fleet,  —  Nelson,  and  CoUingwood,  and 
five  ships  (without  the  names  of  the  captains,  "  Blenheim," 
<'  Prince  George,"  "  Orion,"  "  Irresistible,"  and  "  Colossus," 
which  "gallantly  supported"  Troubridge,  though  just  where 
or  when  is  not  specified.  "  The  ships'  returns  of  killed  and 
wounded,"  he  says  explicitly,  "although  not  always  the 
criterion  of  their  being  more  or  less  in  action,  is,  in  this  in- 
stance, correctly  so."  This  would  include  the  "Blenheim," 
whose  casualties  were  in  excess  of  any  except  the  "  Captain," 
and  Parker's  ship,  the  "  Prince  George,"  which  lost  not  many 
less  than  Collingwood.  The  "  Captain's "  loss  in  killed, 
twenty-four,  was  double  that  of  any  other  ship,  and  in  killed 
and  wounded  nearly  one-third  that  of  the  whole  fleet. 

An  interesting  anecdote  of  Jervis  shows  the  importance 
conceded  by  him  to  Nelson's  action.  It  rests  on  good  author- 
ity, and  is  eminently  characteristic  of  one  who  valued  beyond 
most  traits  in  an  officer  the  power  to  assume  responsibility. 
"  The  test  of  a  man's  courage,"  he  used  to  say,  "  is  responsi- 
bility." In  the  evening,  while  talking  over  the  events  of  the 
day,  Calder  spoke  of  Nelson's  wearing  out  of  the  line  as  an 
unauthorized  departure  from  the  method  of  attack  prescribed 
by  the  admiral.  "  It  certainly  was  so,"  replied  Jervis,  "  and 
if  ever  you  commit  such  a  breach  of  your  orders,  I  will  for- 
give you  also."  Success  covers  many  faults,  yet  it  is  difficult 
to  believe  that  had  Nelson  been  overwhelmed,  the  soundness; 
of  his  judgment  and  his  resolution  would  not  equally  have 
had  the  applause  of  a  man,  who  had  just  fought  twenty-seven 
ships  with  fifteen,  because  "a  victory  was  essential  to  Eng- 
land at  that  moment."  The  justification  of  departure  from 
orders  lies  not  in  success,  but  in  the  conditions  of  the  case ; 
and  Jervis  was  not  one  to  overlook  these,  nor  hereafter  to 
forget  that  only  one  man  in  his  fleet  had  both  seen  the  thing 
to  do  and  dared  the  responsibility  of  doing  it. 

A  victory  so  signal  entailed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  a  number 
of  those  rewards  and  titles  with  which  Great  Britain  judiciously 

16 


V 


I    ' 


,  f- 


1; 

\ 

jNil 

••  i 


i,'42 


TIIIC    LIFK   OF  NELSOX 


fostered  the  sjiirit  of  emulation  in  her  Xavy.  These  w';re  to 
a  eoMsideruble  extent  alTuirs  of  routine  and  precedent,  and  Nel- 
son, knowing  that  junior  tiag-othcers  had  on  several  previous 
oceasionu  been  made  baronets,  wished  to  avoid  this  hereditary 
dignity  because  inconsistent  with  his  meiius.  His  love  of 
distinction  also  prompted  him  to  desire  one  of  those  Orders 
whi(!h  carry  with  them  tlie  outward  token  of  merit,  ^teeting 
iJrinkwater  the  day  after  the  battle,  he  expressed  his  reluc- 
tance to  the  baronetage,  and  upon  the  other's  asking  him 
whether  he  would  prefer  to  be  a  Knight  of  the  liath,  ho  re- 
plied, "Yes  ;  if  my  services  have  been  of  any  value,  let  them 
be  noticed  in  a  way  that  the  public  may  know  them."  To 
Elliot,  who  was  about  to  return  at  once  to  England,  he  wrote, 
asking  him  to  make  known  his  wishes  to  the  Admiralty.  "If 
you  can  be  instrumental  in  keeping  back  what  I  expect  will 
happen,  it  will  be  an  additional  obligation.  I  conceive  to 
take  hereditary  honours  without  a  fortune  to  support  the 
dignity,  is  to  lower  that  honour  it  would  be  my  ])ride  to  sup- 
port in  proper  splendour.  Tiiere  are  other  honours  which  die 
with  the  possessor,  and  1  should  be  proud  to  accept,  if  my 
efforts  are  thought  worthy  of  the  favour  of  my  King." 

Elliot  started  for  England  a  few  days  afterwards,  and 
reached  London  at  a  time  when  the  whole  country  was  ring- 
ing with  the  news  of  the  victory.  Arriving  at  such  a  propi- 
tious moment,  there  could  have  been  for  Nelson  no  better 
advocate  than  this  man,  placed  high  in  political  councils,  and 
having  to  give  to  the  Ministry  a  long  account  of  his  career  in 
the  Mediterranean,  throughout  the  whole  of  which  the  two 
had  been  in  intimate  contact  and  constant  correspondence. 
Himself  an  eye-witness,  and  tilled  with  enthusiasm  for  Nelson's 
latest  exploit,  Elliot  knew  better  than  any  one  that  it  was  no 
sporadic  outburst,  but  oidy  a  signal  manifestation  of  the 
intuitive  sagacity,  the  flashing  promptness,  and  the  sustained 
energy,  whose  steady  fires  he  had  known  to  burn,  Avithout 
slackening  of  force  or  change  of  motive,  through  two  years  of 
close  personal  association  in  public  action  to  a  common  end. 
The  government  thus  learned  more  of  him  than  can  easily 
transpire  under  ordinary  service  conditions,  or  be  shown  even 
by  an  incident  like  that  at  St.  Vincent ;  and  Elliot's  admira- 
tion, free  from  all  bias  of  professional  partiality  or  profes- 


MADI-:   A   KNIGHT  OF  TllK   UATll 


243 


sional  jeiiloi'  ',  .'oubtles.s  vis  more  usui'ul  to  Nelson  thiin 
any  niirnitive  of  his  own  could  have  been.  Even  the  royal 
favor  was  conciliated,  dcsinto  the  obstinate  temper  which 
yielded  prejudices  with  difficulty.  "I  must  rejoice,"  wrote 
Nelson  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  who  had  mentioned  to  him 
the  King's  approval,  *'in  having  gained  the  gooO  opinion  of 
my  Sovereign,  which  I  once  was  given  to  uiiderstand  I  had  no 
likelihood  of  enjoying."  ^  It  was  to  the  honor  of  the  monarch 
that  he  was  thus  as  pliant  to  admit  merit  in  an  officer  as  yet 
only  rising  to  distinction,  as  he  was  fii'm  at  a  later  day  to 
stamp  with  the  marks  of  his  displeasure  the  Hagraut  moral 
aberration  of  the  then  world-renowned  admiral. 

The  coveted  Knighthood  of  the  Bath  was  accorded  on  the 
17th  of  March,  "in  order,"  wrote  the  First  Lord,  "to  mark 
the  lloyal  approbation  v.i  your  successful  and  gallant  exer- 
tions on  several  occasions  during  the  course  of  the  present 
war  in  the  IVIediterranean,  and  more  particularly  of  your  very 
distinguished  conduct  in  the  glorious  and  brilliant  victory 
obtained  over  the  fleet  of  Spain  by  His  Majesty's  fleet,  on  the 
14th  of  February  last."  Nelson's  delight  was  great  and  char- 
acteristic. Material  rewards  were  not  in  his  eyes  the  nujst 
roal  or  the  richest.  '*  Chains  and  Medals,"  he  wrote  to  his 
brother,  "are  what  no  fortune  or  connexion  in  England  can 
obtain  ;  and  I  shall  feel  prouder  of  those  than  all  the  titles  in 
the  King's  power  to  bestow."  To  his  wife  he  said :  "  Though 
Ave  can  afford  no  more  than  a  cottage  —  yet,  with  a  contented 
mind,  my  chains,  medals,  and  ribbons  are  all  sufficient."  To 
receive  honor  was  second  to  no  possession,  except  that  of 
knowing  he  had  deserved  it. 

On  the  evening  of  the  Battle  of  St.  Vincent,  soon  after  the 
firing  ceased.  Nelson  shifted  his  commodore's  pendant  to  the 
"  Irresistible,"  of  seventy-four  guns,  the  "  Captain "  being 
unmanageable  from  the  damage  done  to  her  spars  and  rigging. 
Her  hull  also  had  been  so  battered,  that  he  wrote  a  few  days 
later  she  would  never  be  able  to  receive  him  again,  which 
proved  to  be  true ;  for  although,  after  she  had  been  patched 
up,  he  returned  to  her  temporarily,  a  newly  fitted  ship,  the 
"Theseus,"  seventy-four,  was  assigned  to  his  flag,  as  soon  as 
a  reinforcement  arrived  from  England. 

1  See  ante,  page  89. 


Pi 


I  i 


I.: 


'K  ■■'j1 


!■ 


!    rt  .  ^ 


1     ^'[^i 


!      .         I 


■'m 


Cil 


(:l 


244 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


r  , 


:i 


Ml! 


After  a  vain  effort  to  reach  the  Tagus  against  contrary 
winds,  with  disabled  ships,  Jervis  decided  to  take  his  fleet 
into  Lagos  Bay,  an  open  roadstead  on  the  southern  coast  of 
Portugal,  and  there  to  refit  sutKciently  to  make  the  passage 
to  Lisbon.  While  lying  at  Lagos  Nelson  became  a  liear- 
Adniiral  of  the  Blue,  by  a  flag-promotion  dated  on  the  20th 
of  February,  although  his  flag  was  not  hoisted  until  the  first 
of  April,  when  the  oflicial  notification  of  his  advancement  was 
received  by  him.  He  was  then  thirty-eight  and  a  half  years 
of  age.  In  this  rank  he  remained  until  after  the  Battle  of  the 
Nile  was  fought,  but  it  mattered  comparatively  little  where 
he  stood  on  the  list  of  flag-officers,  while  Jervis  commanded ; 
that  he  was  an  admiral  at  all  made  it  possible  to  commit  to 
liiin  undertakings  for  which  he  was  pre-eminently  qualified, 
but  which  could  scarcely  have  been  intrusted  to  a  simple 
captain  by  any  stretching  of  service  methods,  always  —  and 
not  improperly  — conservative. 

On  the  23d  of  February  the  fleet  sailed  again,  and  on  the 
28th  anchored  in  the  Tagus.  The  same  day  Nelson  wrote  to 
his  wife  that  he  was  to  go  to  sea  on  the  2'^  of  March,  v/ith 
three  ships-of-the-line,  to  look  out  for  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico, 
who  was  reported  to  be  on  his  v/ay  to  Cadiz,  also  with  three 
ships-of-the-line,  laden  with  treasure.  "  Two  are  first-rates," 
said  he,  "  but  the  larger  the  ships  the  better  the  mark,  and 
who  will  not  fight  for  dollars?"  Foul  winds  prevented  his 
getting  away  until  the  5th.  From  that  date  until  tlie  12th  of 
April  he  remained  cruising  between  Cape  St.  Vincent  and  the 
coast  of  Africa,  covering  the  approaches  to  Cadiz;  frigates 
and  smaller  vessels  being  spread  out  to  the  westward,  to  gain 
timely  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  specie  ships,  upon  whose 
safe  arrival  Spain  depended  both  for  her  commercial  affairs 
and  her  naval  preparations. 

But  while  thus  actively  employed,  and  not  insensible  to  the 
charm  of  dollars,  the  immediate  business  on  board  was  not  in 
itself  so  engrossing,  nor  to  him  so  attractive,  as  to  obtain  that 
exclusivencFS  of  attention  which  he  prided  himself  upon  giving 
to  matters  more  military  in  character,  and  more  critical  in 
importance.  '*  The  Spaniards  threaten  us  they  will  come  out, 
and  take  their  revenge,"  he  writes  to  an  occasional  corre- 
spondent.    "  The  sooner  the  better ;  but  I  will  not  believe  it 


ANXIKTY   AlJOUT  TlIK 


GAKUISON 


245 


till  I  see  it ;  and  if  they  do,  what  will  the  mines  of  Mexico 
and  Peru  signify,  comijared  with  the  honour  I  doubt  not  we 
shall  gain  by  lighting  an  angry  D(ni  ?  Tliey  will  have  thirty 
sail  of  the  line,  we  twenty  or  twenty-two  ;  but  iear  we  sliall 
have  a  peace  before  they  are  ready  to  come  out.  What 
a  sad  thing  that  will  be  !  "  His  mind  reverts  to  the  troops 
in  Elba,  which  had  been  left  in  a  most  exposed  position,  and 
were  now  about  to  withdraw  under  the  protection  of  some 
frigates,  passing  through  a  thousand  miles  of  hostile  sea  open 
to  the  line-of-battle  ships  at  Toulon.  He  is  more  concorned 
about  them  than  about  his  possible  prize-money  in  the  rich 
ships  from  Vera  Cruz  and  Havana,  whose  danger  from  his  own 
squadron  was  agitating  all  Spain.  "  Respecting  myself,"  he 
writes  to  Jervis,  "I  wish  to  stay  at  sea,  and  I  beg,  if  line-of- 
battle  ships  are  left  out,^  either  on  this  side  the  Gut,  or  to  the 
eastward  of  Gibraltar,  that  i  may  be  the  man.  This  brings 
forward  a  subject  which  I  own  is  uppermost  in  my  mind,  — 
that  of  the  safety  of  our  troops,  should  they  embark  from  Elba. 
The  French  have  a  number  of  ships  at  Toulon.  They  may 
get  two,  three,  or  four  ready,  with  a  number  of  frigates,  and 
make  a  push  for  our  convoy.  I  am  ready,  you  know,  to  go 
eastward  to  cover  them,  even  to  Porto  Ferrajo,  or  off  Toulon, 
or  Minorca,  as  you  may  judge  proper." 

This  exposed  tletachment  continued  to  occupy  his  thoughts. 
A  month  later,  on  the  11th  of  April,  he  again  writes  :  "  I  own, 
Sir,  my  fedings  are  alive  for  the  safety  of  our  army  from 
Elba.  If  i  'le  French  get  out  two  sail  of  the  line,  which  I  am 
confident  ^  '  y  may  do,  our  troops  are  lost,  nnd  what  a  trium})h 
that  woul  ;  be  to  them  !  I  know  you  have  many  difhculties  to 
contend  with,  but  I  am  anxious  that  nothing  should  miscarry 
imder  your  orders.  If  you  think  a  detachment  can  be  spared, 
I  am  ready  to  go  and  do  my  best  for  their  protection."  In 
both  letters  he  apologizes  for  this  freedom  of  urgency  with 
his  superior  :  "  I  have  said  much,  but  you  have  spoiled  me  by 
allowing  me  to  speak  and  write  freely.  I  trust  you  will  not 
imagine  that  my  taking  the  gi  iat  liberty  of  thus  mentioning 
my  thoughts,  arises  from  any  other  motive  than  affection 
towards  you." 

Jervis  had  already  joined  him  on  the  1st  of  April,  before 

1  That  is,  at  sea,  the  main  fleet  being  still  in  the  Tagus. 


1.^ 


^       I 


',  ■  I 


I        j. 


I'i  HI 


'i 


240 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


.      I 


the  second  letter  was  written.     His  hesitation  about  sending 
tlie  detachment  suggested  by  Nelson  had   arisen,   not  from 
doubt  as  to  the  danger  of  the  troops,  but  from  the  imminent 
expectation  of  the    Spanish  fleet  coming   out.     'J^he   British 
force  was  already  too  inferior,  numerically,  to  risk  any  dimi- 
nution,  in   view    of   such   a   contingency.     Confronted   with 
divergent  objects,  Jervis  would  not  be  drawn  into  the  snare 
of  dividing  his   force ;  but  after  reconnoitring  the  port,   he 
was  satisfied  that  the  Spaniards  could  not  sail  before  Xelson 
had  time  to  fulfil  the  proposed  mission,  and  on  tlie  12th  of 
April  he  gave  him  the  necessary  orders.     The  latter  trans- 
ferred  his    own    squadron   to   the   command   of    Sir    James 
Saumarez,  and    started    at    once.      He  had  now  returned  to 
the  "  Captain,"  which  had  doubtless  come  down  with  Jervis. 
"  She  is  little  better  than  a  wreck,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend ; 
but  the  cripples   had  to  be  kept  to  the  front,  pending  the 
arrival  of  fresh  ships.     Besides  her,  he  had  the  "  Colossus," 
seventy-four,   and   "Leander,"  fifty,  with  a  suitable  number 
of  smaller  cruisers.     Passing  within  gunshot  of  Port  Mahon 
in   Minorca,  he  heard  from   several   passing   vessels   that   a 
French  scpiadron  of    four  ships-of-the-line  was  at  sea,  as  he 
had  anticipated  ;  and  these,  he  afterwards  learned,  were  seen 
off  Minorca  only  twenty-two  hours  before  he  passed.     Fortu- 
nately a  fresh  northwest  gale  had  carried  them  to  the  south- 
ward, and  on  the  21st  of  April,  sixty  miles  west  of  Corsica, 
he   joined   the   convoy,  which   carried   over   three   thousand 
soldiers.     He  reached  Gibraltar  with  it  in  safety  in  the  early 
days  of  May,  without  adventures  of  any  kind.     "  I  observed  a 
man-of-war  brig  evidently  looking  at  us ;  but  my  charge  was 
too  important  to  separate  one  ship  in  chase  of  her,  especially 
as  three  frigates  had  parted  company  ;  for  until  this  garrison 
is  safe  down,  I  do  not  think  our  business  is  well  finished." 
Its  arrival  completed  the  evacuation  of  the  Mediterranean. 

At  Gibraltar  several  days  were  spent,  evidently  crowded 
with  administrative  details  concerning  the  coming  and  going  of 
convoys,  for  there  is  here  an  almost  total  cessation  of  Nelson's 
usually  copious  letter-writing.  An  interesting  and  instructive 
incident  is,  however,  made  known  to  us  by  one  of  the  three 
letters  dated  during  these  ten  days.  The  Consul  of  the 
United  States  of  America  had  to  apply  to  him  for  the  pro- 


.7  :t 


CLOSE  BLOCKADE   OF  CADIZ 


247 


tectiou  of  twelve  American  merchant  ships,  tlien  at  Malaga, 
against  the  probable  depredations  of  Frencli  privateers  lying 
in  that  port,  which,  under  the  edicts  of  the  government  of  the 
French  Republic,  with  whom  the  United  States  was  at  peace, 
were  expected  to  overhaul  and  capture  them  when  they  sailed. 
Nelson  at  once  complied,  ordering  a  British  frigate  to  go  to 
Malaga  and  escort  the  vessels  to  the  Barbary  coast,  and  even 
out  of  the  Straits,  if  necessary.  In  doing  this,  he  wrote  cour- 
teously to  the  Consul :  "  I  am  sure  of  f ul  illing  the  wishes  of 
my  Sovereign,  and  I  hope  of  strengthening  the  harmony  which 
at  present  so  happily  subsist",  between  the  two  nations." 

On  the  24th  of  May  Nelson  rejoined  the  admiral  off  Cadiz, 
and  on  the  27th  shifted  his  own  flag  into  the  "  Theseus."  Tlie 
day  before  he  left  the  fleet,  April  11th,  Jcrvis  had  decided  to 
inst'Uite  a  strict  commercial  blockade  of  Cadiz,  with  the  object 
of  distressing  Spanish  trade,  preventing  the  entrance  of  sup- 
plies, upon  which  depended  the  operations  of  Spain  against 
Portugal,  as  well  as  her  naval  preparations,  and  so  forcing  the 
Spanish  fleet  out  to  fight,  in  order  to  rid  itself  of  such  embar- 
rassment. Nelson,  as  commander  of  the  inshore  squadron, 
had  then  issued  the  necessary  notices  to  neutrals  in  tlui  ]K)rt, 
and  to  this  charge  he  now  returned.  Under  Jervis's  intelli- 
gent partiality,  he,  the  junior  flag-officer,  was  thus  intrusted 
with  a  command,  which  in  the  conduct  of  details,  great  and 
small,  and  in  emergencies,  was  practically  independent.  Jervis, 
knowing  his  man,  was  content  to  liav^c  it  so,  reserving  of  course 
to  himself  the  decision  of  the  broad  outlines  of  military  exer- 
tion. The  inshore  squadron  was  gradually  increased  till  it 
numbered  ten  sail-of-the-line.  The  boats  of  the  fle(!t,  which 
had  been  rowing  guard  off  the  harlwr's  mouth  under  the 
general  supervision  of  the  two  senior  flag-officers,  were 
ordered,  shortly  after  Nelson's  arrival,  to  rejiort  to  him ; 
and  upon  him,  indeed,  devolved  pretty  nearly  all  the  active 
enteri)rises  of  the  fleet.  It  was  his  practice  to  visit  the  line 
of  boats  every  night  in  his  barge,  to  see  by  personal  inspec- 
tion of  these  outposts  that  his  instructions  were  fully  observed. 
"Our  inferiority,"  he  wrote  about  this  time,  "is  greater  thim 
before.  I  am  barely  out  of  shot  of  a  Spanish  rear-admiral.  The 
Dons  hope  for  peace,  but  must  soon  fight  us,  if  the  war  goes  on." 

Another  motive,  perhaps  even  more   imperative  than   the 


•   ii 


•  i\i 


> 


'.  I 


i:-V 


III  in 


A. 


V 


i    I 


tl- 


THE  LIFK  OF  NKLSON 


ii 


wish  to  force  the  Dons  out,  now  compelled  Jervis  to  seek  by 
all  means  to  increase  the  activity  of  his  fleet,  and  to  intrust 
the  management  of   such  activities  to  his  most  zealous  and 
capable  subordinate.     These  were  the  months  of   the   great 
mutinies  of  the  British  Navy,  in  which  the  seamen  of  the 
Channel  fleet,  and  of  the  North  Sea  fleet,  at  the  Nore,  had 
taken  the  shijjs  out  of  the  hands  of  their  oflicers.     The  details 
of  Jervis's  management,  which  was  distinguished  as  much  by 
keen  judgment  and  foresight  as  by  iron-handed  severity,  that 
knew    neither   fear  nor  ruth  when  it   struck,   belong  to  his 
biography,  not  to  Nelson's;  but  it  is  necessary  to  note  the 
attitude  of  the  latter,  a  man  more  sympathetic,  and  in  common 
life  gentler,  than  his  stern  superior.     Always  solicitous  for 
everything  that  increased  the  well-being  and  happiness  of  his 
crew,  —  as  indeed  was  eminently  the  case  with  Jervis  also,  — 
he  did  not  withhold  his  candid  sympathy  from  the  grievances 
alleged  by  the  Channel  fleet;  grievances  which,  when  temper- 
ately ])rcsented  to  the  authorities,  had  been  ignored.     "  I  am 
entirely  with  the  seamen  in  their  first  complaint.     We  are  a 
neglected  set,  and,  when  peace  comes,  are  shamefully  treated ; 
but  for  the  Nore  scoundrels,"  passing  on  to  those  who  had 
rebelled  after  substantial  redress  had  been   given,  and  had 
made  unreasonable  demands  when  the  nation  was  in  deadly 
peril,  "  I  should  be  happy  to  command  a  ship  against  them." 
Jervis's  measures  received  full  support  from  him,  clear-headed 
as  ever  to  see  the  essentials  of  a  situation.     The  senior  vice- 
admiral,  for  instance,  went  so   far  as   to  criticise  the  com- 
mander-in-chief for  hanging  a  convicted  mutineer  on  Sunday. 
"  Had  it  been  Christmas  Day  instead  of  Sunday,"  wrote  Nel- 
son,  "  I    would   have   executed   them.     We   know   not   what 
might  have  been  hatched  by  a  Sunday's  grog :  7iow  your  dis- 
cipline  is   safe."      His   glorious   reputation  and  his  known 
kindly   character,  supported   by   that   of  his   captain,   made 
mutiny  impossible   under  his  flag.     It  had  not  been  up  a 
month  on  board  the  "Theseus,"  which  was  lately  from  the 
Channel   and   infected   with  the   prevalent    insubordination, 
Avhen  a  paper  was  dropped  on  the  quarter-deck,  expressing 
the  devotion  of  the  ship's  company  to  their  commander,  and 
pledging  that  the  name  of  the  "  Theseus  "  should  yet  be  as 
renowned  as  that  of  the  "Captain." 


CLOSE   BLOCKADE   OF   CADIZ 


240 


The  stringent  blockade,  and  the  fears  for  the  specie  sliips, 
weighed  heavily  on  the  Spaniards,  who  wei-e  not  as  a  nation 
liearty  in  support  of  a  war  into  which  they  had  been  coerced 
by  France.  Their  authorities  were  petitioned  to  compel  the 
fleet  to  go  out.  Whatever  the  event,  the  British  would  at 
least  have  to  retire  for  repairs ;  while  if  the  Lima  and  Havana 
ships  —  to  look  for  which  the  Cadiz  people  every  morning 
flocked  to  the  walls,  fearing  they  might  be  already  in  the 
enemy's  hands  —  should  be  captured,  the  merchants  of  Si)ain 
would  be  ruined.  Better  lose  ten  ships-of-the-line,  if  need  be, 
than  this  convoy.  With  rumors  of  this  sort  daily  reaching 
hiu},  Nelson's  faculties  were  in  a  constant  state  of  pleasing 
tension.  He  was  in  his  very  element  of  joyous  excitement 
and  expectation.  "  We  are  in  the  advance  day  and  night, 
prepared  for  battle ;  bulkheads  down,  ready  to  weigh,  cut,  or 
slip,^  as  the  occasion  may  require.  I  have  given  out  a  line  of 
battle  —  myself  to  lead  ;  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  I  will 
make  a  vigorous  attack  upon  them,  the  moment  their  noses 
are  outside  the  Diamond.  Pray  do  not  send  me  another 
ship,"  he  implores  ;  "  if  you  send  any  more,  they  may  believe 
we  are  prepared,  and  know  of  their  intention."  ''If  tht^y 
come  out,"  he  writes  later  to  a  naval  friend,  when  he  had 
ten  sail  under  him,  "there  will  be  no  fighting  beyond  my 
squadron." 

To  increase  yet  further  the  pressure  upon  the  Spanish  fleet 
to  come  out,  a  bombardment  was  planned  against  the  town 
and  the  shipping,  the  superintendence  of  which  also  was 
intrusted  to  the  commander  of  the  inshore  squadron.  Only 
one  bomb-vessel  was  provided,  so  that  very  extensive  results 
could  scarcely  have  been  anticipated,  but  Nelson  saw,  with 
evident  glee,  that  the  enemy's  gunboats  had  taken  advanced 
positions,  and  intended  to  have  a  hand  in  the  night's  work. 
«  So  much  the  better,"  wrote  he  to  Jervis  ;  "  I  wish  to  make  it 
a  warm  night  in  Cadiz.  If  they  venture  from  their  walls,  I 
shall  give  Johnny  «  his  full  scope  for  fighting.  It  will  serve 
to  talk  of  better  than  mischief."  "  It  is  good,"  he  writes  to 
another,  "  at  these  times  to  keep  the  devil  out  of  their  heads. 

1  Cut,  or  let  go,  the  cables,  —  leaving  the  anchor  in  haate,  instead  of  rais- 
ing it  from  the  bottom. 

'■'  The  British  seamen. 


-;■ 


rm:  II 

I,    m  ii'.i 
Mi 


fl 


t  A 


f^; 


r  V 


1    , 

V''  V 


V'^ 


! 


IVi 


i 

I 


250 


THE  LIFE   OE  NELSON 


I    ■      ■',  ,       J. 


I  had  rather  see  fifty  shot  by  the  enemy,  than  one  hanged 
by  us." 

Tlie  bombardment,  which  was  continued  upon  two  succes- 
sive nights,  did  little  direct  harm ;  but  it  led  to  a  sharp  hand- 
to-hand  contest  between  the  British  and  Spanisli  boats,  in 
which  Nelson  personally  bore  a  part,  and  upon  which  he 
seems  afterwards  to  have  dwelt  with  even  greater  pride  and 
self-satisfaction  than  upon  the  magnificent  victories  with 
which  his  name  is  associated.  "  It  was  during  this  period  that 
perhaps  my  personal  courage  was  more  conspicuous  than  at 
any  other  part  of  my  life."  On  the  first  night  the  Spaniards 
sent  out  a  great  number  of  mortar  gunboats  and  armed 
launches.  Upon  these  he  directed  a  vigorous  attack  to  be 
made,  which  resulted  in  their  being  driven  back  under  the 
walls  of  Cadiz ;  the  British,  who  pursued  them,  capturing  two 
boats  and  a  launch.  In  the  affray,  he  says,  "I  was  boarded  in 
my  barge  with  its  common  crew  of  ten  men,  coxswain.  Captain 
Freemantle,  and  myself,  by  the  commander  of  the  gunboats ; 
the  Spanish  barge  rowed  twenty-six  oars,  besides  officers,  — 
thirty  men  in  the  whole.  This  was  a  service  hand-to-hand 
with  swords,  in  which  my  coxswain,  John  Sykes,  now  no 
more,  twice  saved  my  life.  Eighteen  of  the  Spaniards  being 
killed  and  several  wounded,  we  succeeded  in  taking  their 
commander."  In  his  report  he  complimented  this  Spanish 
officer,  Don  Miguel  Tyrason,  upon  his  gallantry.  Near  a  hun- 
dred Spaniards  were  made  prisoners  in  this  sharp  skirmish. 

Not  even  the  insult  of  bombardment  was  sufficient  to  attain 
the  designed  end  of  forcing  the  enemy's  fleet  out  to  fight. 
The  Spaniards  confined  themselves  to  a  passive  defence  by 
their  shore  batteries,  which  proved  indeed  sufficient  to  pro- 
tect the  town  and  shipping,  for  on  the  second  night  they  got 
the  range  of  the  bomb-vessel  so  accurately  that  the  British 
were  forced  to  withdraw  her:  but  this  did  not  relieve  the 
vital  pressui-e  of  the  blockade,  which  could  only  be  removed 
by  the  mobile  naval  force  coming  out  and  fighting.  So  far 
from  doing  this,  the  Spanish  ships  of  war  shifted  their  berth, 
inside  to  get  out  of  the  range  of  bombs.  Nelson  cast  longing 
eyes  upon  the  smaller  vessels  which  lay  near  the  harbor'3 
mouth,  forming  a  barricade  against  boat  attack,  and  threaten- 
ing the   offensive  measures  to  which  they  rarely  resorted. 


HEALTH  AND   SPIlilTS 


251 


"  At  present  the  brigs  lie  too  close  to  each  other  to  hope  lor 
a  dash  at  them,  but  soon  I  expect  to  find  one  ofE  her  guard, 
and  then  —  "  For  the  rest,  his  sanguine  resolve  to  persist  in 
annoyance  until  it  becomes  unbearable,  and  insures  the  de- 
sired object,  finds  vent  in  the  words:  "if  Mazaredo  will  not 
come  out,  down  comes  Cadiz ;  and  not  only  Cadiz,  but  their 
fleet." 

This  close  succession  of  varied  and  exciting  active  service, 
unbroken  between  the  day  of  liis  leaving  Lisbon,  March  5th, 
and  the  date  of  the  last  bombardment,  July  5th,  had  its 
usual  effect  upon  his  spirits.  His  correspondence  is  all 
animation,  full  of  vitality  and  energy,  betraying  throughout 
the  happiness  of  an  existence  absorbed  in  congenial  work,  at 
peace  with  itself,  conscious  of  power  adequate  to  the  highest 
demands  ui)on  it,  and  rejoicing  in  the  strong  admiration  and 
confidence  felt  and  expressed  towards  him  on  all  sides,  espe- 
cially by  those  whose  esteem  he  most  valued.  He  complains 
of  his  health,  indeed,  from  time  to  time ;  he  cannot  last  an- 
other winter;  he  is  suffering  for  the  want  of  a  few  montlis' 
rest,  which  he  must  ask  for  in  the  coming  October,  and  trusts 
that,  "  after  four  years  and  nine  months'  service,  without  one 
moment's  repose  for  body  or  mind,  credit  will  be  given  me 
that  I  do  not  sham." 

Bodily  suffering  was  his  constant  attendant,  to  which  he 
always  remained  subject,  but  at  this  time  it  was  powerless  to 
depress  the  moral  energies  which,  under  less  stimulating 
conditions,  at  times  lost  something  of  their  elastic  force. 
They  never,  indeed,  failed  to  rise  equal  to  imminent  emer- 
gency, however  obscured  in  hours  of  gloom,  or  perplexity, 
or  mental  conflict ;  but  now,  supported  by  the  concurrence 
of  every  favoring  influence,  they  carried  him  along  in  the 
full  flow  of  prosperity  and  exhilaration.  Thanking  Earl 
Spencer,  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  for  a  compli- 
mentary letter,  he  says :  "  The  iinbounded  praises  Sir  John 
Jervis  has  ever  heaped,  and  continues  to  heap  on  me,  are  a 
noble  reward  for  any  services  which  an  officer  under  his 
command  could  perforni.  Nor  is  your  Lordship  less  profuse 
iu  them."  To  his  wife  he  writes :  •'  I  assure  you  I  never 
was  better,  and  rich  in  the  praises  of  every  man,  from  the 

"  The  imperious  call  of 


highest  to  the  lowest  in  the  fleet." 


A.    , 


i'l; 


Nil-  -! 


=M| 


'  ; 


!    I 


Si  ^    V 


ifiMli 


!•  ;, 


\-l\ 


1'.; 


252 


THE    LIFE  OF  NELSON 


honour  to  serve  my  country,  is  the  only  thing  that  keeps  me 
a  moment  from  you,  and  a  hope,  that  by  staying  a  little  longer, 
it  may  enable  you  to  enjoy  those  little  luxuries  which  you  so 
highly  jnerit."  '*  My  late  affair  here  ^  will  not,  1  believe,  lower 
me  in  the  opinion  of  the  world.  I  have  had  flattery  enough  to 
make  me  vain,  and  success  enough  to  make  me  confident." 

XoTK.  Tn  Naval  I5iography  and  History,  distinguislied  ships  have 
a  ])('rs()iiality  oidy  less  vivid  than  that  of  the  men  who  fought  them. 
Tho  fate  of  the  "Captain,"  Nelson's  flagship  at  St.  Vincent,  can 
tlierefore  scarcely  fail  to  interest  readeis.  The  author  is  indebted  to 
Lieutenant  Henry  Chamberlain,  R.  N.,  for  calling  his  attention  to  the 
following  paragraph  in  tlu;  Naval  Chroincle,  for  1813,  vol.  xxix. 
p.  2^o:  — 
"()n  the  night  of  Friday,  March  22d,  the  Captain,  of  71  guns 
(Lord  Nelson's  ship  when  he  took  the  San  Josef),  which  liad  recently 
been  converted  into  a  hulk  at  Plymouth,  took  fire,  and  was  totally 
destroyed.  The  San  Josef,  which  lay  alongside,  was  vith  difficulty 
preserved." 

1  The  night  conflict  witli  the  Spanish  launches. 


If'/ 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

The  Unsuccessfltl  Attempt  acaixst  Tkneuiffe.  —  Nelson  i.osf.s  iks 
Kkjiit  AiiM.  —  Rktl'un  to  Exolaxi)  —  Kejoixs  St.  Vixcext's  Fi.eki, 

AXI>     SENT      IXTO      THE     MeUITEUUANEAX      TO      WATCH      THE      ToL'LUX 

Akmamest. 

July,  1797-April,  1798.     A(^e,  39. 

TOO  much  success  is  not  wholly  desirable ;  an  occasional 
beating  is  good  for  men  —  and  nations.  AVhen  Nelson 
wrote  the  words  with  which  the  preceding  chapter  ends,  he 
was  on  the  eve  of  a  sharp  reverse,  met  in  attempting  an 
enterprise  that  had  occupied  his  tlioughts  for  more  than  three 
months.  While  cruising  for  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  before 
Jervis  left  Lisbon  with  the  fleet,  he  had  considered  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  enemy's  treasure-ships,  warned  of  their  danger, 
taking  refuge  in  the  Canary  Islands,  which  belong  to  Spain. 
Meditating  upon  the  contingency,  he  had  formed  a  project  of 
seizing  them  there,  and  probably  had  already  suggested  the 
matter  to  Jervis,  taking  advantage  of  the  freedom  permitted 
him  by  the  latter  in  advancing  opinions.  However  that  be, 
immediately  before  he  started  to  meet  the  Elba  convoy,  the 
commander-in-chief  asked  for  his  plan,  which  he  submitted 
in  writing,  after  talking  it  over  with  Troubridge,  his  intimate 
friend,  upon  whose  judgment  Jervis  also  greatly  relied.  Re- 
garded as  a  purely  naval  expedition,  Nelson  pointed  out  that 
it  was  subject  to  great  uncertainties,  because,  the  land  being 
very  high,  the  wind  could  not  be  depended  on.  It  might 
blow  in  from  the  sea,  but  if  so  it  would  be  by  daylight,  which 
would  deprive  the  attack  of  the  benefits  of  a  surprise ;  while 
at  night  the  land  wind  was  too  fitful  and  unreliable  to  assure 
the  ships  reaching  their  anchorage  before  the  enemy  could 
discover  them,  and  have  time  for  adequate  preparation  against 
assault. 

For  these  reasons,  certainty  of  success  would  depend  upon 
co-operation  by  the  army,  and  for  that  Nelson  suggested  that 


ll 


'm 


1-; 


■  fi (?'!-'  i 


m 


i: 


til 

!t4 


iJ!. 


11 '  i  1 


I.   •     ! 


i 


I 


254 


Tin-:   LIFE  OF   NKLSON 


'  sir 


/I' 


the  Elba  troops,  over  three  thousand  strong,  already  in  trans- 
ports and  on  their  way,  woidd  provi<U>  a  force  aton(^e  avaihible 
and  sufficient.  Save  a  naval  dash  by  Hlake,  more  than  a 
century  before,  Teneriffe  had  never  been  seriously  attacked. 
Probably,  therefore,  the  heights  commanding  the  town  of 
Santa  Cruz  had  not  been  fortified,  and  could  be  easily  seized 
by  the  detachment  designated ;  besides  which,  the  wat(!r  supply 
was  exposed  to  interruption  by  an  outside  enemy.  If  oidy 
General  De  liurgh  could  be  persuaded,  Nelson  was  sure  of 
success,  and  offered  iiimscdf  to  command  the  naval  contingent. 
Failing  the  consent  of  De  Burgli,  whom  he  and  Jervis  both 
thought  deficient  in  moral  courage  to  undertake  responsibility, 
could  not  the  admiral  get  assistance  from  O'Hara,  the  governor 
of  Gibraltar,  who  would  have  at  his  disposal  one  thousand  to 
fifteen  hundred  men  ?  More  would  be  better,  but  still  with 
that  number  success  would  be  probable.  "  Soldiers,"  regretted 
Nelson  characteristically,  "  have  not  the  same  boldness  in  un- 
dertaking a  political  measure  that  we  have ;  we  look  to  the 
I'^-iefit  of  our  Country  and  risk  our  own  fame  [not  life  .merely] 
every  day  to  serve  her :  a  soldier  obeys  his  orders  and  no 
more."  But  he  thought  O'llara  an  exception,  and  then  — 
could  not  the  substantial  advantages  move  him  ?  The  public 
treasure  of  Spain  that  might  be  seized  would  be  six  or  seven 
millions  sterling.  Think  what  that  sum  would  be,  "  thrown 
into  circulation  in  England!  "  where  specie  payments  had  just 
been  suspended.  It  was  nearly  a  year's  value  of  the  subsidies 
which  Great  Britain  was  lavishing  on  the  general  war. 
Whatever  the  merits  of  Nelson's  judgment  upon  the  soldiers 
of  his  day,  this  avowal  of  readiness,  for  the  nation's  sake,  to 
risk  fame  —  reputation  —  which  was  in  his  eyes  the  dearest 
of  possessions,  should  not  be  overlooked.  It  was  the  best  he 
had  to  give  ;  to  hazard  life  was  but  a  vulgar  thing  compared  to 
it.  His  career,  both  before  and  after,  fully  bore  out  the  boast. 
While  on  the  return  with  the  Elba  troops,  in  a  despatch 
sent  ahead  of  the  convoy,  he  jogs  Jervis's  memory  about 
O'Hara,  having  doubtless  ascertained  that  De  Burgh,  as  they 
expected,  would  not  deviate  from  his  orders  to  proceed  to 
Lisbon.  "  I  hope  you  will  press  General  O'Hara  about 
Teneriffe.  What  a  strike  it  would  be ! "  In  a  copy  of  this 
letter  forwarded  to  the  Admiralty,  presumably  by  Jervis  for 


TIIK  TKNKUIFKK   KXI'KDITIOX 


its  ^oneral  inforiniitioii,  tlioso  words  wcro  ntuittod.  rossibly 
lio  liiul  already  Hounded  O'lEara,  and  found  Inui  unwilling',  for 
ho  was  not  oi)tinusti(! ;  possihly  Jervis  himself  thouglit  that  the 
fitting  conditions  had  not  yet  obtained,  and  did  not  cave  to  let 
the  idea  get  abroad  before  the  hour  for  execution  arrived.  For 
the  time,  the  commander-in-chief  preferred  to  keep  his  fleet 
concentrated  before  Cadiz,  and  to  try  to  worry  the  enemy  out 
to  battle ;  for  which  object,  indisputably  the  most  advan- 
tageous to  be  pursued,  ho  also  naturally   wished  to  use  his 


SKKTCU   OK    SANTA   CRUZ   AND    SUUUOUNUINUS. 

(From  Nelson's    ^'urnitl.) 


m 


P 


X  Ji  " 


r^ 


VI, 


most  active  and  efficient  subordinate.  Both  blockade  and 
bombardment  having  failed  to  provoke  the  enemy  to  action, 
and  intelligence  having  been  received  that  a  treasure-ship 
from  Manila  had  put  into  Teneriffe,  it  was  decided  in  July  to 
make  the  attempt,  which  had  only  been  postponed  —  never 
abandoned.  In  words  written  by  i'^elson  on  the  ISth  of  June, 
the  conditions  determining  Jervis's  course  are  clearly  indicated. 
"  I  wish  these  fellows  would  come  out,  and  then,  with  the  good 
ships  we  have  left  [after  a  general  engagement],  we  might 
bo  a  little  at  liberty  to  make  dashes.  I  hope  your  desigr. 
about  Teneriffe  will  not  get  wind,  by  making  inquiries  at  the 
present  moment.  Whenever  I  see  it,"  he  added  character- 
istically, "  ten  hours  shall  decide  its  fate."  Although  unable 
to  obtain  the  troops  upon  which  he  considered  certainty  to 
depend,  he  felt  little  fear  for  the  result.  Two  hundred 
additional  marines  must  be  given,  and  certain  specified  artillery 


"I 

•I' 


2M 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


I 


li 


tind  ammunition  in  excess  of  wliat  he  had.  With  these,  "  I 
have  no  doubt  of  doing  the  job  as  it  ought  to  be,  tlio  moment 
the  ships  come  in  sight."  "  Under  General  Troul)ridge  ashore, 
and  myself  afloat,  I  am  confident  of  success." 

On  tlio  14th  of  July  he  received  his  orders,  which  were  to 
seize  Santa  Cruz,  the  chief  town,  and  hold  the  island  to  ran- 
som, unless  all  public  treasure  were  surrendered  to  his 
squadron,  in  which  case  the  contribution  on  the  inhabitants 
should  not  be  levied.  "  God  bless  and  prosper  you,"  wrote 
Jervis,  who,  although  he  considered  the  enterprise  promising, 
was  less  sanguine  than  his  junior.  "  I  am  sure  you  will 
deserve  success.  To  mortals  is  not  given  the  power  of  com- 
manding it."  Ou  the  15th  Nelson  sailed,  having  under  his 
command  three  seventy-fours,  a  fifty-gun  ship,  three  frigates, 
and  a  cutter.  Towards  sundown  of  the  20th  the  Peak  of 
Teneriffe  was  sighted,  distant  fifty  or  sixty  miles.  The  follow- 
ing morning  the  landing-party,  a  thousand  strong,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Troubridge,  was  transferred  to  the 
frigates.  The  intention  was  to  keep  the  line-of-battle-ships 
out  of  sight,  while  the  frigates,  whose  apparent  force  would 
carry  no  impression  of  menace,  approached  near  enough  to 
make  a  dash  during  the  night.  It  was  hoped  that  thus  the 
assault  might  be  so  far  a  surprise  as  to  enable  the  British  to 
storm  from  the  rear  a  fort  on  the  heights,  to  the  northeast 
of  the  town,  and  commanding  it.  Santa  Cruz  was  then  to  be 
summoned.  In  the  meantime  the  ships-of-the-line  would  be 
coming  in  from  the  sea,  and  upon  arrival  would  support  the 
shore  movement  by  bringing  their  broadsides  to  bear  upon  the 
walls. 

By  midnight  the  frigates  were  within  three  miles  of  the 
landing-place ;  but  there  strong  wind  and  contrary  current 
delayed  them,  and  before  they  could  get  within  a  mile  the  day 
dawned.  Thus  discovex*ed,  the  hope  of  surprise  was  lost.  At 
6  A.  M.,  when  the  squadron  approached,  Troubridge  went 
on  board  the  "Theseus"  and  told  Nelson  that  he  thought, 
if  the  heights  over  the  fort,  in  its  rear,  could  be  seized, 
he  could  yet  compel  it  to  surrender.  Tlie  landing-party 
was  therefore  put  on  shore  at  nine,  but  could  not  dispossess 
the  enemy,  who  had  recognized  the  importance  of  the  position 
indicated  by  Troubridge,  and  had  occupied  it  in  force.     The 


THE  TKNKUIFFE  KXriCDITldS 


2r.7 


ships-of-the-lino  oiuloavorod  to  got  witliin  r;ingo  of  tlie  fort, 
to  batter  it,  but  coiil<l  not  conio  nearer  than  three  niih>s.  They 
were  unable  oven  to  roach  anchoring-ground,  and,  as  it  was 
blowing  very  fresh,  they  struck  their  topgallantniasts  and 
stood  otT  and  on.  At  night  Troubridgo  re-onibarked  his  men 
on  board  the  frigates,  wliich  had  reniainod  where  they  were. 
The  following  morning,  July  2.'{d,  Nelson  abandoned  the 
attempt  upon  the  fort,  reenlling  the  frigates  ;  and,  as  the  wind 
did  not  yet  serve  to  approach  the  shore,  ho  continued  under 
sail  duriug  that  day  and  the  next.  The  members  of  the  landing- 
l>arty  rejoined  their  proper  shii)S. 

Troubridge's  failure  to  act  at  once  upon  his  own  judgment, 
and  seize  the  heights  above  the  fort,  instead  of  waiting  until 
he  could  communicate  with  the  admiral,  whereby  were  lost 
more  than  three  invaluable  hours,  excites  surj)riso,  in  view  of 
the  extremely  high  value  set  upon  him  as  an  officer  by  St. 
Vincent  and  Xelson ;  and  is  the  more  singular  because  the 
latter,  in  certain  "Recommendations,"  dated  July  17,  liad  in- 
dicated the  heights,  as  well  as  the  fort,  among  the  objects  to 
be  secured.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  those  Recommen- 
dations were  not  given  out ;  but  even  so,  the  formal  orders 
issued  gave  ample  discretion.  This  hesitation  was  wholly 
contrary  to  Nelson's  own  readiness  to  assume  responsibility, 
and  probably  accounts  for  his  subsequent  remark,  in  a  private 
letter,  that  had  lie  himself  been  present  this  first  attempt 
would  not  have  failed.  Occurring  in  an  officer  of  Troubridge's 
high  standing,  and  contrasted  with  Nelson's  action  at  St. 
Vincent,  as  well  as  on  many  other  occasions,  the  incident 
serves  to  bring  out  forcibly  the  characteristic  eminence  of  the 
latter, — the  distinction  between  a  really  great  captain  and 
the  best  type  of  a  simply  accomplished  and  gallant  officer.  It 
may  safely  be  said  that  had  Nelson  been  in  the  frigates  that 
morning,  and  thought  as  Troubridge  thought,  he  would  either 
have  had  the  heights  without  waiting  for  orders,  or,  to  use  his 
own  words  on  a  former  occasion,  would  have  "  been  in  a  con- 
founded scrape." 

His  first  plan  having  miscarried.  Nelson  was  nevertheless 
unwilling  to  forsake  the  enterprise  wholly,  without  attempting 
a  direct  assault  upon  the  town  itself.  IVIeantime  the  enemy 
was  not  idle,  but  employed  the  delay  caused  by  the  wind  to 

17 


;  !• 


•■■i 


s' 


'4 


'n 


,  J 


ir. 

1. 

;  > 
I 

I:' 


fi"'  -' 


I  : 


i: 


k 

ip 

\ 

fj 

1; 

It 
I 

i 
i! 

t 

1 
ii 

i! 

258 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


collect  a  greater  force,  and  to  develop  further  the  preparations 
to  repel  attack.  At  half-past  five  in  the  evening  of  July  24 
the  squadron  reached  an  anchorage  two  or  three  miles  north 
of  Santa  Cruz,  and  all  boats  were  ordered  prepared  for  a  night 
expedition.  Captain  Fremantle,  of  the  frigate  "  Seahorse," 
had  with  him  his  wife,  whom  he  had  lately  married ;  and  with 
them  I}"elson,  who  intended  to  lead  the  attack  in  person, 
supped  that  evening.  He  was  conscious  of  the  imminent 
danger  to  which  he  was  about  to  expose  himself  and  his  fol- 
lowers ;  it  is  indeed  scarcely  possible  that  he  could,  in  under- 
taking the  adventure,  have  expected  to  succeed,  except  through 
some  happy  accident  skilfully  improved,  —  the  deserved  good 
fortune  which  had  so  often  attended  him.  It  was  not  so  much 
the  hope  of  victory  that  moved  him,  as  the  feeling  that  to  re- 
treat baffled,  without  a  further  effort,  would  be  worse  than 
defeat.  This  in  fact  was  the  reason  which  he  afterwards  gave. 
"  Although  I  felt  the  second  attack  a  forlorn  hope,  yet  the 
honour  of  our  Country  called  for  the  attack,  and  that  I  should 
command  it.  I  never  expected  to  return."  "  Your  partiality 
will  give  me  credit,"  he  wrote  to  Jervis,  "that  all  has  hitherto 
been  done  which  was  possible,  but  without  effect:  this  night 
I,  humble  as  I  am,  command  the  whole,  destined  to  land  under 
the  batteries  of  the  town,  and  to-morrow  my  head  will  prob- 
ably be  crowned  with  either  laurel  or  cypress.  I  have  only  to 
recommend  Josiah  Nisbet  [his  stepson]  to  you  and  my  Coun- 
try." He  urged  Nisbet  not  to  go  in  the  boats,  on  the  ground 
that  his  mother  should  not  run  the  risk  of  losing  both  hus- 
band and  son  in  one  night,  and  that  in  the  absence  of  Captain 
Miller,  who  was  going  in  charge  of  a  division  of  men,  Nisbet's 
duties  with  the  ship  demanded  his  remaining.  Nisbet  steadily 
refused,  and  his  presence  was  the  immediate  means  of  saving 
the  admiral's  life. 

At  eleven  p.  m.  the  boats  shoved  off,  carrying  a  thousand 
men.  The  orders  were  for  all  to  land  at  the  mole,  the  inten- 
tion being  to  storm  it,  and  the  batteries  covering  it,  in  a  body, 
and  to  hght  their  way,  thus  massed,  to  the  great  square,  which 
was  designated  as  the  place  for  rallying.  A  considerable  sea 
was  running  and  the  night  dark,  so  that  the  Spaniards  did  not 
discover  the  assailants  till  they  were  within  half  gunshot. 
The  bells  of  the  place  tiien  began  to  ring,  and   a  heavy  fire 


THE  ASSAULT  AT  SANTA  CRUZ 


259 


opened^  amid  which  the  British  pushed  vigorously  forward. 
Many,  however,  missed  the  mole.  Nelson's  own  boat  reached 
it  with  four  or  five  besides,  and  the  parties  from  these  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  the  mole  itself,  advancing  to  its  head  and 
spiking  the  guns ;  but  there  they  were  met  with  such  a  sus- 
tained fire  of  musketry  and  grape  from  the  citadel  and  the 
neighboring  houses,  that  they  could  get  no  farther.  Many 
were  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  rest  after  a  struggle  had 
to  retreat. 

Troubridge,  with  a  number  of  others  who  missed  the  mole, 
landed  amid  a  heavy  surf,  which  stove  the  boats  on  a  rocky 
beach  and  tumbled  the  men  into  the  water,  whereby  most  of 
the  ammunition  was  spoiled.  In  the  midst  of  the  turmoil 
the  cutter  " Fox"  was  strrck  by  a  shot  under  water,  and  went 
down,  taking  with  her  her  jommander  and  ninety-seven  men. 
Although  the  scaling-ladders  had  all  been  lost  in  the  general 
upset,  those  who  here  got  on  shore  succeeded  in  climbing  over 
the  walls,  and  forced  their  way  to  the  place  of  rendezvous  in 
the  great  square.  There  Troubridge,  having  assembled  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred  men,  held  his  ground,  awaiting 
Nelson  and  the  party  that  might  have  entered  by  way  of  the 
mole. 

It  was  in  vain.  Nelson  had  been  struck  by  a  grapeshot  in 
the  right  elbow,  as,  with  sword  drawn,  he  was  stepping  from 
tlie  boat  to  the  landing.  Bleeding  profusely  and  faint,  but 
clinging  with  his  left  hand  co  the  sword,  which  had  belonged 
to  his  uncle  Maurice  Suckling,  he  fell  back  into  the  arms  of 
.Tosiah  Nisbet,  who  managed  with  considerable  presence  of 
mind  to  bind  up  the  shattered  limb  and  stop  the  flowing  of  the 
blood.  A  few  men  being  got  togethei",  the  boat  pushed  off  to 
take  the  admiral  back  to  the  ship.  At  this  moment  occurred 
tlie  sinking  of  the  "  Fox ; "  upon  which  much  delay  ensued, 
because  Nelson  refused  to  abandon  the  men  struggling  in  the 
water,  and  insisted  upon  looking  personally  to  their  being 
saved.  At  last  the  "  Seahorse  "  was  reached ;  but  here  again 
he  would  not  go  on  board,  saying  that  he  would  not  have 
Mvs.  Fremantle  alarmed  by  seeing  him  in  such  a  condition 
and  without  any  news  of  her  husband,  who  had  accompanied 
the  landing.  When  he  got  to  the  "  Theseus,"  he  declined 
assistance  to  climb  to  the  deck.     "  At  two  in  the  morning," 


h  i 


i      I  i 


i ' 


IP 


2C0 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


-•if  : 


I  )i' 


wrote  Hosto,  one  of  her  niidshipinen,  who  had  been  with  him 
continuously  since  the  "  Aj^'inieninon  "  left  England,  "  Admiral 
Nelson  returned  on  board,  being  dreadfully  wounded  in  the 
right  arm.  I  leave  you  to  judge  of  my  situation,  when  I  be- 
held our  boat  approach  with  him,  who  I  may  say  has  been  a 
second  father  to  me,  his  right  arm  dangling  by  his  side,  while 
with  the  other  he  helped  himself  to  jump  up  the  ship's  side, 
and.  with  a  spirit  that  astonished  every  one,  told  the  surgeon 
to  get  his  instruments  ready,  for  he  knew  he  must  lose  his 
arm,  and  that  the  sooner  it  was  off  the  better." 

At  daylight  Troubridge,  who  had  collected  some  ammunition 
from  Spanish  prisoners,  started  from  the  square  to  try  what 
could  be  done  without  ladders  against  the  citadel ;  but,  find- 
ing every  approach  blocked  by  overwhelming  force,  he  had  to 
retreat.  Having  neither  powder  nor  provisions,  and  no  boats 
with  which  to  return  to  tlie  ship,  he  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  the 
governor  to  say  that  he  was  prepared  to  burn  the  place  down 
with  means  at  his  disposal,  but,  being  most  reluctant  to  do  so, 
was  willing  to  treat,  upon  condition  of  the  whole  party  being 
permitted  to  return  to  the  ships,  free  and  with  their  arms. 
One  scarcely  knows  which  most  to  admire,  Troubridge's  cool 
audacity  in  making  such  a  demand,  or  the  chivalrous  readi- 
ness with  which  these  honorable  terms  were  at  once  granted 
to  a  man  whose  gallant  bearing  compelled  the  esteem  of  his 
enemies.  Don  Juan  Gutierrez  had  repulsed  the  various  at- 
tempts with  such  steadiness  and  watchfulness,  had  managed 
his  business  so  Avell,  that  he  could  afford  to  be  liberal.  He 
agreed  that  Troubridge's  men  should  withdraw,  carrying  off 
with  them  all  British  equipments,  even  to  such  boats  as  had 
been  taken  by  the  S])aniards,  but  could  still  swim.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  stipulated  that  no  further  attempt  upon 
the  town  should  be  made  by  Nelson's  squadron.  Prisoners  on 
both  sides  were  to  be  given  up.  This  arrangement  having 
been  concluded,  the  governor  directed  that  the  British  wounded 
should  be  at  once  received  into  the  hospitals,  while  the  rest  of 
the  part}'-,  with  their  colors  flying,  marched  to  the  mole,  and 
there  embarked. 

Troubridge  dwelt  with  evident  pride  upon  his  part  in  this 
night's  work,  —  a  pride  that  was  shared  then  by  his  superiors, 
and  will  be  justified  in  the  eyes  of  military  men  now.     "  The 


liir 


, ' .  't 


SIR    THOMAS    TROUBRIDGE 

From  lh<:  /\iuiti)ii;  m-  Sii    U'ttiuun  Kcechey. 


I 


t  , 


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I 

\ 


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U- 


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U\  "    li'    U   ,i  \     -111' 


l|.i     i        !••'■        I      '.•■|'.    Il        I 


I     ?! ! 


1 1 


iUl' 


1      1, 


Jill 


A:i  ■>  I ;  '■:  <r  •  J 


■  i  :'':irr   vn;^ 

.',1       I.     •;.■■'  ^  I' 
.  '    -11  .    I"    ' 


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1 

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II: 


Ui't' 


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I-  ■  1 


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to  my 

to  the 


THE  ASSAULT  AT  SANTA  CllVZ. 


2<11 


Spanish  officers  assure  me  they  expected  us,  and  were  per- 
fectly prepared  with  all  the  batteries,  and  the  number  of  men 
I  have  before  mentioned  [8,000],  under  arms :  with  the  great 
disadvantage  of  a  rocky  coast,  high  surf,  and  in  the  face  of 
forty  pieces  of  cannon,  though  we  were  not  successful,  will 
show  what  an  Englishman  is  equal  to."  His  conduct  affords 
for  all  time  an  example  of  superb  courage  in  the  face  of  ex- 
traordinary and  unexpected  diffiimlty  and  danger,  and  especially 
of  single-minded  energy  in  carrying  through  one's  own  share 
of  an  enterprise,  without  misplaced  concern  about  conse- 
quences, or  worry  as  to  whether  the  other  parties  were  pros- 
pering or  not.  Had  Nelson  reached  the  stpiare  he  would  have 
found  Troubridge  there,  and  that  was  the  one  thing  about  which 
tlie  latter  needed  to  care.  Nelson's  own  words  recur  to  mind : 
"  1  have  not  a  thought  on  any  subject  separated  from  the  im- 
mediate object  of  my  command,"  —  a  maxim  eminently  suited 
to  the  field  and  to  the  subordinate,  though  not  necessarily  so 
to  the  council  chamber  or  to  the  general  officer.  Troubridge 
that  night  proved  himself  invaluable  as  a  subordinate,  though 
the  conduct  of  the  previous  attempt  seems  to  show  a  lack  of 
that  capacity  to  seize  a  favorable  moment,  although  in  the 
presence  of  a  superior,  of  which  Nelson  himself  had  given  so 
brilliant  au  example  at  Cape  St.  Vincent. 

The  squadron  remained  off  Teneriffe  for  three  days  after 
the  assault,  intercourse  with  the  shore  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  fresh  provisions  being  permitted  by  the  governor, 
between  whom  and  the  admiral  were  exchanged  complimentary 
letters  and  presents  of  courtesy.  On  the  27th  Nelson  sailed 
for  Cadiz,  and  on  the  16th  of  August  rejoined  the  commander- 
in-chief,  now  become  Earl  St.  Vincent.  The  latter  received 
him  with  generous  sympathy  and  appreciation,  which  leave 
little  doubt  as  to  what  his  verdict  would  have  been,  had  the 
gallant  initiative  taken  by  his  junior  at  St.  Vincent  ended  in 
disaster,  instead  of  in  brilliant  success.  Nelson's  letters,  sent 
ahead  of  the  squadron  by  a  frigate,  had  shown  the  despondency 
produced  by  suffering  and  failure,  which  had  reversed  so 
sharply  the  good  fortinie  upon  which  he  had  begun  to  pride 
himself.  "  I  am  become  a  burtlien  to  my  friends  and  useless 
to  my  Country.  When  I  leave  your  command,  I  become  dead 
to  the  world;  I  go  hence  and  am  no  more  seen."     "Mortals 


I''«;n  . 


IV  1 


■  ■i 


.1  I 


868 


TIIL   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


fe, 


lii 


cannot  conunjuul  success,"  rei)licd  St.  Vincent.  "  You  and  your 
companions  liavo  certainly  deserved  it,  l)y  tlio  greatest  degree 
of  hei-oisin  and  perseverance  that  ever  was  exhibited."  Nelson 
had  asked  for  his  stepson's  promotion,  implying  that  he  him- 
self would  not  hereafter  bo  in  a  position  of  influence  to  help 
the  boy  —  for  he  was  little  more.  "  He  is  under  obligations  to 
me,  but  he  repaid  mo  by  bringing  me  from  the  mole  of  Santa 
Cruz."  "He  saved  mv  life,"  he  said  more  than  once  after- 
wards.  St.  Vincent  immediately  made  him  a  commander  into 
the  vacancy  caused  by  tlie  death  of  Captain  IJowen,  who  had 
fallen  in  the  assaidt.  *'  Tretty  quick  promotion,"  wrote  his 
messmate  Hoste,  who  probably  knew,  from  close  association, 
that  Kisbet  had  m)t  the  promising  qualities  with  which  he 
was  thcK  credited  by  his  stepfather,  from  whom  in  later  years 
he  became  wholly  estranged. 

On  the  20tL  Nelson  received  formal  leave  to  return  to  Eng- 
land in  the  "Seahorse,"  and  on  the  3d  of  September  his  flag 
was  hauled  down  at  Spithead.  On  the  way  home  he  suffered 
much.  After  amputation  the  ligature  had  been  awkwardly 
applied  to  the  humeral  artery.  As  he  would  not  allow  the 
surgeon  to  examine  tlie  stump  during  the  passage,  this  was 
not  then  discovered,  but  the  intense  si)ao'us  of  pain  kept  him 
irritable  and  depressed.  It  is  likely,  too,  that  his  discour- 
agement was  i.<creased  by  brooding  over  the  failure  of  his 
enterprise ;  believing,  as  he  did,  that  had  he  been  with  the 
landing-party,  the  first  attempt  would  have  succeeded.  He 
could  scarcely  fail  now  to  see  that,  although  it  was  strictly 
in  accordance  with  service  methods  for  the  senior  to  remain 
with  the  ships,  the  decisive  point  in  the  plan,  as  first  formed, 
was  the  seizure  of  the  heights,  and  that  there,  consequently, 
was  the  true  place  for  the  one  in  chief  command.  Any  captain, 
Troubridge  especially,  could  have  placed  the  ships  as  well  as 
Nelson.  It  is  self-accusation,  and  not  fault-finding  merely, 
tliat  breathes  in  the  words  :  "  Had  I  been  with  the  first  party, 
I  have  reason  to  believe  complete  success  would  have  crowned 
our  efforts.     31// jyride  suffered" 

Whatever  his  mental  distress,  however,  he  always,  from  the 
time  of  receiving  the  wound,  wrote  to  his  wife  with  careful 
cheerfulness.  "As  to  my  health,  it  never  was  better;  and 
now  I  hope  soon  to  return  to  you  ;  and  my  Country,  I  trust, 


t 


LADY    NELSON 

hnmi  a  photof^rnph  bv  Mr.  I:.  AV.Vr,  of  Plxmoiith.  ••/'  ..•  iiiuiia 
tiirr  III  the  />oss,ssion  of  Mrs.  /.  //.  />.  EccUs,  of  Sht-rwdi  Iloitsf, 
riyinouth.,  a    :;rfiit-x:r,iu(iiii!iii;/itrr  of    f.Ui/v    A'llson.      lyclid'fd  to 
hiiTc'  i'Cfn  /tainted  about  the  time  oj  the  Battle  of  the  *\7/f. 


!  I 


t  Jll       '.       I-     "!• 


1         '1         "/■     I     !• 


!  I    ,  I  '  1  :     I      I  '    '  ■     '    »    t  I  ■  .     I 


\  1     .     1 


•        I'    I 


I     ..  :  •   v 


-  It,  Mil,  ,1 

i  ■  'ii'.'    I  ;  .r 

-  llM 


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I  , '     .    •    I 


Ir,       il  ^'  . 


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♦ 


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•'    il   '■'  Im  i.  ;■,      I  I  ',       till-      '         ,  hi;  ,     ■    ■;    I, 

■    i  ■     i'  '.(  .  '■     ,'.  .  i         ;)^  •!    '    '  i!" 

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SICK  LEAVE   IN   EXGLAXl) 


L'Of] 


will  not  allow  me  any  longer  to  linger  in  want  of  that  pecu- 
niary assistance  which  I  liave  been  fighting  the  whole  war  to 
preserve  to  her.  But  I  shall  not  be  surprised  to  be  neglected 
and  forgot,  as  probably  I  shall  no  longer  be  considered  as 
useful.  However,  I  shall  feel  rich  if  I  continue  to  enjoy 
your  affection.  I  am  foitunate  iu  having  a  good  surgeon  on 
board ;  in  short,  I  am  mucii  more  recovered  than  I  could  have 
expected.  I  beg  neithei'  you  or  my  father  will  thitk  much 
of  this  mishap :  my  mind  has  long  been  made  up  to  such  an 
event." 

Immediately  after  quitting  the  "  Seahorse  "  he  joined  his 
wife  and  father  at  Uath,  For  a  time  the  wound  seemed  to 
be  progressing  favorably,  but  the  iinlucky  complication  of  the 
ligature  threw  him  back.  "Mucl^  paiu  and  some  fever,"  L"* 
wrote  to  a  friend  soo  i  after  his  arrival ;  and  while  he  kept  up 
fairly  before  his  wife,  who  spoke  of  his  spirits  as  very  good, 
he  confessed  to  St.  Vincent,  on  the  ISth  of  September,  that  he 
was  then  not  the  least  better  than  when  he  left  the  fleet.  "  1 
have  suffered  great  misery."  This  letter  was  dated  in  London, 
whither  he  had  gone  a  few  days  before  to  be  invested  with 
the  Order  of  the  Bath,  which  was  formally  done  by  George 
III.  in  person  on  the  27th  of  September.  He  was  graciously 
received  by  the  King,  who  conversed  with  him  after  the 
ceremony,  and  by  his  manner  throughout  i/iade  a  lasting  im- 
pression upon  the  mind  of  Nelson,  whose  loyalty  was  intense. 
The  Order  of  the  Bath  remained  the  most  highly  prized  among 
his  many  decorations.  At  the  same  time  was  awarded  him  a 
pension  of  £1,000  a  year. 

He  remained  in  London  till  near  Christmas.  Sir  Gilbert 
Elliot,  the  late  Viceroy  of  Corsica,  who  about  this  time  became 
Lord  Minto,  saw  him  not  long  after  his  arrival  there,  as  did 
also  Colonel  Drinkwater.  Elliot  found  him  looking  better  and 
freshti"  than  he  ever  remembered  him,  although  the  continued 
pain  prevented  sleep,  except  by  use  of  opium.  He  was  already 
impatient  to  go  to  sea  again,  and  chafed  under  the  delay  of 
healing,  concerning  the  duration  of  which  the  surgeons  could 
give  him  no  assurance.  The  ligature  must  be  left  to  slough 
away,  for  it  was  two  inches  up  the  wound,  and  if,  in  attempt- 
ing to  cut  it,  the  artery  should  be  cut,  another  amputation 
would  be  necessary  higher  up,  which  would  not  be  easy,  for 


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THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


the  stump  was  already  very  sliort.  There  was  consequently 
nothing  for  it  but  endurance.  To  his  suffering  at  this  time 
an  accomplished  surgeon,  who  sailed  with  him  shortly  before 
Trafalgar,  attributed  a  neuralgic  predisposition  under  which 
he  then  lab(n'ed,  and  which  produced  serious  effects  upon  his 
general  health. 

A  singular  exhibition  of  liis  characteristic  animation  and 
temperament  was  elicited  by  Drinkwater's  visit.  The  colonel 
saw  him  shortly  before  the  naval  battle  of  Camperdown, 
fought  on  the  11th  of  October.  '*  One  of  the  first  questions 
which  Nelson  put  to  me  was  whether  I  had  been  at  the  Admi- 
ralty. I  told  him  there  was  a  rumour  that  the  British  lleet 
had  been  seen  engaged  with  that  of  Holland,  lie  started 
up  in  his  peculiar  energetic  manner,  notwithstanding  Lady 
Nelson's  attempts  to  quiet  him,  and  stretching  out  his  un- 
wounded  arm,  —  'Drinkwater,'  said  he,  *I  would  give  this 
other  arm  to  be  with  Duncan  ^  at  this  moment; '  so  unconquer- 
able was  the  spirit  of  the  man,  and  so  intense  his  eagerness  to 
give  every  instant  of  his  life  to  the  service." 

Until  the  4th  of  December  his  agony  continued.  On  that 
day  the  ligature  came  away,  giving  instant  and  entire  relief. 
In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  apologizing  for  delay  in  replying,  he 
said :  "  Truly,  till  last  Monday,  I  have  suffered  so  nuich,  I 
hope  for  your  forgiveness.  I  am  now  perfectly  recovered, 
and  on  the  eve  of  being  employed."  On  Friday,  the  8th,  he 
wrote  to  Captain  Berry,  who  had  led  the  boarders  to  the  "  San 
Nicolas  "  at  Cai)e  St.  Vincent,  and  was  designated  to  command 
the  ship  in  which  the  admiral's  flag  should  next  be  hoisted, 
saying  that  he  was  well ;  and  the  same  day,  with  that  pro- 
found recognition  of  a  personal  Providence  which  was  with 
him  as  instinctive  as  his  courage,  he  sent  to  a  London  clergy- 
man the  following  request :  "  An  officer  desires  to  return 
thanks  to  Almiglity  God  for  his  perfect  recovery  from  a  severe 
Avound,  and  also  for  the  many  mercies  bestowed  upon  him. 
(For  next  Sunday.)" 

As  the  close  attention  of  the  skilled  surg'.ons  in  whose 
hands  he  had  been  was  now  no  longer  needed,  he  returned  to 
Batli  to  await  the  time  when  his  flagship  should  be  completely 


^  The  British  admiral  in  comniaiul  of  the  fleet  which  fought  at  Camper- 
(luwii. 


,i.f 


'I 


DEPARTURE  FOR   MEDITERRANEAN,  1798 


205 


equipped.  St.  Vincent  had  asked  that  the  "  Foudroyant,"  of 
eighty  guns,  should  be  prei)ared  for  liini ;  but,  after  his  sudden 
recovery,  as  she  waH  not  yet  ready,  tliere  was  substituted  for 
lier  the  "  Vanguard,"  seventy-four,  which  was  commissioned 
by  Berry  at  Chatham  on  the  lOtli  of  Decend)Pr.  In  March 
slie  had  reached  Portsmontli,  aiid  Nelson  ohcn  went  up  to 
London,  where  he  attended  a  levee  on  tlie  14th  of  the  month 
and  took  leave  of  the  King.  On  the  29th  his  flag  was  hoisted, 
and  on  the  10th  of  April,  after  a  week's  detention  at  St. 
Helen's  by  head  winds,  he  sailed  for  Lisbon.  There  he  re- 
mained for  lour  days,  and  on  the  SOth  of  the  month,  off  Cadiz, 
rejoined  St.  Vincent,  by  whom  he  was  received  Avith  open 
arms.  The  veteran  seaman,  stern  and  resolved  as  was  his 
bearing  in  the  face  of  danger,  was  unhopeful  about  the  results 
of  the  war,  which  from  the  first  he  had  not  favored,  and  for 
whose  ending  he  was  eager.  Now,  at  sixty-four,  his  health 
was  failing,  and  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  ]5ritish 
cause  in  the  Mediterranean  weighed  upon  him,  with  a  discour- 
agement very  alien  from  the  sanguine  joy  with  Avhich  his 
ardent  junior  looked  forward  to  coming  battles.  His  request 
to  be  relieved  from  command,  on  the  score  of  ill-healtli, 
was  already  on  file  at  the  Admiralty.  "  I  do  assure  your 
Lordship,"  he  wrote  to  Earl  Spencer,  "that  the  arrival  of 
Admiral  Nelson  has  given  me  new  life;  you  could  not 
have  gratified  me  more  than  in  sending  him  ;  his  presence  in 
the  Mediterranean  is  so  very  essential,  that  I  mean  to  put 
the  "Orion"  and  "Alexander  "  under  his  command,  with  the 
addition  of  three  or  four  frigates,  and  send  him  away,  to  en- 
deavour to  ascertain  the  real  object  of  the  preparations  mak- 
ing by  the  French."  These  preparations  for  a  maritime 
expedition  were  being  made  at  Toulon  and  the  neighboring 
ports,  on  a  scale  which  justly  aroused  the  anxiety  of  the 
British  Cabinet,  as  no  certain  information  about  their  object 
had  been  obtained. 

Nelson's  departure  from  England  on  this  occasion  closes 
the  first  of  the  two  periods  into  which  his  career  naturally 
divides.  From  his  youth  until  now,  wherever  situated,  the 
development  has  been  consecutive  and  homogeneous,  external 
influences  and  internal  characteristics  have  worked  harmoni- 
ously together,  nature  and  ambition  have  responded  gladly  to 


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266 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


opportunity,  and  the  course  upon  which  they  liave  conihined 
to  urge  him  has  conformed  to  his  inherited  and  acquired 
standards  of  right  and  wrong.  Doubt,  uncertainty,  inward 
friction,  double  motives,  have  been  unknown  to  him  ;  he  has 
moved  freely  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  l»is  being,  and, 
despite  the  anxieties  of  his  profession  and  the  frailty  of  his 
health,  there  is  no  mistaking  the  tone  of  luippiness  and  cor- 
tentment  which  sounds  without  a  jarring  note  throughout  his 
correspondence.  A  change  was  now  at  hand.  As  the  sails  of 
the  ''Vanguard"  dip  below  the  horizon  of  England,  a  brief 
interlude  begins,  and  when  the  curtain  rises  again,  the  scene 
is  shifted,  —  surroundings  have  changed.  We  see  again  the 
same  man,  but  standing  at  the  opening  of  a  new  career,  whose 
greatness  exceeds  by  far  even  the  high  anticipations  that  had 
been  formed  for  him.  Before  leaving  England  he  is  a  man  of 
distinction  only ;  prominent,  possibly,  among  the  many  distin- 
guished men  of  hi^  own  profession,  but  the  steady  upward 
course  has  as  yet  been  gradual,  the  shining  of  the  light,  if  it 
has  latterly  shot  forth  flashes  suggestive  of  hidden  fires,  is  still 
characterized  by  sustained  gi'owth  iu  intensity  rather  than  by 
rapid  increase.  No  present  sign  so  far  foretells  the  sudden 
ascent  to  fame,  the  burst  of  meridian  splendor  with  which  the 
sun  of  his  renowu  was  soon  to  rise  upon  men's  eyes,  and  in 
which  it  ran  its  course  to  the  cloudless  finish  of  his  day. 

Not  that  there  is  in  that  course  —  in  its  achievements  — 
any  disproportion  with  the  previous  promise.  The  magni- 
tude of  the  development  we  are  about  to  witness  is  due,  not  to 
a  change  in  him,  but  to  the  increased  greatness  of  the  oppor- 
tunities. A  man  of  like  record  in  the  past,  but  less  gifted, 
might,  it  is  true,  have  failed  to  fill  the  new  sphere  which  the 
future  was  to  present.  Nelson  proved  fidly  equal  to  it,  be- 
cause he  possessed  genius  for  war,  intellectual  faculties, 
which,  though  not  unsuspected,  had  not  hitherto  been  allowed 
scope  for  their  full  exercise.  Before  him  was  now  about  to 
open  a  field  of  possibilities  hitherto  unexampled  in  r.aval  war- 
fare ;  and  for  the  appreciation  of  them  was  needed  just  those 
perceptions,  intuitive  in  origin,  yet  resting  firmly  on  well- 
ordered  rational  processes,  wliich,  on  the  intellectual  side, 
distinguished  hira  above  all  other  British  seamen.  He  had 
aire'  4y,  in  casual  comment  upon  the  military  conditions  sur- 


HIS   MILITARY  GENIUS 


207 


rounding  tlie  former  Mi'diterraneau  campaigns,  given  indica- 
tions of  those  perceptions,  which  it  has  been  the  aim  of 
previous  chapters  to  elicit  from  his  correspondence,  and  to 
marshal  in  such  order  as  may  illustrate  his  mental  character- 
istics. I>ut,  for  success  in  war,  the  indispensable  complement 
of  intellectual  grasp  and  insight  is  a  moral  power,  which 
(Miables  a  man  to  trust  the  inner  light,  —  to  have  faith,  —  a 
power  whicrh  dominates  hesitation,  and  sustains  action,  in  the 
most  tremendous  emergencies,  and  which,  from  the  formidable 
cliaracter  of  the  difficulties  it  is  called  to  confront,  is  in  no  men 
so  conspicuously  prominent  as  in  those  who  are  entitled  to 
rank  among  great  captains.  The  two  elements  —  mental  and 
moral  power  —  are  often  found  separately,  rarely  in  due  combi- 
nation. In  Nelson  chey  met,  and  their  coincidence  with  tlie 
exceptional  opportunities  afforded  him  constituted  his  good 
lortune  and  his  greatness. 

The  intellectual  endowment  of  genius  was  Nelson's  from 
the  first ;  but  from  the  circumstances  of  his  life  it  was  denied 
the  privilege  of  early  manifestation,  such  as  was  permitted  to 
^■;ll)oleon.  It  is,  consequently,  not  so  much  this  as  the  con- 
stant exhibition  of  moral  power,  force  of  character,  which 
gives  continuity  to  his  professional  career,  and  brings  the 
successive  stages  of  his  advance,  in  achievement  and  reputa- 
tion, from  first  to  last,  into  the  close  relation  of  steady  devel- 
opment, subject  to  no  variation  save  that  of  healthy  and 
vi[;orous  growth,  till  he  stood  unique  —  above  all  competition. 
This  it  was  —  not,  doubtless,  to  the  exclusion  of  that  reputa- 
tion for  having  a  head,  upon  which  he  justly  prided  himself 
—  wliich  had  already  fixed  the  eyes  of  his  superiors  upon  him 
as  the  one  officer,  not  yet  indeed  fully  tested,  most  likely  to 
cope  with  the  difficulties  of  any  emergency.  In  the  display 
of  this,  in  its  many  self-revelations,  —  in  concentration  of  pur- 
pose, untiring  energy,  fearlessness  of  responsibility,  judgment 
sound  and  instant,  boimdless  audacity,  promptness,  intrepidity, 
and  endurance  beyond  all  proof,  —  the  restricted  field  of  Cor- 
sica and  the  Eiviera,  the  subordinate  position  at  Cape  St. 
Vincent,  the  failure  of  Teneriffe,  had  in  their  measure  been  as 
fruitful  as  the  Nile  was  soon  to  be,  and  fell  naught  behind  the 
bloody  harvests  of  Copenhagen  and  Trafalgar.  Men  have 
been  disposed,  therefore,  to  reckon  this  moral  energy --call  it 


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268 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


courage,  dash,  rosolutiun,  wluit  you  will  —  as  Nelson's  one 
and  only  great  quality.  It  w;is  the  greatest,  as  it  is  in  all 
successful  men  of  a(!tion ;  but  to  ignore  that  this  mighty 
motive  force  was  guided  by  singularly  clear  and  accurate  per- 
ceptions, upon  which  also  it  consciou;,ly  rested  with  a  firmness 
of  faith  that  constituted  much  of  its  power,  is  to  rob  him  of  a 
great  part  of  his  due  renown. 

lUit  it  was  not  only  in  the  greatness  of  the  opportunities 
offered  to  Nelson  that  external  conditions  now  changed.  The 
glory  of  the  hero  brought  a  tem[)tation  which  wrecked  the 
happiness  of  the  man.  The  loss  of  senuiity,  the  dark  evidences 
of  inward  conflict,  of  yielding  against  conviction,  of  conse- 
quent dissatisfaction  with  self  and  gradual  deterioration,  make 
between  his  past  and  future  a  break  as  clear,  and  far  sharper 
than,  the  startling  increase  of  radiancy  that  attends  the  IJattlo 
of  the  Nile,  and  thenceforth  shines  with  undiminished  inten- 
sity to  the  end.  The  lustre  of  his  well-deserved  and  .vorld- 
wide  renown,  the  consistency  and  ever-rising  merit  of  his 
pi'ofessional  conduct,  contrast  painfully  witli  the  shadows  of 
reprobation,  the  swerving,  and  the  declension,  which  begin  to 
attend  a  life  h'^^'ctofore  conformed,  in  the  general,  to  healthy 
normal  standards  of  right  and  wrong,  but  now  allowed  to 
violate,  not  merely  ideal  Christian  rectitude,  but  the  simple, 
natural  dictates  of  upright  dealing  between  man  and  man. 
It  had  been  the  proud  boast  of  early  years  :  "  There  is  no 
action  in  my  whole  life  but  what  is  honourable."  The  attain- 
ment of  glory  exceeding  even  his  own  great  asjurations 
coincides  with  dereliction  from  the  plain  rules  of  honor 
between  friends,  and  with  public  humiliation  to  his  wife, 
which  he  allowed  himself  to  inflict,  notwithstanding  that  he 
admitted  her  claims  to  his  deferential  consideration  to  be  un- 
broken. In  this  contrast,  of  the  exaltation  of  the  hero  and 
the  patriot  with  the  degradation  of  the  man,  lie  the  tragedy 
and  the  miserv  of  Nelson's  btorv.  And  this,  too,  was  incurred 
on  behalf  of  a  woman  whose  reputation  and  conduct  were 
such  that  no  shred  of  dignity  could  attach  to  an  infatuation 
as  doting  as  it  was  blamable.  The  pitiful  inadequacy  ol  the 
temptation  to  the  ruin  it  caused  invests  with  a  kind  of  prophecy 
the  words  he  had  written  to  his  betrothed  in  the  heyday  of 
courtship:  "^ These    I   trust  will  ever  be  my  sentiments;   if 


IvIOkAL  DETKTtlORATION 


209 


tliey  are  not,  I  do  verily  believe  it  will  be  my  folly  that 
occasions   it." 

The  inward  struggle,  though  severe,  was  short  and  decisive. 
Once  detennined  on  his  course,  he  choked  down  scruples  and 
hesitations,  and  cast  them  from  him  with  the  same  single- 
minded  resolution  that  distinguished  his  public  acts.  ''Fixed 
as  iate,"  were  the  remorseless  words  with  which  he  charac- 
terized his  firm  purpose  to  trample  conscience  under  foot,  and 
to  reject  his  wife  in  favor  of  his  mistress.  Hut  although 
ease  nuiy  be  obtained  by  silencing  self-reproach,  safety 
scarcely  can.  One  cannot  get  the  salt  out  of  his  life,  and  not 
be  the  worse  for  it.  IVIuch  that  made  Nelson  so  lovable  re- 
inained  to  the  end  ;  but  into  his  heart,  as  betrayed  by  his 
(•(n-respondence,  and  into  his  life,  from  the  occasional  glimpses 
afforded  by  letters  or  journals  of  associates,  there  thenceforth 
entered  much  that  is  unlovely,  and  which  to  no  appreciable 
extent  Was  been  before.  The  simple  honJwmle,  the  absence  of 
conventional  reticence,  the  superficial  lack  of  polish,  noted  by 
his  early  biographers,  and  which  he  had  had  no  opportunity 
to  acquire,  the  childlike  vanity  that  transpires  so  innocently 
in  his  confidential  home  letters,  and  was  only  the  weak  side  of 
his  noble  longing  for  heroic  action,  degenerated  rapidly  into 
loss  of  dignity  of  life,  into  an  unseendy  susce^itibility  to  ex- 
travagant adulation,  as  he  succumbed  to  surroundings,  the 
iiiiruptness  of  which  none  at  first  realized  more  clearly,  and 
where  one  woman  was  the  sole  detaining  fascination.  And 
witlial,  as  the  poison  worked,  "  -^ontent  with  self  bred  dis- 
content with  others,  and  with  1  j  own  conditions.  Petulance 
iuid  querulousness  too  often  supplanted  the  mental  elasticity, 
which  had  counted  for  naught  the  roughnesses  on  the  road  to 
tame.  The  mind  not  worthily  occupied,  and  therefore  ill  at 
t'ase,  became  embittered,  prone  to  censure  and  to  resent,  sus- 
picious at  times  and  harsh  in  judgmert,  gradually  te^'^irig 
towards  alienation,  not  from  his  wife  only,  but  from  his  best 
and  earliest  friends. 

During  the  short  stay  of  seven  months  in  England,  which 
ended  with  the  sailing  of  the  "  Vanguard,"  the  record  of  his 
correspondence  is  necessarily  very  imperfect,  both  from  the 
loss  of  his  arm,  and  from  the  fact  of  his  being  with  his  family. 
Such  indications  as  there  are  point  to  unbroken  relations  of 


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270 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


tenderness  with  his  wife.  "I  found  my  domestic  happiness 
perfect,"  he  wrote  to  Lord  St.  Vincent,  shortly  after  his 
arrival  home ;  and  some  months  later,  in  a  letter  from  Bath  to 

a  friend,  he  says  jestingly  :    "  Tell that   I   possess  his 

place  in  Mr.  Talmer's  box ;  but  he  did  not  tell  me  all  its 
charms,  that  generally  some  of  the  handsomest  ladies  in  Bath 
are  partakers  in  the  box,  and  was  I  a  bachelor  I  would  not 
answer  for  being  tempted ;  but  as  I  am  possessed  of  every- 
thing which  is  valuable  in  a  wife,  I  have  no  occasion  to  think 
beyond  a  pretty  face."  Lady  Nelson  attended  personally  to 
the  dressing  of  his  arm  ;  she  accompanied  him  in  his  journeys 
between  Bath  and  London,  at-d  they  separated  only  when  he 
left  town  to  hoist  his  flag  at  Portsmouth.  The  letters  of  Lady 
Saumarez,  the  wife  of  one  of  his  brother  captains  then  serv- 
ing with  Lord  St.  Vincent,  mention  frequent  maetings  with 
the  two  together  in  the  streets  of  Bath ;  and  upon  the  1st  of 
May,  the  day  before  leaving  the  fleet  off  Cadiz  for  the  Medi- 
terranean, on  the  expedition  which  was  to  result  in  the  Nile, 
and  all  the  conseq  lences  so  fatal  to  the  happiness  of  both,  he 
concludes  his  letter,  "  with  every  kind  wish  that  a  fond  heart 
can  frame,  believe  me,  as  ever,  your  most  affectionate 
husband." 

On  the  2d  of  May  the  "  Vanguard "  quitted  the  fleet  for 
Gibraltar,  where  she  arrived  on  the  4th.  On  the  7th  Nelson 
issued  orders  to  Sir  James  Saumarez,  commanding  the  "  Orion," 
and  to  Captain  Alexander  Ball,  commanding  the  '*  Alexander," 
both  seventy-fours,  to  place  themselves  under  his  command ; 
and  the  following  day  the  "Vanguard"  sailed,  in  company 
with  these  ships  and  five  smaller  vessels,  to  begin  the  memo- 
rable campaign,  of  which  the  Battle  of  the  Nile  was  the  most 
conspicuous  incident. 


CHAPTER  X. 


Thk  Campaign  and  Battle  ok  thk  Nile. 
May-September,  1798.     Age,  39. 

BETWEEN  the  time  that  Nelson  was  wounded  at  Teneriffe, 
July  24,  1707,  and  his  return  to  active  service  in  April, 
1798,  important  and  ominous  changes  had  been  occurring  in 
tlie  political  conditions  of  Europe.  These  must  be  taken 
l)riefly  into  account,  because  the  greatness  of  the  issues  thence 
arising,  as  understood  by  the  British  Government,  measures 
the  importance  in  its  eyes  of  the  enterprise  which  it  was  about 
to  intrust,  by  deliberate  selection,  to  one  of  the  youngest  flag- 
otticers  upon  the  list.  The  fact  of  the  choice  shows  the  esti- 
mation to  which  Nelson  had  already  attained  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Admiralty. 

In  July,  1797,  Great  Britain  alone  was  at  war  witli  France, 
and  so  continued  i'or  over  a  year  longer.  Portugal,  though 
nominally  an  ally,  contributed  to  the  common  cause  nothing 
but  the  use  of  the  Tagus  by  the  British  Navy.  Austria,  it  is 
true,  had  not  yet  finally  made  peace  with  France,  but  prelim- 
inaries had  been  signed  in  April,  and  the  definitive  treaty  of 
Campo  Formio  was  concluded  in  October.  By  it  Belgium 
became  incorporated  in  the  territory  of  France,  to  which  was 
conceded  also  the  frontier  of  the  Ehine.  The  base  of  her 
l)ower  was  tlius  advanced  to  the  river,  over  which  the  posses- 
sion of  the  fortified  city  of  Mayence  gave  her  an  easy  passage, 
constituting  a  permanent  threat  of  invasion  to  Germany. 
Venice,  as  a  separate  power,  disappeared.  Part  of  her  former 
domains  upon  the  mainland,  with  the  city  itself,  went  to 
Austria,  but  part  was  taken  to  constitute  the  Cisalpine 
Republic,  —  a  new  state  in  Northern  Italy,  nominally  inde- 
pendent, but  really  under  the  control  of  France,  to  whom  it 
owed  its  existence.     Corfu,  and  the  neighboring  islands  at  the 


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TIIK   LIFK  Ul'  XKI-SON 


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moutli  of  the  Adriutic,  till  then  belonging  to  Venice,  were 
tninst'erred  to  Fni,nee.  The  cnoice  of  these  distiint  and 
isolated  maritime  positions,  (•on[)leil  with  the  retention  of  a 
large  army  in  the  valley  of  the  I'o,  showed,  if  any  evidence 
were  needed,  a  determination  to  assure  control  over  the  Italian 
peninsula  and  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

The  formal  acfpiisitions  by  treaty,  even,  did  not  measure  the 
full  menace  of  the  conditions.  The  iJevolutionary  ferment, 
whi(di  had  partially  subsided,  received  fresh  impetus  from  the 
victories  of  JJonaparte  and  the  cessation  of  Continental  war; 
and  the  diplonuicy  of  France  continued  as  active  and  as 
aggressive  as  the  movement  of  her  armies  had  previously 
been.  JJy  constant  interference,  overt  and  secret,  not  always 
stopping  short  of  violence,  French  intiuence  and  French  ideas 
were  propagated  among  the  weaker  adjoining  states.  Holland, 
Switzerland,  and  the  Italian  Republics  became  outposts  of 
France,  occupied  by  French  troops,  and  upon  them  were 
forced  governmeuL'^  conformed  to  the  existing  French  pattern. 
In  short,  the  aggraiidizement  of  France,  not  merely  in  moral 
influence  but  in  physical  control,  was  being  pushed  forward  as 
decisively  in  peace  as  in  war.  and  by  means  which  threatened 
the  political  equilibrium  of  Europe.  But,  while  all  states 
were  threatened,  Great  Britain  remained  the  one  chief  enemy 
against  which  ultimately  the  efforts  of  France  must  be,  and 
"Were,  concentrated.  "  Either  our  government  must  destroy 
the  English  monarchy,"  wrote  Bonaparte  at  this  time,  "or 
must  expect  itself  to  be  destroyed  by  the  corruption  and 
intrigue  of  those  active  islanders."  The  British  ministry  on 
its  part  also  realized  that  the  sea-power  of  their  country  was 
the  one  force  from  which,  because  so  manifold  in  its  activities, 
and  so  readily  exerted  in  many  quarters  by  virtue  of  its 
mobility,  France  had  most  reason  to  fear  the  arrest  of  its 
revolutionary  advance  and  the  renewal  of  the  Continental  war. 
It  was,  therefore,  the  one  opponent  against  which  the  efforts 
of  the  French  must  necessarily  be  directed.  For  the  same 
reason  it  was  the  one  centre  around  whose  action,  wisely 
guided,  the  elements  of  discontent,  already  stirring,  might 
gather,  upon  the  occurrence  of  a  favorable  moment,  and  con- 
stitute a  body  of  resistance  capable  of  stopping  aggressions 
which  threatened  the  general  well-being. 


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POLITICAL  STATE  OF  EUROPE 


273, 


When  the  British  Government  found  that  the  overtures  for 
peace  which  it  had  made  in  tlie  summer  of  1797  could  have  no 
result,  except  on  terms  too  humiliating  to  be  considered,  it  at 
once  turned  its  attention  to  the  question  of  waging  a  distinct- 
ively offensive  vvar,  for  effect  in  which  co-operation  was  needed. 
The  North  of  Europe  'vas  hopeless.  Prussia  persisted  in  the 
policy  of  isolation,  adopted  in  1795  by  herself  and  a  number 
of  the  northern  German  states.  Kussia  was  quietly  hostile  to 
France,  but  the  interference  contemplated  by  the  Empress 
Catherine  had  been  averted  by  her  death  in  1796,  and  her 
successor,  Paul,  had  shown  no  intention  of  undertaking  it. 
There  remained,  therefore,  the  Mediterranean.  In  Italy, 
France  stood  face  to  face  with  Austria  and  Naples,  and  both 
these  were  dissatisfied  with  the  action  taken  by  her  in  the 
Peninsula  itself  and  in  Switzerland,  besides  sharing  the  appre- 
hension of  most  other  governments  from  the  disquiet  attend- 
ing her  political  course.  An  advance  into  the  Mediterranean 
was  therefore  resolved  by  the  British  Cabinet. 

This  purpose  disconcerted  St.  Vincent,  who,  besides  his 
aversion  from  the  war  in  general,  was  distinguished  rather 
by  tenacity  and  resolution  in  meeting  difficulties  and  dangers, 
when  forced  upon  him,  than  by  the  sanguine  and  enterprising 
initiative  in  offensive  measures  which  characterized  Nelson. 
Writing  to  the  latter  on  the  8th  of  January,  1798,  he  says : 
"I  am  much  at  a  loss  to  reconcile  the  plans  in  contemplation 
to  augment  this  fleet  and  extend  its  operations,  with  the  peace 
which  Portugal  seems  determined  to  make  with  France,  upon 
any  terms  the  latter  may  please  to  impose ;  because  Gibraltar 
is  an  unsafe  depot  for  either  stores  or  provisions,  which  the 
Spaniards  have  always  in  their  power  to  destroy,  and  the 
French  keep  such  an  army  in  Italy,  that  Tuscany  and  Naples 
would  fall  a  sacrifice  to  any  the  smallest  assistance  rendered 
to  our  fleet."  In  other  words,  the  old  question  of  supplies 
still  dominated  the  situation,  in  the  apprehension  of  this 
experienced  officer.  Yet,  in  view  of  the  serious  condition  of 
things,  and  the  probable  defection  of  Portugal  under  the 
threats  of  France  and  Spain,  to  which  he  alludes,  it  seems 
probable  that  the  ministry  were  better  advised,  in  their  deter- 
mination to  abandon  a  passive  defence  against  an  enemy 
unrelentingly  bent  upon  their  destruction.    As  Nelson  said 

18 


i! 

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THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


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4 


of  a  contingency  not  more  serious  :  **  Desperate  affairs  require 
desperate  remedies." 

However  determined  the  British  Government  might  be  to 
act  in  the  Mediterranean,  some  temporary  perplexity  must  at 
first  have  been  felt  as  to  where  to  strike,  until  a  movement  of 
the  enemy  solved  tlie  doubt.  In  the  early  months  of  1798  the 
Directory  decided  upon  th.e  Egyptian  expedition  under  General 
Bonaparte,  and,  although  its  destination  was  guarded  with 
admirable  secrecy  until  long  after  the  armament  sailed,  the 
fact  necessarily  transpired  that  preparations  were  being  made 
on  a  most  extensive  scale  for  a  maritime  enterprise.  The 
news  soon  reached  England,  as  it  did  also  Jervis  at  his  station 
off  Cadiz.  Troops  and  transports  were  assembling  in  large 
numbers  at  the  southern  ports  of  France,  in  Genoa,  Civita 
Vecchia,  and  Corsica,  while  a  fleet  of  at  least  a  dozen  ships-of- 
the-line  was  fitting  out  at  Toulon.  Various  surmises  were 
afloat  as  to  the  object,  but  all  at  this  time  were  wide  of  the 
mark. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  less  than  three  weeks  after  Nelson 
left  England,  but  before  he  joined  the  fleet,  the  Cabinet  issued 
orders  to  St.  Vincent  to  take  such  measures  as  he  deemed 
necessary  to  thwart  the  projects  of  the  Toulon  squadron.  It 
was  left  to  his  judgment  whether  to  go  in  person  with  his 
whole  fleet,  or  to  send  a  detachment  of  not  less  than  nine  or 
ten  ships-of-the-line  under  a  competent  flag-officer.  If  pos- 
sible, the  government  wished  him  to  maintain  the  blockade 
of  Cadiz  as  it  had  been  established  since  the  Battle  of  St. 
Vincent ;  but  everything  was  to  yield  to  the  necessity  of 
checking  the  sailing  of  the  Toulon  expedition,  or  of  defeating 
it,  if  it  had  already  started.  A  speedy  reinforcement  was 
promised,  to  supply  the  places  of  the  ships  that  might  be 
detached. 

Accompanying  the  public  letter  was  a  private  one  from  the 
First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  reflecting  the  views  aivd  anxieties 
of  the  Government.  "  The  circumstances  in  which  we  now 
find  ourselves  oblige  us  to  take  a  measure  of  a  more  decided 
and  hazardous  complexion  than  we  should  otherwise  have 
thought  ourselves  justified  in  taking;  but  when  you  are 
apprized  that  the  appearance  of  a  British  squadron  in  the 
Mediterranean  is  a  condition  on  which  the  fate  of  Europe 


*    ' 


Uii' 


ith  his 
nine  or 
pos- 
ockade 

of  St. 

ity  of 

eating 
nt   was 

ght  be 


Brou   are 

in  the 

Europe 


BUNAPAUTE'S  EGYITIAN  EXPEDITION 


276 


may  at  this  moment  he  stated  to  depend,  you  will  not  be  sur- 
prised that  we  are  disposed  to  strain  every  nerve,  and  irioui 
considerable  hazard  in  effecting  it."  This  impressive,  almost 
solemn,  statement  of  the  weighty  and  anxious  character  ol 
the  intended  step,  emphasizes  the  significance  of  the  choice, 
which  the  First  Lord  indicates  as  that  of  the  Government,  of 
the  officer  upon  whom  such  a  charge  is  to  devolve.  "  If  you 
determine  to  send  a  detachment  into  the  Mediterranean  [in- 
stead of  going  in  person  with  the  fleet],  I  think  it  almost 
unnecessary  to  suggest  to  you  the  propriety  of  putting  it 
under  the  command  of  Sir  H.  Nelson,  whose  acquaintance 
with  that  part  of  the  world,  as  well  as  his  activity  and  dis- 
position, seem  to  qualify  him  in  a  peculiar  manner  for  that 
service." 

In  concluding  his  letter,  Earl  Spencer  summed  up  the 
reasons  of  the  Government,  and  his  own  sense  of  the  great 
risk  attending  the  undertaking,  for  the  conduct  of  which  he 
designated  Nelson.  "I  am  as  strongly  impressed,  as  I  have 
no  doubt  your  Lordship  will  be,  with  the  hazardous  nature  of 
the  measure  which  we  now  have  in  contemplation ;  but  I 
cannot  at  the  same  time  help  feeling  how  much  depends  upon 
its  success,  and  how  absolutely  necessary  it  is  at  this  time  to 
run  some  risk,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  bring  about  a  new 
system  of  affairs  in  Europe,  which  shall  save  us  all  from 
being  overrun  by  the  exorbitant  power  of  France.  In  this 
view  of  the  subject,  it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  how  much 
depends  on  the  exertions  of  the  great  Continental  powers; 
and,  without  entering  further  into  what  relates  more  par- 
ticularly to  them,  I  can  venture  to  assure  you  that  no  good 
will  be  obtained  from  them  if  some  such  measure  as  that 
now  in  contemplation  is  not  immediately  adopted.  On  the 
other  hand,  if,  by  our  appearance  in  the  Mediterranean,  we 
can  encourage  Austria  to  come  forward  again,  it  is  in  the 
highest  degree  probable  that  the  other  powers  will  seize  the 
opportunity  of  acting  at  the  same  time,  and  such  a  general 
concert  be  established  as  shall  soon  bring  this  great  contest 
to  a  termination,  on  grounds  less  unfavorable  by  many 
degrees  to  the  parties  concerned  than  appeared  likely  a  short 
time  since."  It  may  be  added  here,  by  way  of  comment,  that 
the  ups  and  downs  of  Nelson's  pursuit,  the  brilliant  victory 


270 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


4!'  'i 


\h 


ill 


t'l 


»i.i 


^M 


I  p 


'     U 


lit  the  Nile,  and  the  important  consequences  flowing  from  it, 
not  only  fully  justified  tliis  forecast,  but  illustrated  aptly 
that  in  war,  when  a  line  of  ucti(jn  has  i)een  rightly  chosen, 
the  following  it  up  despite  great  risks,  and  with  resolute 
perseverance  through  many  disappointments,  will  more  often 
than  not  give  great  success,  —  a  result  which  may  probably 
be  atcributL'd  to  the  moral  force  which  necessarily  underlies 
determined  daring  and  sustained   energy. 

As  has  appeared,  the  Government's  recommendation  had 
been  ratified  beforehand  by  St.  Vincent,  in  sending  Xelson 
with  three  ships  to  watch  Toulon.  Upon  receiving  the 
despatches,  on  the  10th  of  IMay.  the  aumiral's  first  step  v/as 
to  order  Xelson  to  retu'-n  at  once  to  the  fleet,  to  take  charge 
of  the  v.etachmeni  from  the  beginning.  '*  You,  and  you  onlv, 
can  commanti  the  imjxn-tant  service  in  contemplation;  there, 
fore,  make  the  best  of  your  way  down  to  me."  More  urgent 
letters  arriving  from  England,  with  ne^vs  that  a  heavy  rein- 
forcement had  left  there,  he,  on  the  19tl',  hiu'ried  off  a  brig, 
"  La  Mutine,"  commanded  >  y  Hardy,  Nelson's  former  lieu- 
tenant, to  notify  the  rear-adi.  'ral  that  a  squadron  of  ten  ships 
would  be  sent  to  him  shortly  from  before  Cadiz;  and  on  the 
21st  this  detachment  sailed,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Troubridge. 

The  "Miitiiie"  joined  Nelson  on  the  5th  of  June.  His 
little  division  had  so  far  had  more  bad  fortune  than  good. 
Leaving  Gibraltar  on  the  8th  of  May,  late  in  the  evening, 
so  that  the  easterly  course  taken  should  not  be  visible  to 
either  friend  or  enemy,  he  had  gone  to  the  Gulf  of  Lyons. 
There  a  small  French  corvette,  just  out  of  Toulon,  was 
captured  on  the  17th,  but,  except  in  unimportant  details, 
yielded  no  information  additional  to  that  already  possessed. 
On  the  19th  l^oiiaparte  sailed  with  all  the  vessels  gathered 
in  Toulon,  directing  his  course  to  the  eastward,  to  pass  near 
Genoa,  and  afterwards  between  Corsica  and  the  maii'Iand 
of  Italy.  On  the  night  of  the  20th,  in  a  violent  gale  of  wind, 
the  ''Vanguard"  rolled  overboard  her  main  and  mizzen  top- 
masts, and  Liter  on  the  foremast  went,  close  to  the  deck. 
The  succession  of  these  mishaps  p  )ints  rather  to  spars  badly 
secured  and  cared  for  than  to  una^'oidable  accident.  Fortu- 
nately,  the  "Orion"  and  "Alexander"  escaped  injury,  and 


1'  ( 


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HIS  FLAGSHIP   DISMASTKD 


277 


the  hitter,  on  the  following  moniiiif:;,  took  the  "Vanguard" 
in  tow,  to  go  to  Oristan  Bay,  in  Sardinia.  The  situation 
bocanio  extrcMncly  dangerous  on  the  evening  of  the  L'2d.  tV)r, 
the  wind  falling  light,  the  sail-power  of  the  '•  Alexander"  was 
scarcely  sufficient  to  tlrag  both  ships  against  a  heavy  westerly 
swell  which  was  setting  them  bodily  upon  the  Sardiiuan 
t:oast,  then  not  far  distant.  Thinking  the  ease  ho[)eless, 
Nelson  ordered  the  '•  Alexander  "  to  let  go  the  hawser;  but 
Captain  Uall  begged  pernnssion  to  hold  on,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  saving  the  Hagship,  whi(di,  on  tlu;  L'3d,  anchored 
with  her  consorts  under  the  Islands  of  San  Pietro,  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  Sardinia.  The  governor  of  the  place 
sent  word  that  they  must  not  remain,  Sardinia  being  allied  to 
France,  but  added  that,  as  he  had  no  power  to  f on  e  them  out, 
they  would  doubtless  do  as  they  pleased  ;  and  he  supplied 
them  with  fresh  provisions,  —  aline  of  conduct  which  illus- 
trates at  once  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  iiritish  operations 
in  the  Mediterranean  bv  French  insistence,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  readiness  of  the  weaker  states  to  connive  at  the 
evasion  of  them,  other  instances  of  which  occurred  during 
this  period.  Uy  the  united  efforts  of  the  division,  four  days 
sufK(!ed  ,)  refit  the  "Vanguard"  with  jury-masts,  and  the 
three  ships  again  sailed,  on  the  27th,  for  an  ajjpointed 
render.vous.  to  seek  the  frigates,  which  had  separated  during 
and  afte-    ihe  gale. 

This  severe  check,  occurring  at  so  critical  a  moment, — 
more  critical  even  than  Nelson  knew,  for  he  remained  igno- 
rant of  the  French  sailing  for  some  days  longer,  —  was  in 
itself  disheartening,  and  fell  upon  one  whose  native  eagerness 
chafed  painfully  against  enfoiced  inaction  and  delay.  His 
manner  of  bearing  it  illustrated  both  the  religious  charp^  v>r- 
istics,  which  the  experience  of  grave  emergencies  *  ls  to 
develop  and  strengthen  in  men  of  action,  and  the  fun-.iess  of 
a  really  great  man,  never  more  signally  displayed  than  under 
the  pressure  of  calamity  and  suspense,  such  as  he  continually 
had  to  undergo.  The  exceptional  brilliancy  and  decisiveness 
of  his  greater  battles  —  the  Nile,  Copenhagen,  and  Trafalgar 
—  obscure  the  fact  that  each  of  them  was  preceded  by  a  weary 
period  of  strenuous  uphill  work,  a  steady  hewing  of  his  way 
through  a  tanglewood  of  obstacdes,  a  patient  endurance  of  dis- 


Hi 


C'h 


'U\'  - 


f    :  I' 


;! 


l|i^ 


ik' 


1  ■■' 


' 


278 


TIIK   LIFK   OK   NELSON 


1^!^ 


appointnuMits,  a  display  of  sustained,  undaunted  resolution 
under  discouragenuMits,  nobler  far  than  even  the  moments  of 
triumphant  action,  into  which  at  last  he  joyfully  emer<,'es  and 
freely  c^xorts  his  extraordinary  powers.  "  I  trust,"  he  wrote 
to  St.  Vincent,  "  my  frieiuls  will  thinii  I  bore  my  (chastisement 
like  a  man.  I  hope  ic  has  made  m«^  a  lietter  otHeer,  as  I 
believe  it  has  made  ;ne  a  better  man.  On  tin;  Sunday  evc^ning 
1  thought  myself  in  every  respect  one  of  tlie  nu)st  fortunate 
men,  to  command  sucdi  a  s(piadron  in  such  a  ])lace,  and  my 
pride  was  too  great  for  man."  To  his  wife  he  wrote  in  the 
same  strain  :  "  I  ought  not  to  call  what  has  liappened  to  the 
Vanguard  by  the  cold  name  of  accident ;  T  believe  firmly  that 
it  was  the  Ahnighty's  goodness,  to  check  my  consummate 
vanity.-' 

Vanity  was  rather  a  hard  name  to  call  the  natural  elation  of 
a  young  admiral,  intrusted  with  an  unusually  important  ser- 
vi(!e,  aiul  proud  of  his  command ;  but  the  providential  inter- 
})Osition  worked  directly  to  his  advantage.  The  delays  caused 
by  the  repairs  to  the  '*  Vanguard,"  and  by  the  subsequent 
uetessity  of  seeking  the  se[)aratcd  frigates  at  the  rendezvous 
appointed  for  such  a  case,  made  possible  the  junction  of  Trou- 
bridge,  of  whose  ai)proach  Nelson  was  totally  ignorant.  On 
the  2d  of  June  Sir  James  Saumarez  uientions  speaking  a  ship, 
which  a  few  days  before  had  seen  eleven  sail-of-the-line,  sup- 
posed to  be  English.  "  We  are  at  a  loss  what  conjectures  to 
put  on  this  intelligence."  Five  days  before  this,  May  28,  a 
vessel  out  of  Marseilles  had  informed  them  of  lionaparte's 
sailing  with  all  his  transports.  Nelson  would  doubtless  have 
pursued  them  at  once,  in  conformity  with  his  instructions  to 
ascertain  the  enemy's  objects  ;  but  for  such  operations,  essen- 
tially those  of  a  scouting  expedition,  the  frigates  were  too 
necessary  to  be  left  behind.  On  the  4th  of  June  he  reached 
the  rendezvous,  and,  not  finding  the  frigates,  waited.  The 
next  morning,  by  the  arrival  of  the  "Mutine,"  he  learned  that 
he  was  to  expect  the  reinforcement,  which'  converted  his 
division  into  a  fleet,  and  enlarged  his  mission  from  one  of 
mere  reconnoissance  to  the  duty  of  overtaking  and  destroying 
a  great  maritime  expedition. 

Besides  this  good  news,  the  "  Mutine "  brought  word  of 
another  misfortune,  more  irretrievable  than  the  loss  of  spars. 


JOINED  UY  TUOUBUIDGK 


m 


Sh(!  li:i(l  fiilleii  in  with  the  l'rit,'iit«'.s  tlinn'  days  bc'fore,  and  iliv. 
s'  nior  captain  had  told  Hardy  that  lie  was  f^oinjj  with  th(Mn  to 
(Jihraltar,  porsuadcd  that  the  condition  of  the  tiagship,  whifli 
li»»  had  seen,  wouhl  necossitato  hor  rt'turn  to  an  arsenal  for 
repairs.  "  I  th()iij,'lit  Hope  would  have  known  nio  better," 
cornnientod  Nelson,  when  he  IxH-amo  aware  of  a  step  whieh 
materially  affected,  in  fact  prohaljly  entirely  chanj^'ed,  tho 
course  of  evciiits,  and  most  seriously  embarrassed  all  his  s»>b- 
se(]uent  niovenients.  This  untimely  and  ])recipitate  action, 
and  his  remark,  illustrate  conspicuously  tho  dilTerences  be- 
tween men,  and  exemplify  the  peculiar  energy  and  mirelax- 
ing  forward  impulse  whi(di  eminently  fitted  Nelson  for  his 
present  high  charge. 

The  inconvenience  and  danger  arising  from  the  frigates' 
departure  was  instantly  t'clt.  "  Nothing,"  wrote  Saumarez, 
"can  ecpial  our  anxiety  to  fall  in  with  the  reinforcement. 
Our  S(iuadron  has  been,  these  two  days,  detached  in  all  direc- 
tions, without  falling  in  with  them  ;  and  there  is  strong 
reason  to  fear  they  think  us  returned  to  (Jibraltar  "  —  from 
Hope's  reports.  Such  were  the  risks  sjjringing  from  mis- 
])laced  caution,  more  ruinous  than  the  most  daring  venture, 
and  which  from  beginning  to  end  well-nigh  wreciked  the 
great  attempt  upon  whicdi  the  Admiralty,  St.  Vincent,  and 
Nelson  had  staked  so  nnich.  In  further  conse(iuence,  the 
line-of-battle  ships  became  separated  by  stretidiing  too  far 
apart  in  their  anxious  care  to  find  Troubridge,  and  when  ho 
joined  the  "  Vanguard,"  on  the  7th,  the  <*  Orion  "  and  "  Alex- 
ander" were  not  in  sight.  The  French  having  so  long  a 
start,  and  there  being  now  with  him  eleven  seventy-fours, 
Nelson  with  characteristic  promptness  would  not  delay  an 
instant.  The  fifty-gun  ship  "Leander,"  which  had  come  with 
Troubridge,  was  directed  to  wait  forty-eight  hours  for  the  two 
absentees,  with  a  memorandum  of  the  course  about  to  be  fol- 
lowed. Confident  that  single  ships  would  be  able  to  over- 
take a  squadron  whose  route  they  knew,  the  admiral  at  once 
jnished  on  for  Cape  Corso,  the  north  point  of  Corsica,  intend- 
ing to  pass  between  the  island  and  Italy,  seeking  information 
as  he  went.  The  "  Mutine  "  was  all  he  had  to  replace  the 
missing  frigates. 

June   7th  thus  marks  the   beginning  of  a  chase,  which 


k 


N 


i!  1,^ 


P:r 


m 


I 


280 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


;H  : 


,1  f^j 


'  t 


1     i'' 


if 


•h 


ended  onl}'  upon  the  1st  of  August  in  the  Battle  of  the  Nile. 
During  this  miserable  period  of  suspense  and  embarrassment, 
occasioned  and  prolonged  beyond  all  reason  or  necess.ty  by 
tlie  want  of  lookout  ships,  the  connecting  and  illuminating 
thread  is  the  purpose  of  Nelson,  at  once  clear  and  firm,  to 
find  the  French  fleet  and  to  fight  it  the  instant  found.  No 
other  consideration  draws  his  mind  aside,  except  so  far  as  it 
maj'  facilitate  the  attainment  and  fulfilment  of  tliis  one  ob- 
ject. In  this  one  light  he  sees  all  things.  At  the  start  he 
writes  to  St.  Vincent :  "  You  iuay  be  assured  I  will  fight 
thorn  the  moment  I  can  reach,  be  they  at  anchor  or  under 
sail."  Three  days  later,  he  tells  Sir  William  Hamilton : 
•'If  their  fleet  is  not  moored  in  as  strong  a  port  as  Toulon, 
nothing  shall  hinder  me  from  attacking  them."  "  lie  they 
boun<l  to  the  Ant'podes,"  he  says  to  Earl  Spencer,  "your 
Lordship  may  rely  that  I  will  not  lose  a  moment  in  bringing 
tlieni  to  action,  and  endeavour  to  destroy  their  transports." 
Such  expressions  are  repeated  with  a  frequency  which  proves 
tiie  abr.olute  hold  the  resolution  had  upon  his  mind.  When 
obstacles  occur  to  him,  or  are  mentioned,  they  do  not  make 
room  for  the  tliought  of  not  fighting  to  be  entertained ;  only 
Toulon  suggests  the  idea  of  impossibility.  He  raises  diffi- 
culties diligently  enough,  but  it  is  only  that  they  may  be 
the  better  overcome,  not  that  they  may  deter.  All  possible 
conditions  are  considered  and  discussed,  but  simply  in  order 
that  the  best  fighting  solution  may  be  reached.  The  constant 
mental  attitude  is  such  that  the  man  is  unprepared  to  recede 
before  any  opposition ;  he  fortifies  his  mind  beforehand  with 
the  besi  means  of  meeting  and  vanquishing  it,  but  the  at- 
tempt at  least  shall  be  made.  ''  Thank  God,"  he  wrote  at  this 
moment,  "I  do  not  feel  difficulties;"  yet  the  avowal  itself 
accompanies  so  plain  a  statement  of  i>is  embarrassments  as  to 
show  that  his  meaning  is  that  they  do  not  discourage.  This 
characteristic  appeared  most  strongly  at  Copenhagen,  partly 
because  the  difficndties  there  were  greatest,  partly  from  the 
close  contrast  with  a  man  of  very  different  temper. 

lieing  entirely  without  intelligence  as  to  the  real  object  of 
the  French,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow  upon  their 
track,  with  eyes  open  for  indications.  They  were  known  to 
have  gone  southerly,  towards  Naples  and  Sicily;  and  these 


a 
a 


ti 


I 


THE   rUllSUlT  UF  BONAPARTE 


281 


two  points,  parts  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Two  Siuilies,  h;ul 
been  mentioned  by  Jervis  as  probable  destinations.  The 
"Orion"  and  ''Alexander"  rejoined  in  two  or  three  days, 
and  on  the  14th  of  June  information,  second-hand  but  prob- 
able, was  obtained  that  on  tlie  4th  the  French  armament  had 
been  seen  oif  the  west  end  of  Sicily,  steering  to  the  eastward. 
"  If  they  pass  Sicily,"  said  Nelson  in  his  letter  to  Spencer 
written  the  next  day,  "  I  shall  believe  they  are  going  on  their 
scheme  of  possessing  Alexandria,  and  getting  troops  to  India 
—  a  plan  concerted  with  Tippoo  Saib,  by  no  means  so  diHi- 
cult  as  might  at  first  view  be  imagined."  Troubridge  was 
now  sent  ahead  in  the  "  Mutine  "  to  communicate  with  Sir 
William  Hamilton,  the  British  minister  at  Naples,  and  witli 
Acton,  the  prime  minister  of  that  Kingdom.  He  took  with 
liim  letters  from  the  admiral,  who  wished  to  know  what  (co- 
operation he  might  hope  from  the  Court  of  Naples,  in  the 
matters  of  supplies,  of  frigates  to  act  as  lookouts,  and  of 
])ilots  for  Sicilian  waters. 

On  the  17th  the  squadron  hove-to  ten  miles  off  Naples,  and 
Troubridge  rejoined.  The  Neapolitan  Government  sent  assur- 
ances of  good  wishes,  and  of  hatred  to  the  French  ;  supplies 
would  be  given  under  the  rose,  aiul  Acton  sent  a  written 
order  to  that  effect,  addressed  to  the  governors  of  ports  in  the 
name  of  the  King.  Naples  being  at  peace  with  France,  assist- 
ance with  ships  could  not  be  given,  nor,  to  use  the  words  of 
Nelson,  "the  smallest  information  of  what  was,  or  was  likely 
to  be,  the  future  destination  of  the  French  ai  .nanient.  Witli 
this  comfortable  account  I  pushed  for  the  Faro  of  Messina." 
Troubridge  brought  word,  however,  that  the  French  fleet  was 
off  Malta,  about  to  attack  it,  which  served  to  give  direction 
for  the  squadron's  next  move. 

After  leaving  Naples  Nelson  wrote  strong  and  dear  Icttovs 
to  Sir  William  Hamilton  upon  the  existing  conditions.  Why 
should  Naples  stand  in  shivering  licsitation  about  taking  a  de- 
cided step  in  support  of  Great  Britain  ?  She  had  looked  and 
l)rayod  for  the  arrival  of  the  fleet,  as  the  one  force  competent 
to  t'luH'k  the  designs  of  the  Frencli.  Sicily  could  bo  ap])roac]ird 
only  by  water,  and  the  distance  of  Naples  from  Northern  Italy 
rtMulered  the  control  of  the  sea  most  advantageous,  if  not  al)- 
solutely  essential,  to  a  French  army  attempting  to  hold  the 


m:. 


13'. 


V 


if.  -1 


S     ? 


i    i 


< 


l^j  1 


!»■' 


./:■  ■■ 


'  ; 


i      P' 


/    I 


Ml 


'282 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


boot  of  tlie  peninsula.  Now  the  British  fleet  had  come,  in 
force  adequate  to  neutralize  the  French  Navy,  and,  in  Nelson's 
belief,  to  defeat  and  destroy  it,  if  properly  supported.  Did 
Naples  expect  to  escape  by  a  timid  adherence  to  half  measures, 
wlien  by  her  notorious  preference  for  the  British  she  had  al- 
ready gained  the  ill-will  of  the  French  ?  "  The  French  know 
as  well  as  you  and  I  do,  that  their  Sicilian  Majesties  called 
for  our  help  to  save  them  —  even  this  is  crime  enough  with 
the  French."  Safety  —  true  safety  —  could  be  had  only  by 
strenuous  and  decisive  action  in  support  of  Nelson's  squadron. 
Did  not  the  attack  on  Malta  indicate  a  design  upon  Sicily  ? 
"  Were  I  commanding  a  fleet  attending  an  army  which  is  to 
invade  Sicily,  I  should  say  to  the  general,  '  If  you  can  take 
JNIalta.,  it  secures  the  safety  of  your  fleet,  transports,  stores, 
&c.,  and  insures  your  safe  retreat  [from  Sicily]  should  that 
be  necessary ;  for  if  even  a  superior  fleet  of  the  enemy  should 
arrive,  before  one  week  passes,  they  will  be  blown  to  leeward 
and  you  may  pass  with  safety.'  This  would  be  my  opinion.  .  .  . 
I  repeat  it,  Malta  is  the  direct  road  to  Sicily."  If  the  French 
are  overtaken,  he  continues,  and  found  in  some  anchorage,  it 
can  scarcely  be  so  strong  but  that  I  can  get  at  them,  but  there 
will  be  needed  things  v.hich  I  have  not,  fire-ships,  bomb- 
vessels,  and  gunboats,  when  one  hour  would  either  destroy  or 
drive  them  out.  Without  such  aid,  the  British  may  be 
crippled  in  their  attempt,  and  fort-^J  to  leave  the  Mediter- 
ranean. In  case  of  blockade  —  or  necessity  to  remain  for  any 
reason  — the  fleet  must  have  supplies,  which  only  Naples  can 
furnish.  Failing  these  it  must  retire,  and  then  3icily  and 
Naples  are  lost.  Since,  then,  so  much  assistance  must  be 
given  in  time,  why  postpone  now,  when  one  strong  blow 
would  give  instant  safety  ?  Why  should  not  his  own  motto, 
"  I  wili  not  lose  a  moment  in  attacking  them,"  apply  as  well 
to  the  policy  of  an  endangered  kingdom  as  of  a  British 
admiral  ? 

If  this  reasoning  and  advice  took  more  account  of  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  British  arms  than  of  the  difficulties  of  a  weak 
state  of  the  second  order,  dependent  for  action  upon  the  sup- 
port of  other  nations,  they  were  at  least  perfectly  consonant 
to  the  principles  and  practice  of  the  writer,  wherever  he  him- 
self had  to  act.     But  Nelson  could  not  expect  his  own  spirit 


If 


THE  PURSUIT  OF  BON  APATITE 


283 


ill  the  King  of  tlie  Two  Sicilies.  Even  if  the  course  suggested 
were  the  best  for  Naples  under  the  conditions,  it  is  the  prop- 
erty of  ordinary  men,  in  times  of  dan^jer,  to  see  difficulties 
more  clearly  tlian  advantages,  and  to  shrink  from  steps  which 
involve  risk,  however  promising  of  success.  The  Neapolitan 
(irovernment,  though  cheered  by  the  appearance  of  the  British 
lluet,  had  to  consider  danger  also  on  the  land  side,  where  it 
relied  u])on  the  protection  of  Austria,  instead  of  trusting  man- 
fully to  its  own  arms  and  the  advantages  of  its  position,  re- 
mote from  the  centre  of  French  power.  Austria  had  pledged 
lierself  to  support  Naples,  if  invaded  without  just  cause  ;  but 
it  was  not  certain  that  she  would  interfere  if  the  cause  of  at- 
tack was  the  premature  admission  of  British  ships  into  the 
])()rts  of  the  kingdom,  beyond  the  number  specified  in  the  still 
recent  treaties  with  France.  The  Emperor  was  meditating 
war,  in  which  he  expected  to  assist  Naples  and  to  be  assisted 
by  her ;  but  he  did  not  choose  to  be  hurried,  and  might  refuse 
aid  if  an  outbreak  were  precipitated. 

Actually,  what  Naples  did  mattered  little.  Under  some 
contingencies,  such  as  Nelson  was  contemplating  when  h,e 
wrote  his  letter,  it  might  have  mattered  much  whether  he  re- 
ceived the  abundant  support  of  small  armed  vessels  which  he 
indicated ;  but  in  the  end  supplies  only  were  required,  and 
tliose  he  had  orders  from  Jervis  to  exact  at  the  mouth  of  his 
cannon  from  all  powers,  —  friends  or  neutrals,  —  Sardinia 
only  excepted.  The  fleet  passed  the  Straits  of  Messina  on 
the  20th  of  June,  and  continued  south,  keeping  close  to  the 
Sicilian  shore  in  ho{)e  of  information,  until  the  22d,  when 
it  was  oft'  Cape  Passaro,  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the 
island.  There  a  Genoese  brig  was  spoken,  which  had  left 
^Malta  the  previous  day.  From  her  Nelson  learned  that  Malta 
had  surrendered  to  the  French  on  the  15th,  a  week  before, 
which  was  correct ;  but  the  information  further  stated,  that, 
after  landing  a  garrison,  the  expedition  had  sailed  again  on 
the  IGth  —  it  was  thought  for  Sicily.  This  last  news  was  un- 
true, whether  by  intention  or  not,  for  Bonaparte  remained  in 
Malta  till  the  19th :  but  upon  it  Nelson  had  to  act.  Had  he 
seen  the  captain  of  tlie  stranger  himself,  he  might  have  found 
out  more,  for  he  was  a  shrewd  questioner,  and  his  intellect 
was  sharpened  by  anxiety,  and  by  constant  dwelling  upon  the 


*1 


■\i'    I 


i  1  ■ 


•ii 


!i 


^! :  I 


*.'  i 


'  1/ 


284 


TIIK   J.irK   or  NELSON 


M 


!    ;h 


V- 


!  I 


I  ^ : 


elements  of  the  iutricate  problem  befoi*e  him  ;  but  the  vessel 
had  been  boarded  by  the  "  Mutiiie,"  three  hours  before,  and 
was  now  beyond  recall. 

At  this  season  the  winds  in  the  Mediterranean  prevail  from 
the  westward;  therefore,  with  the  six  days'  start  the  enemy 
was  believed  now  to  have,  no  time  could  be  lost.  Six  days 
sufficed  to  carry  the  liritish  squadron  from  its  present  position 
to  Alexandria,  which  Nelson  was  already  inclined  to  think  the 
destination  of  the  French.  Yet,  being  dependent  upon  a  wind 
then  practically  constant  in  direction,  it  would  not  do  to  yield 
a  mile  of  ground,  except  upon  a  mature,  if  rajnd,  deliberation. 
Nelson's  own  mind  was,  by  constant  preoccupation,  familiar 
beforehand  with  tlie  bearings  of  tlie  dilferent  conditions  of 
any  situation  likely  to  occur,  and  with  the  probable  inferences 
to  be  drawn  ;  his  opinions  were,  so  to  say,  in  a  constant  state 
of  formation  and  development,  ready  for  instantaneous  appli- 
cation to  any  emergency  as  it  arose.  But  he  had,  besides,  ex- 
ercised the  same  habit  in  the  captains  of  the  ships,  by  the 
practice  of  summoning  them  on  board  the  flagship,  singly  or 
in  groups;  the  slow  movement  of  sailing  vessels,  particularly 
in  the  light  summer  weather  of  the  Mediterranean,  permitting 
such  intercourse  without  materially  affecting  the  progress  of 
tlie  flet  t.  Invitations  or  commands  so  to  visit  the  flagship 
Avere  ODmmon.  "I  have  i)assed  the  day  on  board  the  Van- 
guard,' notes  Saumarez  on  one  occasion,  "  having  breakfasted 
and  stayed  to  dinner  with  the  admiral."  "  It  was  his  practice 
during  the  wliole  of  liis  cruise,"  wrote  Berry,  the  flag-captain, 
"  whenever  the  weather  and  circui.istances  would  p-^rmit,  to 
have  his  captains  on  board  the  J^anguard,  wl.  ;re  he  would 
fully  develop  to  tiiem  his  own  ideas  of  the  different  and  best 
modes  of  attack,  in  all  possible  positions."  That  such  con- 
versations were  not  confined  to  t.'ictical  <piestions,  but  extended 
to  Avhat  would  now  be  called  the  strategy  of  the  situation,  is 
evident  froui  allusions  by  Saumar^z  to  the  various  surmises 
concerning  tlie  ])robable  movements  of  the  enemy.  Nelson 
never  yielded  a  i)article  of  his  responsibility,  nor  of  his  credit, 
but  it  is  clear  that  such  discussion  would  not  only  broaden  his 
own  outlook,  but  ])re[)are  his  subordiuiites  to  give  readier  and 
sounder  views  iipon  any  new  conjuncture  that  might  arise. 
lie  now  summoned  on  board  four  captains  "  in  whom  I  place 


THE  PURSUIT  OF  BoXAPARTE 


286 


groat  confidence,"  Sainnaroz,  Troubridj^o,  —  the  two  seniors, — 
Jiull  and  Darby,  stated  the  case,  and  received  their  opinions. 
These  seem  to  have  been  given  in  writing,^  and  from  liis  letter 
to  St.  Vincent  tlio  results  of  the  confe'-ence  as  shown  by  his  de- 
cision, may  bo  summarized  as  follows.  With  the  existing  winds, 
it  would  be  impossible  for  such  a  fleet  as  the  enemy's  to  get  to 
the  westward.  Had  tliey  aimed  at  Sicily,  an  object  concern- 
ing which  explicit  disclaimers  had  been  given  by  the  French 
to  the  Neapolitan  Government,  some  indication  of  their 
ajiproach  must  have  been  known  at  Syracuse,  the  day  before, 
when  the  British  were  olT  that  tity.  Consequently,  the  expe- 
dition must  have  gone  to  the  eastward.  The  size  and  nature 
of  the  armament  must  also  be  considered,  —  forty  thousand 
troops,  a  dozen  ships-of-the-line,  besides  a  stai'i  of  scientific 
men,  —  all  pointed  to  a  great,  distant,  and  permanent  occupa- 
tion. The  object  might  be  Corfu,  or  to  overthrow  the  exist- 
ing government  of  Turkey,  or  to  settle  a  colony  in  Egypt. 
As  between  these,  all  ecpially  possible,  the  last  was  the  most 
direct  and  greatest  menace  to  present  British  interests,  and 
should  determine  his  course.  *'  If  tl.ey  have  concerted  a  plan 
with  Tippoo  Saib,  to  have  vessels  at  Suez,  three  weeks,  at  this 
season,  is  a  common  passage  to  the  Alalabar  coast,  where  our 
India  possessions  would  be  in  great  danger." 

Such  was  the  conclusion  —  how  momentous  at  the  moment 
can  only  be  realized  by  those  who  will  be  at  the  pains  to  con- 
sider a  man  still  young,  with  reputation  brilliant  indeed,  but 
not  established;  intrusted  with  a  great  chance,  it  is  true,  but 
alst)  with  a  great  responsibility,  upon  which  rested  all  his 
future.  On  slight,  though  decisive,  preponderance  of  evi- 
dence, he  was  about  to  risk  throwing  away  an  advantage  a 

1  The  author  is  indebtod  to  tlie  present  Lord  De  Saumnrez  for  a  eopy  of  the 
opinion  of  Sir  James  Saumarcz,  written  on  board  the  "Vanguard"  at  this 
niectinf;:  — 

"The  Freneh  fleet  having  left  Malta  six  days  ago,  liad  tlieir  destination 
been  the  Island  of  Sicily  there  is  reason  to  ]iresunie  we  should  have  obtained 
information  of  it  yesterday  olf  Syraeuse,  or  the  day  before  in  coming  through 
the  Pharo  of  Messina  —  umler  all  circumstances  I  think  it  most  conducive  to 
the  good  of  His  Majesty's  service  to  nmke  the  best  of  our  way  for  Ah'xandria, 
as  the  only  means  of  saving  our  possessions  in  India,  should  the  French  arma- 
nitMit  be  destined  for  that  country. 

"Vanguard,  at  sea,  22d  June  1798.  Jamks  Savmaukz." 


,i' 


.  i;  • 


< 


i  :  i  *.\ 


y  ;i!  ■ ! 


ISQ 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


.M 


I.  I 


seaman  must  appreciate,  that  of  being  to  windward  of  his 
enemy,  —  able  to  get  at  him,  —  the  strategist's  position  of 
command.  The  tongues  of  envy  and  censure  might  well  be 
—  we  now  know  that  they  were  —  busy  in  inquiring  why  so 
young  an  admiral  had  so  high  charge,  and  in  sneering  at  his 
failure  to  find  the  enemy.  "  Knowing  my  attachment  to  you," 
wrote  his  old  friend.  Admiral  Goodall,  alongside  whom  he 
had  fought  :  nder  Hotham,  "how  often  have  I  been  ques- 
tioned :  *  What  is  your  favourite  hero  abont  ?  The  French 
fleet  has  passed  under  his  nose,'  &c.,  &c."  Ncvson  was  saved 
from  fatal  hesitation,  primarily,  by  his  singleness  of  purpose, 
which  looked  first  to  his  country's  service,  to  the  thorough 
doing  of  the  work  given  him  to  do,  and  only  afterwards  to  the 
consequences  of  failure  to  his  own  fame  and  fortunes.  At 
that  moment  the  choice  before  bim  was  either  to  follow  out  an 
indication,  slight,  but  as  far  as  it  went  clear,  which,  though 
confessedly  precarious,  promised  to  lead  to  a  great  and  decisive 
result,  such  as  he  had  lately  urged  upon  the  King  of  Naples  ; 
or  to  remain  where  he  was,  in  a.i  inglorious  security,  perfectly 
content,  to  use  words  of  his  own,  that  "  each  day  passed  with- 
out loss  to  our  side."  To  the  latter  conclusion  might  very 
well  have  contributed  the  knowledge,  that  the  interests  which 
the  Cabinet  thought  threatened  were  certainly  for  the  present 
safe.  Broadly  as  his  instructions  were  drawn,  no  word  of 
Egypt  or  the  EaLC  was  specifically  in  them.  Naples,  Sicilj', 
Portugal,  or  Ireland,  such  were  the  dangers  intimated  by 
Spencer  and  St.  Vincent  in  their  letters,  and  he  was  distinctly 
cautioned  against  letting  the  enemy  get  to  the  westward  of 
him.  He  might  have  consoled  himself  for  indecisive  action, 
which  procrastftiated  disaster  and  covered  failure  with  the 
veil  of  nullity,  as  did  a  former  commander  of  his  in  a  gazetted 
letter,  by  the  reflection  that,  so  far  as  the  anticipations  of  the 
ministry  went,  the  designs  of  the  enemy  were  Tor  the  time 
frustrated,  by  the  presence  of  his  squadron  between  them  and 
the  points  indicated  to  him. 

But  the  single  eye  of  principle  gained  keener  insight  in 
this  case  by  the  practised  habit  of  reflection,  which  came  pre- 
pared, to  the  full  extent  of  an  acute  intellect,  to  detect  every 
glimmer  of  light,  and  to  follow  them  to  the  point  where  they 
converged  upon  the  true   solution ;    and  both  principle  and 


THE  PURSUIT  OF  BONAPARTE 


297 


m 


reflection  were  powerfully  supported  in  their  final  action  by 
a  native  temperament,  impatient  of  hesitations,  of  half  meas- 
ures, certain  that  the  annihilation  of  the  French  fleet,  and 
nothing  short  of  its  annihilation,  fulfilled  tl;at  security  of  his 
country's  interests  in  \rhich  consisted  the  spirit  of  his  instruc- 
tions. His  own  words  in  self-defence,  when  for  a  moment  it 
seemed  as  if,  after  all,  he  had  blundered  in  the  great  risk  he 
took,  though  rough  in  form,  rise  to  the  eloquence  that  speaks 
out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart.  "The  only  objection  I 
can  fancy  to  be  started  is,  'you  should  not  have  gone  such 
a  long  voyage  without  more  certain  information  of  the 
enemy's  destination:'  my  answer  is  ready — who  was  I  to 
get  it  from  ?  The  governments  of  Naples  and  Sicily  either 
knew  not,  or  chose  to  keep  me  in  ignorance.  Was  I  to 
wait  patiently  till  I  heard  certain  accounts  ?  If  Egypt  was 
their  object,  before  I  could  hear  of  them  they  would  have 
been  in  India.  To  do  nothing,  I  felt,  was  disgraceful ;  there- 
fore I  made  use  of  my  understanding,  and  by  it  I  ought  to 
stand  or  fall." 

The  destination  of  the  enemy  had  been  rightly  li\lned, 
following  out  a  course  of  reasoning  outlined  by  Nelson  a  week 
before  in  his  letter  to  Spencer;  but  successful  pursuit  was 
baffled  for  the  moment  by  the  wiliness  of  Bonaparte,  who 
directed  his  vast  armament  to  be  steered  for  the  south  shore 
of  Candia,  instead  of  straight  for  Alexandria.  Even  this 
would  scarcely  have  saved  him,  had  Nelson's  frigates  been 
with  the  fleet.  Immediately  after  the  council,  the  admiral 
with  his  customar}'  promptitude  kept  away  for  Egypt  under 
all  sail.  "I  am  just  returned  from  on  board  the  Admiral," 
writes  Saumarez,  "  and  we  are  crowding  sail  for  Alexandria  ; 
but  the  contrast  to  what  we  experienced  yesterday  is  great 
indeed,  having  made  sure  of  attacking  them  this  morning. 
At  present  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  we  shall  fall  in  with 
tliem  at  all,  as  we  are  proceeding  upon  the  merest  conjecture 
only,  and  not  on  any  positive  information.  Some  days  must 
now  elapse  before  we  can  be  relieved  from  our  cruel  suspense ; 
and  if,  at  the  end  of  ouv  journey,  we  find  we  are  upon  a  wrong 
scent,  our  embarrassment  will  be  great  indeed.  Fortunately,  I 
only  act  hero  en  sfroiid ;  but  did  the  chief  responsibility  rest 
with  me,  I  fear  it  would  be  more  than  my  too  irritable  nerves 


m 


288 


THE  UFK   OF  NELSON 


I  :■' 


I 


I         ,•!■ 


H' 


would  bear."  Such  was  the  contemporary  estimate  of  an  eye- 
witness, an  officer  of  tried  and  sin},'uhir  gallantry  and  ability, 
who  shared  tl:e  admiral's  perplexities  and  ambitions,  though 
not  his  responsibility.  His  words  portray  justly  the  immen- 
sity of  the  burden  Nelson  bore.  That,  indeed,  is  the  inevi- 
table penalty  ot  command ;  but  it  must  be  conceded  that,  when 
adefiuately  borne,  it  should  convey  also  an  equal  measure  of 
renown. 

In  the  morning,  before  the  consultation  with  the  captains, 
three  French  frigates  ad  b'  st  mi  ;  but  Nelson,  warned  Dy 
che  parting  o*'  tie  '  r'o,.  ui  \  *' 7ilexander "  a  fortnight 
before,  would  not  run  lii*>  rhk  >*  scattering  the  squadron  by 
cliasing  them.  No  nmt  ,,ui  'i~\v  be  lost,  waiting  for  a 
separated  ship  to  catch  up.  Tli.  v. "rcuni stance  of  the  fleet 
being  seen  by  these  frigates  was  quoted  in  a  letter  from  Louis 
Bonaparte,  who  was  with  the  expedition,  to  his  brother 
Joseph,  and  was  made  the  ground  for  comment  upon  the 
stupidity  of  the  British  admiral,  who  with  this  opportunity 
failed  to  find  the  armament.  The  criticism  is  unjust ;  had 
the  frigates  taken  to  flight,  as  of  course  they  would,  the 
British  fleet,  if  not  divided,  would  certainly  not  be  led  towards 
the  main  body  of  the  enemy.  Concentration  of  purpose,  sin- 
gleness of  aim,  was  more  than  ever  necessary,  now  that  time 
pressed  and  a  decision  had  been  reached ;  but  the  sneer  of  the 
French  offi(!er  reproduces  the  idle  chatter  of  the  day  in  London 
streets  and  drawing-rooms.  These,  in  turn,  but  echoed  and 
swelled  the  murmurs  of  insubordination  and  envy  in  the  navy 
itself,  at  the  departure  from  the  routine  methods  of  officialism, 
by  passing  over  the  claip  s  of  undistinguished  seniors,  in  favor 
of  one  who  as  j-et  had  nothing  but  brilliant  achievement,  and 
yet  more  brilliant  promise,  to  justify  committing  to  him  the 
most  momentous  charge  that  in  this  war  had  devolved  on  a 
British  admiral.  A  letter  from  one  of  the  jiuisne  lords  of  the 
Admiralty  was  read  publicly  on  board  the  "  Prince  George," 
flagship  of  Sir  William  Parker,  —  the  same  who  had  the  con- 
troversy with  Nelson  about  the  Battle  of  St.  Vincent,  — 
denouncing  Lord  St.  Vincent  in  no  very  gentle  terms  for 
having  scMit  so  j'oung  a  flag-officer,^  "  Sir  "William  Parker 
and  Sir  John  Orde  have  written  strong  remonstrances  against 


^i'l 


1  Clarke  ami  IM'Aithui'.s  Life  of  Nelson,  vol.  ii.  p.  100. 


THE  PURSUIT  OF  BONAPARTE 


280 


your  commaiuling  the  detaclieil  squadron  instead  of  thoni," 
wrote  Si  Vincent  to  Nelson.  "  L  did  all  I  could  to  prevent  it, 
consist'  .  ly  \\  i.h  my  situation,  hut  there  is  a  fa(;tion,  fraught 
with  all  .  arnor  cf  i]l-wi^l  to  you,  that,  unfortunately  for  the 
two  Laro  lets,  doniin'^d  over  any  argument  m  intiuenco  I  could 
use:  tl  •'.'  will  ^oth  be  orajred  home  the  moment  their  letters 
arrive."  It  will  be  seen  how  much  was  at  stake  for  Xelson 
liosonuily  in  the  issu'^  of  .hese  weeks.  Happy  the  man  who, 
like  him,  has  in  such  a  case  the  clear  light  of  duty  to  keep  his 
steps  from  wavering! 

The  night  after  Nelson  made  sail  for  Alexandria  the  two 
hostile  bodies  crossed  the  snme  tract  of  sea,  on  divergent 
courses;  )>ut  a  haze  covered  v  tc  face  oC  the  deep,  and  hid  them 
Irom  each  other.  When  the  day  dawned,  they  were  no  longer 
within  range  of  sight;  but  had  the  horizon  of  the  British  fleet 
been  enlarged  by  flanking  frigates,  chasing  on  either  side,  the 
immunity  of  the  French  from  detection  could  scarcely  have 
continued.  For  some  days  not  a  hundred  miles  intervened 
between  these  two  foes,  proceeding  for  the  same  port.  On  the 
2i')th,  hu'ing  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Alexandria, 
Xelson  sent  the  "  Mutine  "  ahead  to  communicate  with  the 
place  and  get  information  ;  a  single  vessel  being  able  to  out- 
strip the  progress  of  a  body  of  ships,  which  is  bound  to  the 
speed  of  its  slowest  member.  On  the  28th  the  squadron  itself 
was  off  the  town,  when  the  admiral  to  his  dismay  found  that 
not  only  the  French  had  not  appeared,  but  that  no  certain 
news  of  their  destination  was  to  be  had. 

Preoccupied  as  his  mind  had  been  with  the  fear  that  the 
onemy  had  so  far  the  start  that  their  army  would  be  out  of 
the  transports  before  he  overtook  them,  the  idea  that  he 
might  outstrip  them  does  not  seem  to  have  entered  his  head. 
Only  three  vessels  had  been  spoken  since  Sicily  was  left 
behind,  —  two  from  Alexandria  and  one  from  the  Archipel- 
ago; but  these  knew  nothing  of  the  French,  being  doubtless, 
when  met,  ahead  of  the  latter's  advance.  That  Nelson  again 
consulted  with  his  captains  seems  probable  —  indeed  almost 
certain,  from  casual  mention  ;  but  if  so,  their  opinion  as  to  the 
future  course  does  not  appear.  The  unremitting  eagerness  of 
his  temperament  the  singleness  of  his  purpose,  which  saw  the 
whole  situatioi  concentrated  in  the  French  fleet,  had  worked 

19 


;  > 


f 

1 

,    ,i 

1 

' 

i««J 

M 

290 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


U'    M 


I  i 


together  up  to  the  present  to  hring  liim  to  the  true  strategu; 
point  just  ahead  of  time  ;  although,  by  no  fault  of  his  own,  he 
liad  started  near  three  weeks  late.^  These  two  high  qualities 
now  conspired  to  mislead  him  by  their  own  excess.  "J lis 
active  and  anxious  mind,"  wrote  Captain  lierry,  '*  would  not 
permit  him  to  rest  a  moment  in  the  same  place ;  he  therefore 
shaped  his  course  to  the  northward,  for  the  coast  of  Cara- 
mania  [in  Asia  Minor],  to  reach  as  quickly  as  possible  some 
quarter  where  information  could  probably  be  obtained." 

To  say  that  this  was  a  mistake  is  perhaps  to  be  wise  only 
after  the  event.  Had  Nelson  known  that  the  Frencsh,  Avhen 
leaving  Malta,  had  but  three  days'  start  of  him,  instead  of  six, 
as  the  Genoese  had  reported,  he  might  have  suspected  the 
truth ;  it  is  not  wonderful  that  he  failed  to  believe  that  he 
could  have  gained  six  days.  The  actual  gain  was  but  three ; 
for,  departing  practically  at  the  same  time  from  points 
equidistant  from  Alexandria,  Bonaparte's  armament  appeared 
before  that  place  on  the  third  day  after  Nelson  arrived.  The 
troops  were  landed  immediately,  and  the  transports  entered 
the  port,  thus  making  secure  their  escape  from  the  British 
pursuit.     The  ships  of  war  remained  outside. 

Meanwhile  Nelson,  "  distressed  for  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Two  Sicilies,"  was  beating  back  to  the  westward  against  the 
wind  which  had  carried  him  rapidly  to  the  coast  of  Egypt, 
nightly  or  wrongly,  he  had  not  chosen  to  wait  at  the  point 
which  mature  reflection  had  indicated  to  him  as  the  enemy's 
goal,  and  the  best  course  that  now  occurred  to  him  was  to  do 
with  his  fleet  the  exploring  duty  that  frigates  should  have 
done.  "  Ao  fngates,"  he  wrote  to  Sir  AVilliam  Hamilton ; 
"  to  which  has  been,  and  may  again  be,  attributed  the  loss  of 
tlie  French  fleet."  On  his  return  he  kept  along  the  northern 
shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  passing  near  Candia ;  but,  though 
several  vessels  were  spoken,  ho  only  gathered  from  them  that 
the  French  were  not  west  of  Sicily,  nor  at  Corfu.  On  tht 
19th  of  July,  he  anchored  the  fleet  at  Syracuse,  having,  to 
use  his  own  words,  "gcme  a  round  of  six  hundred  leagues  with 
an  expedition  incredible,"  and  yet  "  as  ignorant  of  the  situa- 
tion of  the  enemy  as  I  was  twenty-seven  days  ago." 

^  That  is,  counting  from  Afay  19,  when  Ronai)arte  left  Toulon,  to  June  7, 
when  Troubriilge's  scjuadion  joined,  and  jiursuit  begau. 


THE  PURSUIT  OF  nONAPAUTE 


201 


At  Syracuse  fre.sh  disappointments  awaited  him,  which  only 
tlie  indomitable  sinyle-mindedness  and  pcrscveranoe  of  the 
niiiii  i)rev('nte(l  from  bo(*omin<j  discfonrayfenjonts.  The  minister 
at  Naples  had  sent  desi)atohes  to  await  him  at  Cape  Pa.ssaro; 
when  he  sent  for  these,  thirsty  for  news  about  tlie  P^-encli, 
they  had  been  returned  to  Naples.  The  governor  of  the  ]K)rt, 
despite  Acton's  assurances  to  Troubridge,  made  difliculties 
about  the  admission  of  so  many  ships,  and  about  supplying 
water,  whicdi  they  absolutely  required.  This  Nelson  resented, 
with  angry  contempt  for  the  halting  policy  of  the  weak  king- 
dom. **  I  have  had  so  much  said  about  the  King  of  Naples' 
orders  only  to  admit  three  or  four  of  the  ships  of  our  fleet  into 
jiis  ports,  that  I  am  astonished.  I  understood  that  private 
orders,  at  least,  would  have  been  given  for  our  free  admission. 
If  we  are  to  be  refused  su)iplies,  i)ray  send  me  by  many  ves- 
sels an  account,  tint  I  may  in  good  time  take  the  King's  fleet 
to  Gibraltar.  Our  treatn;ent  is  scandalous  for  a  great  nation 
to  put  up  with,  and  the  King's  flag  is  insulted  at  every  friendly 
port  we  look  at."  "I  wish  to  know  your  and  Sir  William's 
i)lans  tor  going  down  tlie  Mediterranean,"  he  wrote  to  Lady 
Hamilton,  ''for,  if  we  are  to  be  kicked  in  every  port  of  the 
Sicilian  dominions,  the  sooner  we  are  gone  the  better,  (rood 
God!  how  sensibly  I  feel  our  treatment.  I  have  only  to  pray 
I  may  find  the  French  and  throw  all  my  vengeance  on  them." 

These  words  show  the  nervous  exasperation  superinduced 
by  the  tremendous  strain  of  official  anxiety  and  mortified 
ambition ;  for  the  governor's  objections  were  jiurely  formal 
and  perfunctory,  as  was  the  Court's  submission  to  the  French. 
"Our  present  wants,"  he  admitted  at  the  same  writing,  "have 
been  most  amply  sup[)lied,  and  every  attention  has  been  paid 
us."  Years  afterwards  Nelson  spoke  feelingly  of  the  bitter 
mental  anguish  of  that  protracted  and  oft-thwarted  pursuit. 
"  Do  not  fret  at  anything,"  he  told  his  friend  Troubridge  ; 
'•  I  wish  I  never  had,  but  my  return  to  Syracuse  in  1798, 
liroke  my  heart,  which  on  any  extraordinary  anxiety  now 
shows  ithclf,  be  that  f(!eling  i»ain  or  pleasure."  "  On  the  18th 
1  liad  near  died,  with  the  swelling  of  some  of  the  vessels  of 
the  heart.  More  people,  perhaps,  die  of  broken  hearts  than 
wo  are  aware  of."  But  the  flrmness  of  his  purpose,  the  clear- 
ness of  his  convictions,  remained  unslackened  and  un(douded. 


!  ■'! 


5!' 


.• 


THE  LIFK  OF  NELSON 


).: 


Ii 


I'       ! 


,!  :,! 


.      .         '\ 


"  Whiit  a  situation  am  I  placed  in ! "  he  writes,  wlien  he  finds 
Hamilton's  despatches  returned.  ''As  yet  1  can  learn  nothing 
of  the  enemy.  You  will,  I  am  sure,  and  so  will  our  country, 
easily  conceive  what  has  passed  in  njy  anxious  nnnd ;  but  I 
have  this  comfort,  that  I  have  no  fault  to  accuse  myself  of. 
This  bears  me  up,  and  this  onl}'."  "  Every  moment  1  have  to 
regret  tlie  frigates  having  left  me,"  he  tells  St.  Vincent. 
"  Your  lordship  deprived  yourself  of  frigates  to  nuike  mine 
certainly  the  first  squadron  in  the  world,  and  I  feel  tin  t  1 
have  zeal  and  activity  to  do  credit  to  your  appointment,  and 
yet  to  be  unsuccessfid  hurts  me  most  sensibly.  But  if  they 
are  above  water,  I  will  find  them  out,  and  if  possible  bring 
them  to  battle.  You  have  done  your  part  in  giving  me  so  fine 
a  fleet,  and  I  hope  to  do  mine  in  making  use  of  them." 

In  five  days  the  squadron  had  filled  with  water  and  again 
sailed.  Satisfied  that  the  enemy  were  somewhere  in  the 
Levant,  Nelson  now  intended  a  deliberate  search  for  them  — 
or  rather  for  their  fleet,  the  destruction  of  which  was  the 
crucial  object  of  all  his  movements.  "  It  has  been  said,"  he 
wrote  to  Hamilton,  "  that  to  leeward  of  the  two  frigates  I  saw 
off  Cape  Passaro  was  a  line-of-battle  ship,  with  the  riches  of 
Malta  on  board,  but  it  was  the  destruction  of  the  enemy,  not 
riches  for  myself,  that  I  was  seeking.  These  would  have 
fallen  to  me  if  I  had  had  frigates,  but  except  the  ship-of-the- 
line,  I  regard  not  all  the  riches  in  this  world."  A  plaintive 
remonstrance  against  his  second  departure  was  penned  by  the 
Neapolitan  prime  minister,  which  depicts  so  plainly  the  com- 
monplace view  of  a  military  situation,  —  the  apprehensions 
of  one  to  whom  immediate  security  is  the  great  object  in  war, 
—  that  it  justifies  quotation,  and  comparison  with  the  clear 
intuitions,  and  firmly  grasped  principle,  which  placed  Nelson 
always,  in  desire,  alongside  the  enemy's  fleet,  and  twice 
carried  him,  at  every  risk,  to  the  end  of  the  Mediterranean  to 
seek  it.  "  We  are  now  in  danger  of  a  war,  directly  on  Admiral 
Nelson's  account ;  you  see  fairly  our  position  ;  will  Admiral 
Nelson  run  to  the  Levant  again  without  hn ow hi ^  for  certain 
the  position  of  the  French,  and  leave  the  Two  Sicilies  exposed 
in  these  moments  ?  Buonaparte  has  absconded  himself,  but 
in  any  port  he  has  taken  security s  not  to  be  forced.  God 
knows  where  he  is,  and  whether  we  shall  not  see  him  again  in 


3  finds 
othing 
luntry, 
,  but  I 
jelf  of. 
lave  to 
incent. 
3  mine 

tlut  I 
nt,  and 
if  tliey 
e  bring 

so  fine 

d  again 
in   the 
;hem  — 
vas  the 
lid,"  he 
!S  I  saw 
iches  of 
my,  not 
d  have 
of-the- 
aintive 
by  the 
e  com- 
lensions 
in  war, 
e  clear 
Nelson 
twice 
lean  to 
Ldmiral 
Idmiral 
Icerffu'n 
Ixposed 
flf,  but 
God 
rain  in 


''■ti 


\m 


if  I' 


!;'■ 


■    i 


! 
1 


H. 


I) 


b- 


!  I 


!i' 


a 
1 

w 
ot 
as 
II 

th 


THE   rUUSUJT  OF  BONAl'AllTK 


293 


7-, 

a: 


^ 
'< 


a  few  days,  if  we  do  uot  hear  of  what  a  course  he  lias  taken. 
1  present  all  this  to  your  consideration."  To  this  letter, 
which  oddly  enough  was  written  on  the  very  day  the  Battle 
of  the  Nile  was  fought,  >«'eLson  might  well  have  replied  then, 
as  he  did  in  terms  a  year  afterwarils,  "The  best  defence  for 
His  Sicilian  Majesty's  dominions  is  to  place  myself  alongside 
the  French  fleet." 

The  fleet  left  Syracuse  on  the  2r)th  of  July,  just  one  week 
before  the  discovery  of  the  enemy  in  Aboukir  Bay  put  an 
end  to  >.'elson's  long  suspense.  The  course  was  flrst  shaped 
for  the  southern  capes  of  the  ^Morea,  and  on  the  28th  Trou- 
bridge  was  sent  into  the  Gulf  of  Korou  for  information.  He 
returned  within  three  hours,  with  the  news  that  the  French 
had  been  seen  four  weeks  before  from  the  coast  of  Candia, 
and  were  then  steering  southeast.  This  intelligence  was 
corroborated  by  a  vessel  spoken  the  same  day.  Southeast, 
being  nearly  dead  before  the  prevailing  wind,  was  an  almost 
certain  clue  to  the  destination  of  an  unwieldy  body  which 
could  never  regain  ground  lost  to  leeward ;  so,  although  Nelson 
now  learned  that  some  of  his  nussing  frigates  had  also  been 
seen  recently  off  Candia,  he  would  waste  no  time  looking  for 
them.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  these  frigates  had  appeared 
off  the  anchorage  of  the  Froncli  fleet,  and  had  been  recognized 
by  it  as  enemies ;  but,  so  far  from  taking  warning  from  the 
incident,  the  French  admiral  was  only  confirmed  by  it  in  a 
blind  belief  that  the  British  feared  to  attack.  Immediately 
after  Troubridge's  return,  the  fleet  bore  up  under  all  sail,  and 
at  2.45  in  the  afternoon  of  the  1st  of  August,  1798,  the  mast- 
head lookout  of  the  "  Zealous"  discovered  the  long-.sought-for 
enemy,  lying  in  Aboukir  Bay,  on  the  coast  of  Egypt,  fifteen 
miles  east  of  Alexandria. 

Suspense  was  ended,  but  Nelson's  weightiest  responsibility 
had  vet  to  be  met.  The  enemv  was  still  so  far  distant  that  he 
could  not  be  reached  till  near  nightfall,  and  it  was  possible  that 
not  only  would  the  battle  be  fought  in  the  dark,  but  that  some 
at  least  of  the  ships  would  not  have  daylight  to  take  t'leir 
positions.  The  consequent  difficulty  and  risk  was  in  any 
event  great;  but  in  this  ease  the  iiiore  so,  because  the  ground 
was  unknown  to  every  officer  in  the  fleet.  The  only  chart  of  it 
in  possession  of  the  British  was  a  rude  sketch  lately  taken 


n 


■  • 


;, 


I 


I' 


fl 


.) 


n 


i 


III 


HI 


'I 


li 


¥^ 


.|! 


^1'     «! 


lii! 


294 


THE   LIFE   OF  KELSON 


out  of  a  prize.  There  was  no  time  now  for  calling  captains 
together,  nor  for  forming  plans  of  action.  Then  appeared 
conspicuously  the  value  of  that  preparedness  of  mind,  as  well 
as  of  purpose,  which  at  bottom  was  the  greatest  of  Nelson's 
claims  to  credit.  Much  had  been  received  by  him  from 
Nature,  —  gifts  whic^h,  if  she  bestows  them  not,  man  strug- 
gles in  vain  to  a(!(piire  by  his  own  efforts;  but  the  care  wliicli 
he  took  iu  fitting  Iiimself  to  use  those  gifts  to  their  utmost 
capacity  is  his  own  glory.  The  author  of  the  first  full  narra- 
tive of  these  eventful  weeks.  Captain  Berry,  than  whom  no 
man  had  larger  occasion  to  observe  Nelson's  moods,  used  his 
capitals  well  when  he  wrote,  "The  admiral  viewed  the 
obstacles  with  the  eye  of  a  seaman  dktkkminkd  on  attack." 
It  was  not  for  him,  face  to  face  with  opportunity,  to  hesitate 
and  debate  whetiier  he  would  be  justified  in  using  it  at  once. 
]>ut  this  preparation  of  purpose  might  have  led  only  to  a 
great  disaster,  had  it  not  received  guidance  from  a  richly 
stored  intellect,  which  had  pondered  probable  conditions  so 
exhaustively  that  proper  direction  could  be  at  once  imparted 
and  at  once  understood.  The  French  admiral,  indeed,  by  his 
mistaken  dispositions  had  delivered  himself  into  the  hands  of 
his  enemy  ;  but  that  might  not  have  availed  had  that  enemy 
hesitated  and  given  time,  or  had  he  not  instantly  compre- 
hended the  possibilities  of  the  situation  with  a  trained  glance 
which  had  contemplated  them  long  before.  "By  attacking 
the  enemy's  van  and  centre,  the  wind  blowing  directly  along 
their  line,  I  was  enabled  to  throw  what  force  I  pleased  on  a 
few  shi]>s.  This  plan  my  friends  rea;lily  conceived  by  the 
signals."  ^ 

It  was,  therefore,  no  fortuitous  coincidence  that  the  battle 
was  fought  on  a  plan  preconcerted  in  general  outline,  though 
necessarily  subject  to  particular  variations  in  detail.  Not 
only  had  many  situations  been  discussed,  as  Berry  tells  us, 
but  new  signals  had  been  inserted  in  the  signal-book  to  enable 
the  admiral's  intentions  to  be  quickly  understood.  To  pro- 
vide for  the  case  of  tlie  enemy  being  met  at  sea,  the  force  had 
been  organized  into  three  squadrons, — a  subdivision  of  com- 
mand which,  while  surrendering  nothing  of  the  idmiral's  in- 
itiative,  much   facilitated  the  application   of   his   plans,   by 

1  Nelson  to  Lord  Howe. 


DISPOSITIONS   FOR   BATl'LIO 


SOS 


committing  the  execution  of  major  details  to  tlie  two  senior 
captains,  Saumarez  and  Troubridge,  each  wielding  a  group  of 
four  ships.  Among  the  provisions  for  specific  contingencies 
was  one  that  evidently  sprang  from  the  report  that  the 
enemy's  fleet  numbered  sixteen  or  seventeen  of  the  line,  — 
an  impression  which  arose  from  there  being  in.it  four  Vene- 
tian ships  so  rated,  which  were  not,  however,  fit  for  a  place  in 
tlie  line.  In  that  case  Nelson  proposed  to  attack,  ship  for 
ship,  the  rear  thirteen  of  the  enemy.  That  he  preferred, 
when  possible,  to  throw  two  ships  on  one  is  evident  enough  — 
the  approaching  battle  proves  it ;  but  when  confronted  with  a 
foi'ce  stronger,  numerically,  than  his  own,  and  under  way,  ho 
provides  what  was  certainly  the  better  alternative.  He  en- 
gages at  once  the  attention  of  as  many  ships  i.s  possible,  con- 
lident  that  he  brings  against  each  a  force  superior  to  it,  owing 
to  the  general  greater  efficiency  of  British  ships  over  French 
of  that  date,  and  especially  of  those  in  his  own  squadron, 
(tailed  by  St.  Vincent  the  elite  of  the  Navy. 

The  position  of  the  French  fleet,  and  the  arrangements 
made  by  its  commander,  Admiral  Brueys,  must  now  be  given, 
tor  they  constitute  the  particular  situation  against  which 
Nelson's  general  plan  of  attack  was  to  be  directed.  Consider- 
ing it  impracticable  for  the  ships-of-the-line  to  enter  the  port 
of  Alexandria,  Brueys  had  taken  the  fleet  on  the  8th  of  July 
to  their  present  anchorage.  Aboukir  Bay  begins  at  a  promon- 
tory of  the  same  name,  and,  after  curving  boldly  south, 
extends  eastward  eighteen  miles,  terminating  at  the  Rosetta 
mouth  of  the  Nile.  From  the  shore  the  depth  increases  very 
gradually,  so  that  water  enough  for  ships-of-the-line  '.  :is  not 
found  till  three  miles  from  the  coast.  Two  miles  northeast  of 
tlie  promontory  of  Aboukir  is  Aboukir  Island,  since  called 
Nelson's,  linked  with  the  point  by  a  chain  of  rocks.  Outside 
the  island,  similar  rocks,  with  shoals,  prolong  this  foul  ground 
under  water  to  seaward,  constituting  a  reef  dangerous  to  a 
stianger  approaching  the  bay.  This  barrier,  however,  broke 
the  waves  from  the  northwest,  and  so  made  tlie  western  part 
of  the  bay  a  fairly  convenient  summer  roadstead.  The  French 
licet  was  anchored  there,  under  the  shelter  of  the  island  and 
rocks,  in  an  order  such  that  "the  wind  blew  nearly  along 
the  line."     Its  situation  offered  no  local   protection  against 


\  i 


'.   , 


200 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I* ' 


I 


j,i ' 


V    1 


^1 


an  enemy's  approach,  except  that  due  to  ignorance  of  the 
ground. 

It  was  tlierefore  Brueys's  Lusiness  to  meet  this  defect  of 
protection  by  adequate  dispositions ;  and  tliis  he  failed  to  do. 
Numerically  his  force  was  the  same  as  Nebon's ;  but,  while 
the  latter  had  only  seventy-fours,  there  were  in  the  French 
fleet  one  ship  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  guns,  and  three 
eighties.  In  a  military  sense,  every  line  divides  natvirally 
into  three  parts,  —  the  centre,  and  the  two  ends,  or  flanks; 
and  it  is  essential  that  these  should  so  far  support  one  another 
that  an  enemy  cannot  attack  any  two  in  supt.ior  force,  while 
tlie  third  is  unable,  to  assist.  Shallow  water,  such  as  was 
found  in  Aboukir  JSay,  if  properly  utilized,  will  prevent  a 
flank  being  turned,  so  that  an  enemy  can  get  on  both  sides  of 
the  ships  there,  or  otherwise  concentrate  upon  them,  as  by 
enfilading;  and  if,  in  addition,  the  ships  are  anchored  close  to 
each  other,  it  becomes  impossible  for  two  of  the  attacking 
force  to  direct  their  fire  upon  one  of  the  defence,  without 
being  exposed  to  reprisals  from  those  next  astern  and  ahead. 
These  evident  precautions  received  no  illustration  in  the  ar- 
rangements of  Admiral  IJrueys.  The  general  direction  of  his 
line  was  that  of  the  wind,  from  northwest  to  southeast,  with  a 
very  slight  bend,  as  shown  in  the  diagram.  The  leading  — 
northwestern  —  ship  was  brought  close  to  the  shoal  in  thirty 
feet  of  water,  but  not  so  close  as  to  prevent  the  British  pass- 
ing round  her,  turning  that  flank;  and  there  were  between 
the  successive  ships  intervals  of  five  hundred  feet,  through 
any  one  of  which  an  enemy  could  readily  pass.  Brueys  had 
very  properly  accumulated  his  most  powerful  vessels  at  the 
centre.  The  flagship  "Orient,"  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
guns,  was  seventh  in  the  order ;  next  ahead  and  astern  of  her 
were,  respectively,  the  "Franklin"  and  the  "Tonnant,"  each 
of  eighty.  By  a  singular  misconception,  however,  he  had 
thought  that  any  attack  would  fall  upon  the  rear  —  the  lee 
flank  ;  and  to  this  utter  misapprehension  of  the  exposed  points 
it  was  owing  that  he  there  placed  his  next  heaviest  ships. 
Nelson's  fore-determined  onslaught  upon  the  van  accordingly 
fell  on  the  weakest  of  the  French  vessels. 

y.voh.  WIS  ^he  French  order  of  battle,.  The  proceedings  of 
the  Br'tiol.  flec^.  under  its  leader,  show  an  instructive  combi- 


;■  (S* 


Ci 

^' 

i'-i 

f— > 

• 

X. 

f- 

■y. 

-f 

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CA 

l-i 

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>'. 

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E- 

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P 

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i    I'       :  ;: 

1        .  I 

1 


« 


i 


M 


V  I 


f :  1 

f    3^ 

1  , 

|'( 

1,1 

1      ■'       1 

' 

1              ■ 

lihlf 


m 

'  1- 

wiwl 

:     tit      1 

ik|k> 

;  ' .(    i 

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nal 

siti 

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lies 

wei 

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son 

circ 

bp<,^ 

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nail 

To 

renif 

haul 

am  pi 

a  wl 

roj'al 

situa 

made 

and  t 

centn 

of  ea( 

conve 

indivi 

At 

battle, 

in  wh 

leavih; 

Nelsoi 

lie  tho 

it,  if  tj 

did   nc 

would, 

load,  a 

done,  1 

Foley, 

No   clO! 

and  it 
niony  o 
Nelson. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  NILE 


297 


nation  of  rapidity  and  caution,  of  quick  comprehension  of  the 
situation,  with  an  absence  of  all  precipitation ;  no  haste  in- 
compatible with  perfect  carefulness,  no  time  lost,  either  by 
hesitation  or  by  ])reparations  postponed.  When  the  enemy 
were  first  discovered,  two  sliips,  the  "Alexander"  and 
"Swiftsuro,"  were  a  dozen  miles  to  leeward,  having  been 
sent  ahead  on  frigates'  duty  to  reconnoitre  Alexandria.  This 
circumstance  prf^  rented  their  joining  till  after  the  battle 
began  and  night  had  fallen.  At  the  same  moment  the 
"  Culloden "  was  seven  miles  to  windward.  She  was  sig- 
nalled to  drop  the  prize  she  was  towing,  and  to  join  the  fleet. 
To  this  separation  was  due  that  she  went  aground.  The 
remaining  ten  ships,  which  had  been  steering  about  east, 
hauled  sharp  on  the  wind  to  enable  them  to  weather  with 
ample  allowaiu-e  the  shoal  olT  Aboukir  Island.  It  was  blowing 
a  whole-sail  breeze,  too  fresh  for  the  lighter  canvas;  the 
royals  were  furled  as  soon  as  close-hauled.  As  the  French 
situation  and  dispositions  developed  to  the  view,  signals  were 
made  to  jjrepare  for  battle,  to  get  ready  to  anchor  by  the  stern 
and  that  it  was  the  admiral's  intention  to  attack  the  van  uii  ' 
centre  of  the  enemy.  TMie  captains  had  long  been  forewarned 
of  ea(!h  of  these  possibilities,  and  nothing  more  was  needed  to 
convey  to  them  his  general  plan,  which  was  intrusted  to  tiiem 
individually  to  carry  out  as  they  successively  (lame  into  acition. 
At  about  half-i^ast  five  signal  was  given  to  form  line  of 
battle.  This,  for  the  ships  of  the  day,  was  a  single  column, 
in  which  thc^y  were  ranged  ahead  and  astern  of  each  other, 
leaving  the  broadside  clear.  As  they  came  abreast  the  shoal, 
Nelson  hailed  Cai)tain  Hood,  of  the  *'  Zealous,"  and  asked  if 
he  thought  they  were  yet  far  enough  to  the  eastward  to  clear 
it,  if  they  then  headed  for  the  enemy.  Hood  replied  that  he 
did  not  know  the  ground,  but  was  in  eleven  fathoms,  and 
would,  if  the  admiral  allowed,  bear  up  and  sound  with  the 
lead,  and  would  not  bring  the  fleet  into  danger.  This  was 
done.  Hood  leading  all  the  fleet  except  the  "Goliath,"  Captain 
Foley,  which  kept  ahead,  on  the  lee  bow  of  the  "  Zealous." 
No  close  shaving  was  done,  however,  at  this  critical  turn  ; 
and  it  is  that  steady  deliberation,  combined  with  such  parsi- 
mony of  time  in  other  moments,  which  is  most  impressive  in 
Nelson.     So  few  realize  that  five  minutes  are  at  once  the  most 


■   \ 

'    1   1 

i '  ^ 

r 

1 

1 

1 

1 

IHJ 


ii  . 
ML  I 


208 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


f: 


t    1 


;m    ;i 


important  and  the  least  important  of  considerations.  Tims 
the  British  passed  so  nuuih  beyond  the  island  and  the  shoal, 
before  keeping  away,  that,  as  the  long  eolunin  swept  round  to 
head  for  the  French  van,  the  ships  turned  their  port  broad- 
sides to  the  enemy,  and  were  steering  southwesterly  when 
they  finally  ran  down.  "The  English  admiral,"  wrote  the 
French  second  in  command,  "without  doid)t  had  experienced 
pilots  on  board ;  he  hauled  well  round  all  dangers." 

The  "Goliath"  still  leading  the  fleet,  followed  closely  by 
the  "Zealous,"  the  flagship  was  dropped  to  sixth  in  the  order, 
—  Nelson  thus  placing  himself  so  that  he  could  see  what  the 
first  five  ships  accomplished,  while  retaining  in  his  own  hands 
the  power  to  impart  a  new  direction  to  the  remaining  five  of 
those  then  with  him,  should  he  think  it  necessary.  Captain 
Foley  had  formed  the  idea  that  the  French  would  i)e  less 
ready  to  fight  oii  the  inshore  side,  and  had  expressed  his  in- 
tention to  get  inside  them,  if  practicable.  Sounding  as  ho 
went,  he  passed  round  the  bov.  s  of  the  leading  vessel,  the 
"Guerrier,"  on  the  inner  bow  of  which  he  intended  to  place 
himself;  but  the  anchor  hung,  and  tlie  •'  Goliath  "  brought  up 
on  the  inner  quarter  of  the  "  C'mquerant,"  tlie  second  ship. 
Tlie  "Zealous,"  following,  anchored  where  Foley  had  pur- 
posed, on  the  bow  of  the  "  Guerrier ; "  and  the  next  three 
ships,  the  "  Orion,"  "  Theseus,"  and  "  Audacious,"  also  placed 
themselves  on  the  inner  side  of  the  French  line. 

The  two  le;  (  ing  French  vessels  were  at  once  crushed.  All 
the  masts  cf  t.'  >  "  Guerrier,"  although  no  sail  was  on  them, 
went  overboard  within  ten  minutes  after  she  was  first  attacked, 
while  the  "  Conquerant  "  was  receiving  the  united  broadsides 
of  the  "Goliath"  and  the  "  Audaciois," — the  latter  raking. 
Nelson  therefore  placed  the  "  Vanguard  "  on  the  outer  side, 
and  within  pistol-shot,  of  the  third  French  ship,  the  "  Spartiate," 
which  Avas  already  engaged  on  the  other  side  by  the  "  Theseus," 
but  at  much  longer  range.  His  example  was  of  course  followed 
by  those  succeeding  him — the  seventh  and  eighth  of  the 
British  engaging  the  fourth  and  fifth  of  the  French,  which  were 
already  receiving  part  of  the  fire  of  the  "  Orion  "  and  "  Theseus  " 
on  the  inner  side  —  the  latter  having  ceased  to  play  upon  the 
"  Spartiate  "  for  fear  of  hitting  the  "  Vanguard."  Thus  five 
French  ships  were  within  half  an  hour  in  desperate  conflict 


Ti         1 


W^J' 


Wind 
N.N.W, 


FIRST  STAGE 
of  the 

BATTLE  OF  THE  NILE 

/   Ctierner 

A.  Zealous 

i.  Conguerant 

S  Auetdcious 

i   Spdrtidre 

C.  Coliath 

4,   Aquilon 

D.  T/jeseus 

5.  Peuple  Souvenain 

£.    l/anguard 

6.  Frdnlilin 

F  Mino/aur 

7.   Orient 

0   Defence 

8.    Tonnsnt 

H.  Orion 

9   Heureux 

1.    Beiierophon 

10,  Mercwe 

J.    Majestic 

II.  CudldumeTell 

li.  Ce>je'reujf 

li.  Timole'on 

b* 


I 


ff 


5 


3*' 

m 

W 


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1  ": 


1' 


! 

1       '       ^ 

a 

k. " 

\f 

11 

< 

1 

i 

i 

11 

l''l 

1 

1 

1 

I 

1 

1 

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i 

>  \  i 


'  I 


II 


witl 

hell 

'I' 

ow  ii 
wlii( 
tlie  J 
the  ' 
III)  I) 
into 

IIIOIIK 

eaptii 
of  tl 
'Ifiidl, 

tioilCM 

per   ci 

inovcii 

1)1^  sty 

rcinarl 

jiidyiiK 

t'm-tliei 

tliat    J 

initiate 

iiifiden 

lino,  is 

praised, 

wrote  C 

sticik  fai 

slionld  f 

ato  the 

l'\)ley,  tl 

ft'ption, 

they   no 

(listingui 

The   1 

"  Giierrii 

before  se 

until  pas 

her  posil 

fiitly,  jus 

arrival  o 


nATTLE  OF  THE  NILE 


2W 


witli  eight  liritish,  while  their  consorts  to  looward  looked 
lielplessly  on. 

The  ninth  and  tenth  of  Nelson's  floot  w  ss  fortunate, 

owing  to  tho  envelope  of  smoke  and  the  growing  darkness, 
wiiieii  now  obscured  the  scene.  The  *'  lUdlerophon,"  missing 
the  sixth  French  vessel,  the  "  Franklin."  brought  up  al)r»'ast 
the  "  Orient,"  whoso  force  was  double  her  own,  and  which  had 
no  other  antagonist.  The  "Majestic,"  groping  her  way,  ran 
into  tiio  ninth  French,  tlie  '•  Ileuretix,"  where  for  some 
moments  she  hung  in  a  position  of  disadvantage  and  had  her 
captain  killed.  Tlien  swinging  clear,  she  anchored  on  the  bow 
of  the  next  astern,  the  "  Alercure,"  and  there  continued  a 
deadly  and  solitary  action.  Owing  to  the  circumstanc^es  men- 
tioned, the  loss  of  each  of  these  8hi[)s  was  gn^ater,  by  fifty 
per  cent,  than  th'v^.  of  aiiy  other  of  t\n)  I»ritish  Heet.  The 
movements  so  far  described,  and  the  resultant  fighting,  may 
l)e  styled  the  tirst  stage  of  the  battle.  Concerning  it  may  bo 
remarked  the  unswerving  steadiness,  rapidity,  and  yet  sound 
jutlgment,  with  which  all  tlie  movements  were  executed;  and 
further,  that  not  only  was  the  first  direction  of  the  attack 
that  J  rescribed  by  Nelson's  signal,  but  tluit  tluj  second, 
initiated  V)y  his  own  ship,  was  also  imparted  by  him.  Tlu^ 
incident  of  passing  round  the  "Guerrier,"  and  inside  of  the 
line,  is  a  detail  only,  although  one  which  cannot  be  too  highly 
]>raised.  "The  van  ship  of  the  enemy  being  in  five  fathom," 
wrote  Captain  Hood,  "  F  expected  tho  Goliath  and  Zealous  to 
stick  fast  on  the  shoal  every  moment,  and  did  not  imagine  wo 
should  attempt  to  pass  within  her."  It  is  difficult  to  exagger- 
:ito  the  coolness,  intrepidity,  and  seamanlike  care  of  Captain 
Foley,  to  whom  is  to  be  attributed,  perhaps,  the  whole  con- 
ception, and  certainly  the  entire  merit  of  the  execution  ;  but 
they  no  more  detract  from  Nelson's  honors  than  does  tho 
distinguished  conduct  of  the  other  captains. 

The  battle  had  begun  a  little  after  half-past  six,  tho 
"  Guerrier's  "  masts  falling  at  sundown,  which  was  quarter 
before  seven.  It  continued  under  the  conditions  already  given 
until  past  eight  o'clock  —  none  of  the  ships  engaged  shifting 
li(>r  position  for  some  timo  after  that  hour.  It  was,  appar- 
ently, just  before  the  second  act  of  the  drama  opened  with  the 
arrival  of  the  remaining  ships  —  the  "Alexander,"  "  Swift- 


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> 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sdraices 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)E72-4503 


I' 


ii\  > 


^^Ir 


h 


300 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


sure,"  and  "  Leand'^r  "  —  that  Nelson  was  severely  wounded ; 
but  the  precise  moment  has  not  been  recorded.  He  was  struck 
upon  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead  by  a  flying  piece  of  iron, 
the  skin,  which  was  cut  at  right  angles,  hanging  down  over 
his  face,  covering  the  one  good  eye,  and,  with  the  profuse  flow 
of  blood,  blinding  him  completely.  He  exclaimed,  "I  am 
killed !  Remember  me  to  my  Avife  !  "  and  was  falling,  but 
Captain  ]ierry,  who  stood  near,  caught  him  in  his  arms. 
When  carried  below  to  the  cockpit,  the  surgeon  went  immedi- 
ately to  liim,  but  he  refused  to  be  attended  before  his  turn 
arrived,  in  due  succession  to  the  injured  lying  around  him. 

The  pain  was  intense,  and  Nelson  felt  convinced  that  his 
hurt  was  mortal ;  nor  could  he  for  some  time  accept  the  sur- 
geon's assurances  to  the  contrary.  Thus  looking  for  his  end, 
he  renewed  his  farewell  messages  to  Lady  Kelson,  and 
directed  also  that  Captain  Louis  of  the  "  jNIinotaur,"  which  lay 
immediately  ahead  of  the  "Vanguard,"  should  be  hailed  to 
come  on  board,  that  before  dying  he  might  express  to  him  his 
sense  of  the  admirable  support  given  by  her  to  the  flagship. 
"  Your  support,"  said  he,  "  has  prevented  me  from  being 
obliged  to  haul  out  of  the  line."  ^  From  the  remark  it  may 
be  inferred  that  the  French  "  Aquilon,"  their  fourth  ship, 
which  became  the  "  jMinotaur's  "  antagonist,  had  for  a  measur- 
able time  been  able  to  combine  her  batteries  with  those  of  the 
"  Spartiate  "  upon  the  "  Vanguard,"  and  to  this  was  probably 
due  that  the  loss  of  the  latter  was  next  in  severity  to  that  of 
the  "Majestic"  and  of  the  "  Bellerophon."  The  inference  is 
further  supported  by  the  fact  that  the  worst  slaughter  in  the 
"Vanguard"  was  at  the  forward  guns,  those  nearest  the 
"  Aquilon." 

After  his  wound  was  bound  up.  Nelson  was  requested  by 
the  surgeon  to  lie  quiet ;  but  his  preoccupation  with  the  events 
of  the  evening  was  too  great,  and  his  responsibility  too  im- 
mediate, to  find  relief  in  inactivity,  —  the  physician's  panacea. 
He  remained  below  for  a  while,  probably  too  much  jarred  for 
physical  exertion ;  but  his  restlessness  sought  vent  by  begin- 
ning a  despatch  to  the  Admiralty.  The  secretary  being  too 
agitated  to  write,  Nelson  tried  to  do  so  himself,  and  it  Avas 
characteristic  that  the  few  lines  he  was  then  able  to  trace, 
*  G.  Latliora  Browne's  Life  of  Nelson,  p.  198. 


A 


)unded ; 
3  struck 
of  iron, 
xn  over 
'use  fiow 
"I   am 
ing,  but 
is  arms, 
immedi- 
his  turn 
[  him. 
that  his 
the  sur- 
•  his  end, 
son,    and 
vhich  lay 
haih^d  to 
0  him  his 
flagship, 
om  being 
•k  it  may 
rth   ship, 
a  measur- 
se  of  the 
probably 
,0  that  of 
Iference  is 
;er  in  the 
arest  the 

Lested  by 
the  events 

too  im- 

panacea. 
larred  for 
[iy  begin- 

)eing  too 
id  it  was 

to  trace, 


'T^*' 


II     Vi 


■  u 


I" 


ii  ' 


J.      i|  'M 


/ll 


'(I 


HI  ■  lil . 


\,' 


li;  :• 


.1 


H 


k''  i' 


5WIFTSURE. 


ORIENT. 


ALEXANDER. 


Second  Stage  of  the  Battle  of  the  Nile. 

Concentration  op  British  Reserve  on  the  French  Centre. 


.ii     > 


IE. 


BA'ITLE  OF  THE   NILE 


301 


blinded,  sutfering,  and  confused,  expressed  that  dependence 
upon  the  Almighty,  habitual  with  him,  which  illustrated  a 
temperament  of  so  much  native  energy  and  self-reliance,  and 
is  more  common,  probably,  among  great  warriors  than  in  any 
other  class  of  men  of  action.  This  first  outburst  of  emotion, 
excited  in  him  by  the  tremendous  event  wrouglit  by  his 
hands,  was  identical  in  spirit,  and  not  improbably  was  clothed 
in  tho  same  words,  as  those  with  which  began  the  despatch 
actually  sent :  "  Almighty  God  has  blessed  His  Majesty's 
arms." 

While  !N"elson  lay  thus  momentarily  disabled,  important 
events  were  transpiring,  over  which,  however,  he  could  have 
exerted  no  control.  It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  "  CuUoden  " 
was  seven  miles  to  the  northward  and  westward  of  the  fleet, 
when  the  French  were  first  discovered.  Doing  her  best,  it 
was  impossible  to  reach  the  main  body  before  it  stood  down 
into  action,  and  the  day  had  closed  when  the  ship  neared  the 
shoal.  Keeping  the  lead  going,  and  proceedin  with  caution, 
though  not  with  the  extreme  care  which  led  Hood  and  Nelson 
to  make  so  wide  a  "sweep,  Troubridge  had  the  mishap  to  strike 
on  the  tail  of  the  shoal,  and  there  the  ship  stuck  fast,  pound- 
ing heavily  until  the  next  morning.  The  fifty-gun  ship 
"  Leander  "  went  to  her  assistance,  as  did  the  brig  "  Mutine," 
but  all  efforts  to  float  her  proved  vain.  jVIeanwhile  the 
"  Alexander "  and  "  Swiftsure  "  were  coming  up  from  the 
southwest,  the  wind  being  so  scant  that  they  could  barely  pass 
to  windward  of  the  reef,  along  whose  northwestern  edge  thoy 
were  standing.  The  "  Alexander,"  in  fact,  was  warned  by  the 
lead  that  she  was  running  into  danger,  and  had  to  tack.  As 
they  approached,  Troubridge,  by  lantern  and  signal,  warned 
them  off  the  spot  of  his  disaster,  thus  contributing  to  save 
these  ships,  and,  by  removing  doubt,  accelerating  their  entrance 
into  action.  As  they  rounded  the  stranded  "  Culloden,"  the 
"Leander"  was  also  dismissed  from  a  hopeless  task,  and 
followed  them  to  the  scene  of  battle. 

The  delay  of  the  two  seventy-fours,  though  purely  fortui- 
toiis,  worked  in  furtherance  of  Nelson's  plan,  and  resulted, 
practically,  in  constituting  them  a  reserve,  which  was  brought 
into  play  at  a  most  auspicious  moment.  The  *'■  Bellerophon," 
crushed  by   the   preponderating   weight   of    the    "Orient's" 


■iM  :■;.■; 


I 


I 


802 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


I  \.'H 


I 


battery,  had  just  cut  her  cable  and  worn  out  of  action,  with 
the  loss  of  forty-nine  killed  and  one  hundred  and  forty-eight 
wounded,  out  of  a  total  of  live  hundred  and  ninety  men.  Her 
foremast  alone  was  then  standing,  and  it  fell  immediately 
after.  The  firing,  which  had  been  animated  from  the  French 
loft  ^towards  the  centre,  noAV  slackened  around  the  latter,  at 
the  point  where  the  "  Orient "  and  her  next  ahead,  the 
"  Franklin,"  were  lying.  For  this  spot,  therefore,  the  caj)- 
tains  of  the  two  fresh  British  ships  steered.  The  "  Swiftsun;," 
Captain  Hallowell,  anchored  outside  the  enemy's  line,  abreast 
the  interval  separating  the  "Orient"  and  the  "Franklin," 
between  which  he  divided  his  fire.  The  "Alexander,"  Cap- 
tain Ball,  passed  through  the  line,  astern  of  the  "  Orient," 
and  anchored  close  on  her  inner  quarter.  Just  at  this  time 
a  shot  cut  the  cable  of  the  "  Peuple  Sonverain,"  next  ahead 
of  the  "  Franklin,"  and  she  drifted  out  of  her  place  to  abreast 
the  latter  ship,  ahead  of  which  a  wide  gap  of  a  thousand  feet 
was  thus  left.  Into  this  the  "  Leander  "  glided,  fixing  herself 
with  great  skill  to  rake  at  once  the  "Franklin"  and  the 
"  Orient." 

These  two  French  ships  had  already  been  much  battered, 
and  the  "  Franklin  "  was  still  receiving  part  of  the  fire  of  the 
"  Orion,"  Sir  James  Saumarez,  on  her  inner  bow,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  "Defence,"  hitherto  engaged  by  the  "Peuple 
Souverain."  This  accumulation  upon  them  of  three  fresh 
ships  would  doubtless  h.i,ve  proved  irresistible,  even  if  a  yet 
more  dire  calamity  had  not  supervened.  The  new-comers 
took  their  positions  soon  after  eight,  and  a  little  before  nine 
a  fire  Avas  observed  on  the  poop  of  the  "  Orient."  The  Brit- 
ish captains,  seeing  the  flames  fighting  on  their  behalf,  re- 
doubled their  efforts,  directing  tlieir  aim  especially  upon  the 
scene  of  the  conflagration,  and  thereby  thwarting  all  attempt 
to  extinguish  it.  The  blaze  spread  rapidly,  upward  through 
the  tarred  rigging  and  the  masts,  downward  to  the  lower 
decks,  where  her  heroic  crew,  still  ignorant  of  the  approach- 
ing doom,  labored  incessantly  at  their  guns.  As  the  sublime 
sight  forced  itself  upon  the  eyes  of  all  about,  friends  and 
enemies  alike  busied  themselves  with  precautions  for  theii' 
own  safety  in  tlie  coming  catastrophe.  The  s\u\)S  to  wind- 
ward held  on ;  tliose  to  leeward  for  the  most  part  veered  or 


BATTLE  OF  THE  NILE 


.303 


slipped  their  cables,  the  ''  Alexander "  fiercely  refusing  to  do 
so  till  assured  that  the  "  Orient's "  destruction  was  inevi- 
table. Captain  Berry  went  below  to  report  to  the  admiral 
this  appalling  clinuix  to  the  night's  work,  and  to  his  own 
long-sustained  efforts  in  chase  and  battle.  Nelson  demanded 
to  be  led  on  deck,  where  he  gave  orders  that  the  only  boat 
still  in  condition  for  use  should  be  sent  with  the  '*  Van- 
guard's "  first  lieutenant,  to  help  save  the  unhappy  crew. 
He  then  remained  watching  the  progress  of  the  fire.  At 
quarter  before  ten  the  "Orient"  blew  up.  At  this  time  the 
moon  rose,  and  from  her  tranquil  path  looked  down,  through 
the  clear  Egyptian  air,  upon  the  scene  of  devastation. 

Nelson  was  now  persuaded  to  go  to  bed,  but  he  neither  got 
nor  sought  repose  of  mind.  Throughout  the  night,  and  in 
the  early  morning,  messages  Avent  from  him  to  various  ships 
to  take  this  or  that  step,  to  garner  in  the  fruits  of  the  victory 
yet  unculled.  The  fleet  responded  somewhat  spasmodically, 
if  not  inadequately,  to  these  calls.  Men  in  truth  were  worn 
out  with  labor  and  excitement.  "My  people  were  so  ex- 
tremely jaded,"  wrote  Captain  Miller  of  the  "  Theseus,"  who 
obeyed  a  summons  to  move,  "  that  as  soon  as  they  had  hove 
our  sheet  anchor  up  they  dropped  under  the  capstan  bars, 
and  were  asleep  in  a  moment  in  every  sort  of  posture,  having 
been  then  working  at  their  fullest  exertion,  or  fighting,  for 
near  twelve  hours."  Nelson,  in  common  with  other  great 
leaders,  could  ncjt  be  satisfied  with  any  but  the  utmost  results. 
To  quote  again  his  words  of  years  gone  by:  "Had  ten  ships 
been  taken  and  the  eleventh  escaped,  we  being  able  to  get  at 
her,  I  should  never  consider  it  well  done."  His  idea,  Captain 
1  Jerry  tells  us,  was  first  to  secure  the  victory,  and  then  to 
make  the  most  of  it,  as  circumstances  might  permit.  The 
expression  is  so  luminous  that  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that 
the  words  are  substantially  those  of  the  admiral  himself.^ 

^  An  interesting  example  of  the  illuminating  eiTect  of  a  sound  maxim  upon 
(lilTurent  phases  of  a  man's  life  and  actions,  and  one  illustrative  of  the  many- 
sidedness  of  this  motto  of  Nelson's,  occurs  later  in  his  career,  and  not  long 
before  his  death.  When  the  frigates  "  Phojbe"  and  "  Amazon"  were  ordered 
to  cruise  before  Toulon  in  October,  1804,  "  Lord  Nelson  gave  Captains  Capel 
and  Parker  several  injunctions,  in  case  they  should  get  an  opportunity  of 
attacking  two  of  the  French  frigates,  which  now  got  under  way  more  fre- 
liueiitly.     The  principal  one  was,  that  they  should  not   jach  single  out  and 


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.7  ' 


M  i''i 


l! 


V^* 


\ 


: 


I  i 


304 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


First,  the  great  combination,  which  necessarily  for  the  mo- 
ment neglects  a  part  of  the  enemy  in  order  to  disconcert  and 
overwhelm  tlie  rest ;  afterwards,  the  unremitting  pursuit, 
which,  completes  the  triumph. 

It  was  therefore  perfectly  characteristic  of  Nelson's  habit 
of  thought,  and  not  merely  an  egotistic  exjjression  of  baseless 
discontent  with  others,  that  he  avowed  his  dissatisfaction 
with  the  results  of  the  night's  work,  stupendous  and  wholly 
unparalleled  as  they  were.  But  his  own  condition,  pros- 
trated and  with  disabled  head,  was  doubly  typical  of  the  state 
of  his  fleet  after  the  "  Orient "  blew  up.  Not  only  were  men 
overcome  with  fatigue,  —  from  weariness  as  great  men  have 
been  aroused  by  the  inspiring  call  of  a  trusted  chief, — but 
the  guiding  head  of  the  body  was  dazed  and  incapacitated ; 
that  was  gone  which  alone  could  sustain  energy  and  give 
unity  to  movement.  Although  Nelson  indulged  in  no  meta- 
phorical allusions,  he  had  this  figure  of  the  head  clearly 
enough  in  his  mind,  when  he  wrote  four  weeks  later  to  Lord 
Minto :  "  I  regret  that  one  escaped,  and  I  think,  if  it  had 
pleased  C  od  that  I  had  not  been  wounded,  not  a  boat  would 
have  escaped  to  have  told  the  tale ;  but  do  not  believe  that 
any  individual  in  the  fleet  is  to  blame.  In  my  conscience, 
I  believe  greater  exertions  could  not  have  been,  and  I  only 
mean  to  say,  that  if  my  experience  could  in  person  have 
directed  ^  those  exertions  of  individuals,  there  was  every 
appearance  that  Almiglity  God  would  have  continued  to  bless 
my  endeavours."  This  opinion  he  reiterated  to  Lord  Howe, 
even  more  positively,  after  four  months'  longer  reflection,  in 
a  letter  dated  January  8,  1799;  and,  whether  the  result 
would  or  would  not  have  equalled  his  belief,  the  traces  are 
clear  that  what  was  wanted,  during  the  remainder  of  that 
eventful  night,  was  just  that  concord  of  action  which  the 
head  imparts  to  the  members.  Messages  went  from  ship  to 
ship,  captains  consulted  together  and  proposed  to  move  to- 

attack  an  opi)onont,  but  *  that  both  should  endeavour  together  to  take  one 
frigate ;  if  successful,  chase  the  otlier ;  but  if  you  do  not  take  the  second, 
still  you  have  won  a  victory,  and  your  country  will  gain  a  frigate.' "  (Pliilli- 
more's  Last  of  Nelson's  Captains,  p.  122.)  When  summarized,  this  again 
is  —  Victory  first ;  afterwards  the  results,  as  circunistauces  may  permit. 
J  Author's  italics, 


BATTLE  OF  THE  NILE 


806 


gether,  and  did  move  separately ;  there  was  no  lack  of  good- 
will, nor,  as  Nelson  says,  of  exertion;  but  men  were  not 
quite  sure  of  what  the  other  man  would  do,  and  felt  no 
authority  to  command  hiiu ;  and  there  was  hesitation  over 
risks,  and  cautious  delays  about  soundings  and  shaky  spars, 
which,  the  author  is  persuaded,  would  not  have  deterred 
Nelson  in  such  conditions,  where  victory  v/as  decisive,  though 
not  yet  complete.  Illustrations  would  perhaps  be  invidious, 
as  seeming  to  imply  a  blame  upon  individuals  which  Nelson 
expressly  disavowed ;  blame  that  officers  of  exceptional  pro- 
fessional capacity,  concerning  whom  the  measured  profes- 
sional opinion  of  Lord  Howe  affirmed  that  the  Battle  of  the 
Nile  "was  unparalleled  in  this  respect,  that  every  captain 
distinguished  himself,"  fell  short  of  the  peculiar  excellence 
attained  by  Nelson  only  among  the  men  of  his  day.  More- 
over, this  work  does  not  aim  at  a  discussion  of  battles,  except 
so  far  as  they  touch  Nelson  personally.  It  may,  however,  be 
permissible  to  remark,  that  the  incident  here  under  discus- 
sion suggests  a  doubt  about  the  opinion,  too  easily  current, 
that  an  admiral's  powers  of  control  cease  when  the  battle 
joins.  Under  the  circumstances,  it  is  probable  that  Nelson, 
being  so  far  incapacitated  as  he  thought  himself,  should  have 
transferred  the  direction  of  affairs,  formally,  to  the  next 
senior  officer,  with  general  orders  to  secure  the  best  results 
attainable. 

The  following  morning  it  was  found  that  the  leading  six 
ships  of  the  French  had  already  struck  their  colors.  The 
"Orient"  having  blown  up,  there  were  six  survivors.  Of 
these,  one,  the  "Tonnant,"  next  astern  of  the  "Orient,'* 
though  dismasted,  was  still  afloat,  a  mile  behind  her  former 
position,  having  dropped  there  to  avoid  the  explosion.  The 
"  Heureux  "  and  "  Mercure,"  which  had  slipped  their  cables 
for  the  samo  reason,  were  ashore  and  helpless.  The  spars  of 
the  three  rear  ships,  the  "  Guillaume  Tell,"  "  Genereux,"  and 
"  Timoleon,"  were  still  standing,  and  they  had  received  little 
injury.  At  about  noon,  these  vessels,  commanded  by  Eear 
Admiral  Villeneuve,  got  under  way  to  go  to  sea;  but  the 
"  Timoleon  "  cast  with  her  head  inshore,  and,  after  an  ineffect- 
ual attempt  to  wear,  ran  aground,  bows  on,  her  foremast 
going  over  the  side  as  she  struck.     The  crew  escaped  to  the 


V.    .; 


I!:^'''- 


A.1! 


ill" 

him  ' 


'         I' 


S  ^i'^ 


•  y  >  »i 


i' 


iSI 


i  i! 


300 


TIIK  LIKE  OF  NELSON 


i'i 


'H 


')   I 


'; .  I 


.:/: 


beaeli,  and  she  was  then  set  on  tire  by  her  captain,  hev  colors 
flying  as  she  burned.  The  two  other  ships  escaped,  with  two 
frigates  which  accompanied  them.  Only  one  Puitish  ship,  the 
"  Zealous,"  was  in  condition  to  follow,  and  she  did  so ;  but 
Nelson,  seeing  that  she  could  not  be  supported,  recalled  her 
from  the  unequal  contest. 

It  is  upon  the  chancic  that  these  sole  survivors  of  the  great 
catastrophe  might  have  been  secured,  by  action  during  tlie 
night,  that  tlie  validity  of  Nelson's  regrets  turns.  Concerning 
this,  it  is  impossible  to  affirm  positively  one  way  or  the  otlier; 
therefore  his  regrets  were  well  grounded.  It  is  not  certainties, 
but  chances,  that  determine  the  propriety  of  military  action. 
Had  Yilleneuve,  conscious  that  he  had  done  nothing  as  yet, 
and  not  fully  aware  how  the  light  had  gone,  hesitated  about 
running  away,  and  had  several  British  ships  dropped  to  lee- 
ward together,  which  was  all  they  had  to  do,  and  what  the 
dismasted  French  had  done,  it  was  quite  within  the  bound  of 
possibilities  that  tUe  "  Genereux  "  and  the  '*  Guillaume  Tell " 
would  have  been  crippled  at  their  anchors.  "  If  "  and  "  but," 
it  may  be  objected.  Quite  so  ;  it  is  on  if  and  but,  not  on  yea 
and  nay,  that  military  criticism  justly  dwells.  A  flash  of 
lightning  and  a  crash  of  thunder  may  be  seen  and  heard ;  it 
is  the  still  small  voice  that  leads  the  hero  to  success.  As 
regards  Villeneuve,  indecision  was  his  distinguishing  trait ; 
and  IJonaparte  wrote  that  if  any  error  could  be  imputed  to 
him,  it  was  that  he  had  not  got  under  way  as  soon  as  the 
"  Orient "  blew  up,  for  by  that  time  the  battle  was  lost  beyond 
redemption. 

The  extent  of  the  victory  was  decided  by  this  retreat,  and 
Nelson,  before  devoting  himself  to  the  new  duties  entailed  by 
his  successes,  paused  an  instant  that  he  might  first  acknowl- 
edge his  debt  of  gratitude  to  God  and  man.  A  memorandum 
was  issued  at  once  to  the  captains  of  the  Squadron :  — 


Vanguard  off  tho  mouth  of  the  Nile,  2(1  August,  1798. 

Almighty  God  having  blessed  Ilis  INIajesty's  arms  with  victory,  the 
Admiral  intends  returning  Public  Thanksgiving  for  the  same  at  two 
o'clock  this  day;  and  he  recommends  every  ship  doing  the  same  as 
soou  as  convenient. 

Horatio  Nelson. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  NILE 


S07 


To  those  under  his  connnaiicl  he  at  the  same  time  issued  a 
general  order,  congratuhiting,  1)y  explicit  mention  of  each 
class,  the  captains,  officers,  seamen,  and  marines,  upon  tlie 
event  of  the  conflict.  "The  Admiral  desires  they  will  accept 
his  most  sincere  and  cordial  thanks  for  their  very  gallant 
behaviour  in  this  glorious  battle."  It  was  this  habit  of  associ- 
ating to  himself,  in  full  recognition  and  grateful  remembrance, 
those  who  followed  and  fought  with  him,  that  enthroned 
Nelson  in  the  affections  of  his  men ;  nor  will  it  escape  obser- 
vation that  the  warmth,  though  so  genuine,  breathes  through 
words  whose  quietness  might  be  thought  studied,  were  thoy 
not  so  transparently  spontaneous.  There  is  in  them  no  appeal 
to  egotism,  to  the  gratified  passion  for  glory,  although  to  that 
lie  was  far  from  insensible ;  it  is  the  simple  speech  of  man  to 
man,  between  those  who  have  stood  by  one  another  in  the 
liour  of  danger,  and  done  their  duty — the  acknowledgment 
after  the  event,  which  is  the  complement  of  the  famous  signal 
before  Trafalgar. 

The  order  closed  with  further  words  of  commendation, 
which  will  not  have  the  immortal  response  of  the  human 
heart  to  the  other  phrases ;  but  which,  uttered  at  such  a 
moment,  conveyed  a  salutary  warning,  justified  as  much  by 
recent  unhappy  events  in  the  British  navy,  as  by  the  well- 
known  disorganization  and  anarchy  that  had  disgraced  that  of 
France.  "  It  must  strike  forcibly  every  British  seaman,  how 
superior  their  conduct  is,  when  in  discijjline  and  good  order, 
to  the  riotous  behaviour  of  lawless  Frenchmen."^  Captain 
Berry  states  that  the  assembling  of  the  "Vanguard's"  ship's 
company  for  the  thanksgiving  service  strongly  impressed  the 
prisoners  on  board,  —  not  from  the  religious  point  of  view, 
which  was  alien  from  the  then  prevalent  French  temper,  — 
but  as  evidence  of  an  order  and  discipline  which  could  render 
such  a  proceeding  acceptable,  after  a  victory  so  great,  and  at  a 
moment  of  such  seeming  confusion.  No  small  amount  of 
self-possession,  indeed,  was  needed  thus  to  direct  the  attention 
of  six  hundred  men,  in  the  confined  space  of  a  ship,  whose 
shattered  sides  and  blood-stained  decks  bore  witness  to  the 
hundred  dead  and  wounded  snatched  from  their  number 
within  the  few  hours  before ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  nothing 

^  Author's  italics. 


r;   «^ 


;!!■     ' 


'1J 


•  '! 


308 


TIIK   J.IFK   OF   NKLSON 


t    ii 


could  have  benn  bettur  calculated  to  compose  the  thoughts,  or 
to  facilitate  the  transition  from  the  excitement  of  battle  to 
the  resumption  of  daily  life. 

If,  by  the  escape  of  two  ships-of-the-line,  the  British  triumi)h 
lacked  something  in  technical  completeness,  the  disasf"  r  to  the 
French  was  no  less  absolute.  Victory,  said  Nelson  truly,  is 
not  the  name  for  such  a  scone  as  I  have  witnessed.  Tliere 
remained  now  to  gather  up  the  spoils  of  the  field,  and  to 
realize  the  consequences  of  the  battle,  great  and  small,  near 
and  remote.  The  first  was  speedily  done ;  battered  as  they 
were,  "  only  two  masts  standing  out  of  nine  sail-of-the-line," 
within  a  fortnight  six  of  the  nine  prizes  were  ready  to  start 
for  Gibraltar.  Little  by  little,  yet  with  the  rapidity  of  his 
now  highly  trained  intuitions.  Nelson  saw  the  greatness  of 
what  lie  had  effected,  and  with  his  full  native  energy  struggled 
on,  amid  mental  confusion  and  bodily  suffering,  and  in  the 
heat  of  an  Egyptian  August,  to  secure  all  the  fruits  of  success. 
With  splitting  head  and  constantly  sick,  a  significant  indica- 
tion of  the  rattling  shock  his  brain  had  received,  he  was 
wonderfully  helped,  so  far  as  the  direction  of  his  efforts  was 
concerned,  by  the  previous  familiarity  of  his  mind  with  the 
various  elements  of  the  problem.  First  of  all,  the  home  gov- 
ernment must  be  informed  of  an  event  that  would  so  pro- 
foundly affect  the  future.  Berry's  orders,  as  bearer  of  de- 
spatches to  St.  Vincent  off  Cadiz,  were  issued  on  the  2d  of 
August ;  but  tiiere  were  no  frigates,  and  the  "  Leander," 
appointed  to  carry  him,  could  not  sail  till  the  Cth.  For  the 
same  reason  it  was  not  until  the  14th  that  the  "  Mutine  " 
could  be  sent  off  with  duplicates,  to  go  direct  to  the  Admi- 
ralty by  way  of  Naples,  — a  wise  precaution  in  all  events,  but 
doubly  justified  in  this  case ;  for  the  brig  reached  port, 
.whereas  the  fifty -gun  ship  was  captured  by  the  "  Genereux." 
The  "  Mutine's "  account,  though  hastened  forward  without 
delay,  reached  London  only  on  the  2d  of  October,  two  months 
after  the  action. 

The  news  was  received  at  the  first  with  an  applause  and  a 
popular  commotion  commensurate  to  its  greatness,  and  prom- 
ised for  the  moment  to  overflow  even  the  barriers  of  routine  in 
one  of  the  most  conservative  of  nations.  "  Mr.  Pitt  told  me  the 
day  after  Captain  Capel  arrived,"  wrote  his  old  admiral,  Hood, 


HONORS  (ilVEN  FOIl  THE  NILE 


3()0 


to  Nolson,  "that  you  would  cortniuly  be  a  Viscount,  which 
I  made  kuc/  ..  t(<  Lady  Neli-.on,  Uut  it  was  objected  to  in  a 
certain  (quarter,  because  yoiir  li()rdshi[)  was  not  a  conuuandcr- 
in-chief.  In  my  luimble  opinion  a  more  flimsy  reason  never 
was  given.''  Otticial  circles  regained,  or  rather  perhaiJS  again 
lost,  their  senses,  and  th".  victory,  uncpiestionably  the  most 
nearly  (ioniplete  and  the  most  decisive  over  gained  by  a 
British  fleet,  was  rewarded,  in  the  person  of  the  connnanding 
olHcer,  with  honors  less  than  those  bestowed  for  St.  Vincent 
and  Cami)erdown.  Nelson  was  advanced  tt)  the  lowest  rank 
of  the  peerage,  as  JJaron  Nelson  of  the  Nile.  "In  con- 
gratulating your  Lordship  on  this  high  distinction,''  wrote  the 
l"'irst  Lord,  "I  have  particular  pleasure  in  remarking,  that  it 
is  the  highest  honour  that  has  ever  been  conferred  on  an 
officer  of  your  standing,'  in  the  Service,  and  who  was  not  a 
conimand'V-in-chief  ;  and  the  addition  [of  the  Nile]  to  the 
Title  is  iiieant  more  especially  to  mark  the  occasion  on  which 
it  was  granted,  which,  however,  without  any  such  i)recaution, 
is  certainly  of  a  nature  never  to  be  forgotten."  His  Lordship's 
sense  of  Immor  must  a  little  have  failed  him,  when  he  penned 
the  platitude  of  the  last  few  words. 

To  the  sharp  criticism  passed  in  the  House  of  Commons  on 
the  smallness  oi  the  re(!Ognition,  the  Prime  IVIinister  replied 
that  Nelson's  glory  did  not  depend  upon  the  rank  to  which  he 
might  be  raised  in  the  peerage  ;  a  truism  too  palpable  and  in- 
applicable for  serious  utterance,  the  qiiestion  before  the  House 
being,  not  the  measure  of  Nelson's  glory,  but  that  of  the 
national  acknowledgment.  As  Hood  justly  said,  "All  remun- 
erations should  be  proportionate  to  the  service  done  to  the 
public ; "  and  if  that  cannot  always  be  attained  absolutely, 
without  exhausting  the  powers  of  the  State,''  there  should  at 
least  be  some  proportion  between  the  rewards  themselves, 
extended  to  individuals,  and  the  particular  services.  But  even 
were  the  defence  of  the  Ministers  technically  perfect,  it  would 
have  been  pleasanter  to  see  them  a  little  blinded  by  such  nn 
achievement.  Once  in  a  way,  under  some  provocations,  it  is 
refreshing  to  see  men  able  even  to  make  fools  of  themselves. 

^  "  Eank  "  doubtless  is  meant  by  this  singularly  ill -chosen  word. 
^  As  General  Sherman  justly  asked,  "  What  reward  adequate  to  the  service, 
could  the  United  States  have  given  Giant  for  the  Vicksburg  campaign  ? " 


i; 


t..  \ 


)  I    '\ 


i  ! 


'i-nt 


t'l 


810 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


rV' 


In  I 


■| 


,  1 


'.  ( 


'  ^ 


\ll:iv 


i 


i  ►■' 


if;/  'n  : 


Nelson  made  to  the  First  Lord's  letter  a  reply  that  was 
dignified  and  yet  measured,  to  a  degree  unusual  to  him,  con- 
trasting singularly  with  his  vehement  reclamations  for  others 
after  Copenhagen.  Without  semblance  of  complaint,  he 
allowed  jdainly  to  appear  between  the  lines  his  own  sense  that 
the  reward  was  not  proportionate  to  the  service  done.  "I 
have  received  your  Lordship's  letter  commimicating  to  me  the 
Title  his  Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  confer  upon 
me  —  an  Honour,  your  Lordship  is  pleased  to  say,  the  highest 
tliiit  has  ever  been  conferred  on  an  officer  of  my  standing  who 
was  not  a  Commander-in-Chief.  I  receive  as  I  ought  what  the 
goodness  of  our  Sovereign,  and  not  my  deserts,  is  pleased  to 
bestow  ;  but  great  and  unexampled  as  this  honour  may  be  to 
or-^  of  my  standing,  yet  I  own  I  feel  a  higher  one  in  the  un- 
bounded confidence  of  the  King,  your  Lordship,  and  the  Avhole 
World,  in  my  exertions.  Even  at  the  bitter  moment  of  my 
return  to  Syracuse,  your  Lon^'ship  is  nut  insensible  of  the 
great  difficulties  I  had  to  encounter  in  not  being  a  Commander- 
in-Chief.  The  only  happy  moment  I  felt  was  in  the  view  of 
the  French ;  then  I  knew  that  all  my  sufferings  Avould  soon  be 
at  an  end."  To  Berry  he  wrote  :  "  As  to  both  our  Honours,  it 
is  a  proof  how  much  a  battle  fought  near  England  is  prized  to 
one  fought  at  a  great  distance." 

Whatever  was  defective  in  the  formal  recognition  of  his 
own  government  was  abundantly  suj)plied  by  the  tributes 
which  flowed  from  other  quarters,  so  various,  that  his  own 
phrase,  "the  whole  world,"  is  scarcely  an  exaggeration  to 
apply  to  them.  The  Czar,  the  Sultan,  the  Kings  of  Sardinia 
and  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  sent  messages  of  congratulation  and 
rich  presents ;  the  Czar  accompanying  his  with  an  autograph 
letter.  The  Houses  of  Parliament  voted  their  thanks  and  a 
pension  of  £2,000  a  year.  The  East  India  Company  acknowl- 
edged the  security  gained  for  their  Indian  possessions  by  a  gift 
of  £10,000,  £2,000  of  which  he,  with  his  wonted  generosity, 
divided  at  once  among  his  father  and  family,  most  of  whom 
were  not  in  prosperous  circumstances.  Other  corporations 
took  appropriate  notice  of  the  great  event ;  instances  so  far 
apart  as  the  cities  of  London  and  Palermo,  and  the  Island  of 
Zante,  showing  how  wide-spread  was  the  sense  of  relief.  Not 
least  gratifying   to  him,  with  his   sensitive  appreciation  of 


HONORS  GIVEN  F 


JE  NILE 


Sll 


friendship  and  susceptibility  to  flattery,  must  have  been  the 
numerous  letters  of  congratulation  he  received  from  friends  in 
and  out  of  the  service.  The  three  great  admirals, — Lords 
Howe,  Hood,  and  St.  Vincent, — the  leaders  of  tlie  Xavy  in 
rank  and  distinguished  service,  Avrote  to  him  in  the  strongest 
terms  of  admiration.  The  two  last  styled  the  battle  the 
greatest  achievement  that  History  could  produce ;  while 
Howe's  languitge,  if  more  measured,  was  so  only  because,  like 
liimself,  it  was  more  precise  in  characterizing  the  special 
merits  of  the  action,  and  was  therefore  acknowledged  by 
Xelson  with  particular  expressions  of  pleasure. 

Besides  the  honors  bestowed  upon  the  commander  of  the 
squadron,  and  the  comprehensive  vote  of  thanks  usual  on  such 
occasions,  a  gold  medal  commemorative  of  the  battle  was  given 
to  the  admiral  and  to  each  of  the  captains  present.  The  First 
Lord  also  wrote  that  the  first-lieutenants  of  the  ships  engaged 
would  be  promoted  at  once.  The  word  "  engaged  "  caught  Nel- 
son's attention,  as  apparently  intended  to  exclude  the  lieutenant 
of  the  "  Culloden,"  Troubridge's  unlucky  ship.  "  For  Heaven's 
sake,  for  my  sake,"  he  wrote  to  St.  Vincent,  "  if  tiiis  is  so,  get 
it  altered.  Our  dear  friend  Troubridge  has  suffered  enough. 
His  sufferings  were  in  every  respect  more  than  any  of  us. 
He  deserves  every  reward  which  a  grateful  Country  can 
bestow  on  the  most  meritorious  sea-officer  of  his  standing  in 
the  service.  I  have  felt  his  worth  every  hour  of  my  com- 
mand." "  I  well  know,  he  is  my  superior,"  he  said  on  another 
occasion;  "/"nd  I  so  often  want  his  advice  and  assistance.  I 
liave  experienced  the  ability  and  activity  of  his  mind  and 
body :  it  w~  Troubridge  that  ecpiipped  the  scpiadron  so  soon 
at  Syracusf  — it  was  he  that  exerted  himself  for  me  after  tlie 
action  —  it  was  Troubridge  who  saved  the  Culloden,  when 
none  that  I  know  in  the  service  would  have  attempted  it  —  it 
was  Troubridge  whom  I  left  as  myself  at  Naples  to  watch 
movements — he  is,  as  a  friend  and  an  officer,  a  nonpareil  !^^ 
His  entreaties  prevailed  so  far  that  the  officer  in  question 
received  his  promotion,  not  with  the  others,  but  immediately 
alter  them  ;  a  distinction  which  rroubridge  bewailed  bitterly, 
as  a  reflection  upon  himself  and  his  ship. 

On  the  9th  of  August  Nelson  sent  a  lieutenant  to  Alexan- 
dretta,  on  the  northern  coast  of  Syria,  to  make  his  way  pverland, 


ft  / 


).:■ 


il-       s         , 


1^ 


312 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSOIf 


'I  I 


m-  ' 


I    i 


by  way  of  Aleppo,  to  India,  with  despatches  to  the  Governor 
of  Bombay.  Resuming  briefly  the  events  of  the  past  months, 
and  the  numbers  and  character  of  the  French  army  in  Egypt, 
he  expresses  the  hope  that  special  care  will  be  exercised 
against  the  departure  of  ships  from  India,  to  convey  this 
huge  force  thither  by  the  Red  Sea.  On  the  side  of  the 
Mediterranean,  their  fate  is  settled  by  the  recent  victory. 
They  can  receive  nothing  from  France ;  they  cannot  advance 
freely  into  Syria,  as  water  transport  is  essential  for  much  of 
their  equipment ;  even  in  Egypt  itself  they  are  hampered  by 
tlie  difficulties  of  communication  —  on  land  by  the  guerilla 
hostility  of  the  natives,  and  now  on  the  water  through  his  own 
presence  and  control.  The  Nile,  through  its  Rosetta  mouth, 
had  been  heretofore  the  easiest  communication  between  Cairo 
and  Alexandria.  The  garrison  of  the  latter  depended  largely 
for  daily  bread  upon  this  route,  now  closed  by  the  fleet  in 
Aboukir  Bay.  By  land,  nothing  short  of  a  regiment  could 
pass  over  ground  where,  even  before  the  battle,  the  French 
watering-parties  from  the  ships  had  to  be  protected  by  heavy 
armed  bodies.  He  intended,  therefore,  to  remain  where  he 
was  as  long  as  possible.  "  If  my  letter  is  not  so  correct  as 
might  be  ex]iected,"  he  concludes,  "I  trust  for  your  excuse, 
when  I  tell  you  that  my  brain  is  so  shook  with  the  wounds  in 
my  head,  that  I  am  sensible  I  am  not  always  so  clear  as  could 
be  wished  ;  but  whilst  a  ray  of  reason  remains,  my  heart  and 
my  head  shall  ever  be  exerted  for  the  benefit  of  our  King  and 
Country."- 

It  may  be  added  here,  that  the  scar  left  by  this  wound 
seems  to  have  been  the  cause  of  Nelson's  hair  being  trained 
down  upon  his  forehead,  during  the  later  years  of  his  life. 
Prior  to  that  it  was  brushed  well  off  and  up,  as  may  be  seen 
in  the  portrait  by  Abbott,  painted  during  his  stay  in  England, 
while  recovering  from  the  loss  of  his  arm.  After  his  death,  a 
young  officer  of  the  "  Victory,"  who  had  cut  off  some  locks  for 
those  who  wished  such  a  remembrance  of  their  friend,  speaks 
of  "the  hair  that  used  to  hang  over  his  forehead,  near  the 
wound  that  he  received  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile." 

The  perception  of  his  control  over  the  communications  from 
Rosetta  to  Alexandria  dawned  rather  late  upon  Nelson,  for  on 
the  5th  of  August  he  had  announced  his  purpose  of  starting 


SAILS  FOli  NAPLES 


818 


down  the  Mediterranean  on  the  19th.  This  he  postponed 
afterwards  to  the  first  part  of  September,  and  again  for  as 
long  as  possible.  While  in  this  intention,  most  secret  and 
urgent  orders  came  on  the  15th  from  St.  Vincent,  to  return  to 
the  westward  with  his  comm.and,  and  to  co-operate  with  an 
expedition  planned  against  Minorca.  Six  prizes,  with  seven 
of  the  British  ships-of-the-line,  had  started  on  the  14th  for 
Gibraltar,  under  the  command  of  Sir  James  Saumarez,  The 
three  remaining  prizes  were  burned,  aim  hasty  temporary 
repairs,  adequate  only  for  a  summer  voyige,  were  put  upon 
the  "  Vanguard,"  "  Culloden,"  and  "  Ale  cander,"  the  three 
most  defective  ships  of  his  fleet.  On  the  19th  he  sailed  with 
these  three  for  Naples,  which  he  had  from  the  first  intended 
to  visit,  in  order  to  give  them  the  complete  overhauling  they 
imperatively  needed.  On  and  after  the  13th  of  August  sev- 
eral frigates  had  joined  him.  Three  of  these,  witli  three 
ships-of-the-line,  were  left  with  Captain  Hood,  to  conduct  the 
blockade  of  Alexandria,  and  to  suppress  the  enemy's  com- 
munications by  water  along  the  coasts  of  Egypt  and  Syria. 


!  ir- 


\<\ 


M  •  1 


'  i 


:(       -f 


i  M 


M;. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


.'/'. 


Nelson's  Return  from  Eoypt  to  Naples.  —  Meeting  with  Lady 
Hamilton.  —  Association  with  the  Court  of  Naples.  —  War  be- 
tween Naples  and  France.  —  Defeat  of  the  Neapolitans.  — 
Flight  of  the  Court  to  Palermo. 


Septembee-Decembek,  1798.     Age,  40. 


^s:i• 


1^1  '■ 


I  I 


■i  t 


. 


(       :)■' 


THE  voyage  of  Nelson's  small  division  from  Aboukir  Bay- 
to  Naples  occupied  between  four  and  fiv^e  weeks,  owing 
partly  to  light  and  contrary  winds,  and  partly  to  the  dull  sail- 
ing of  the  "  Culloden,"  which  had  a  sail  secured  under  her 
bottom  to  lessen  the  dangerous  leak  caused  by  her  grounding 
on  the  night  of  the  battle.  This  otherwise  unwelcome  delay 
procured  for  Nelson  a  period  of  salutary,  though  enforced, 
repose,  which  the  nature  of  his  injuries  made  especially 
desirable.  His  mind,  indeed,  did  not  cease  to  work,  but  it 
was  free  from  harassment ;  and  the  obvious  impossibility  of 
doing  anything,  save  accept  the  present  easy-going  situation, 
contributed  strongly  to  the  quietness  upon  which  restoration 
depended.  Nor  were  there  wanting  matters  of  daily  interest 
to  prevent  an  excess  of  monotony.  Now  that  frigates  were 
no  longer  so  vitally  necessary,  they  and  other  light  cruisers 
turned  up  with  amusing  frequency,  bringing  information,  and 
being  again  despatched  hither  and  yonder  with  letters  from 
the  admiral,  which  reflected  instinctively  his  personal  moods, 
and  his  active  concern  in  the  future  military  operations. 

The  distress  from  his  head  continued  for  some  time  with 
little  abatement,  and  naturally  much  affected  his  tone  of  mind. 
At  the  first  he  spoke  of  his  speedy  return  to  England  as 
inevitable,  nor  did  the  prospect  occasion  the  discouragement 
which  he  had  experienced  after  the  loss  of  his  arm ;  a  symp- 
tom which  had  shown  the  moral  effect  of  failure  upon  a  sen- 
sitive and  ambitious  temperament.  "My  head  is  ready  to 
split,"  he  had  written  to  St.  Vincent  before  starting,  "and  I 


i  '  n 


INSISTS  ON  ACTIVE  OPERATIONS 


316 


am  always  so  sick ;  in  short,  if  there  be  no  fracture,  my  }iead 
is  severely  shaken."  A  fortnight  after  leaving  the  bay,  he 
writes  him  again:  "I  know  I  ought  to  give  up  for  a  little 
while;  my  head  is  splitting  at  this  moment;"  and  Mcolas 
remarks  that  the  letter  bears  evident  marks  of  suffering,  three 
attempts  being  made  to  spell  the  word  "splitting."  Yet  by 
this  time  the  pain  had  become  at  least  intermittent,  for  Sau- 
marez,  whose  squadron  fell  in  with  the  admiral's  division 
several  times,  notes  that  on  the  2Gth  of  August  he  spent  half 
an  hour  on  board  the  flagship,  and  found  him  in  perfect  health ; 
and  on  the  7th  of  September  Nelson  himself  writes  to  the 
British  minister  at  Florence  that  he  felt  so  much  recovered, 
it  was  probable  he  would  not  go  home  for  the  present.  A 
few  days  later  he  wrote  to  Hood,  off  Alexandria,  that  he 
relied  upon  the  thoroughness  of  the  blockade  to  complete  the 
destruction  of  the  French  army.  "  I  shall  not  go  home,"  he 
added,  "  until  this  is  effected,  and  the  islands  of  Malta,  Corfu, 
&G.,  retaken." 

It  is  to  the  furtherance  of  these  objects,  all  closely  allied, 
and  in  his  apprehension  mutually  dependent,  that  his  occa- 
sional letters  are  directed.  His  sphere  of  operations  he  plainly 
conceives  to  be  from  Malta,  eastward,  to  Syria  inclusive.  "  I 
detest  this  voyage  to  Naples,"  he  wrote  to  St.  Vincent,  two 
days  before  reaching  the  port.  "  Nothing  but  absolute  neces- 
sity could  force  me  to  the  measure.  Syracuse  in  future,  whilst 
my  operations  lie  on  the  eastern  side  of  Sicily,  is  my  port, 
where  every  refreshment  may  be  had  for  a  fleet."  The  pres- 
ent necessity  was  that  of  refit  and  repair,  to  which  Syracuse 
Avas  inadequate.  "  For  myself,"  he  sent  word  to  Sir  William 
Hamilton,  "  I  hope  not  to  be  more  than  four  or  five  days  at 
Naples,  for  these  times  are  not  for  idleness."  He  is  urgent 
that  Naples  should  now  actively  support  the  operations  against 
jMalta,  and  shell  the  transports  in  Alexandria.  "Naples  has. 
evidently  broken  her  treaty  with  France,  and  yet  is  afraid  to 
assist  in  finishing  the  vast  armament  of  the  French.  Four 
hours  with  bomb-vessels  would  set  all  in  a  blaze,  and  we  know 
what  an  army  is  without  stores."  To  the  British  minister  in 
Turkey  he  is  similarly  insistent.  If  the  Sultan  will  but  send 
a  few  ships-of-the-line,  and  some  bombs,  he  can  destroy  all 
the  transports  in  Alexandria ;  and  an  army  of  ten  thousand 


v.  ■, 


''\ 


■\  M 


*''^    V 


«■ ' 


i .  ; 


I  s 


i  i 


M^ 

1 

^  f   ' 

■ 

,jy 

316 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


'    i 


I  ij 


m. 


men  may  retake  the  place  immediately,  for  the  French  have 
ill  it  only  four  thousand.  The  need  to  do  this  is  urgent, 
for,  by  the  information  of  French  prisoners,  Bonaparte  only 
wanted  "  communication  opened  by  sea  to  march  into  Syria, 
that  the  transports,"  —  which  Nelson  proposes  to  burn,  — 
"  with  stores  for  the  army,  may  go  alongshore  with  him." 

The  same  tendency  was  shown  upon  the  appearance  of  a 
Portuguese  squadron  of  four  ships-of-the-line,  which  entered 
the  Mediterranean  in  July  with  orders  to  place  themselves 
under  his  command.  He  first  learned  the  fact  upon  this  pas- 
sage, and  at  once  sent  a  frigate  to  Alexandria  to  beg  the  Portu- 
guese admiral,  the  Marquis  de  Niza,  to  assume  the  blockade, 
as  the  most  important  service  to  be  rendered  the  common 
cause.  When  the  frigate  reached  its  destination,  Niza  had 
come  and  gone,  and  Nelson  then  headed  him  off  at  the  Strait 
of  Messina,  on  his  way  to  Naples,  and  sent  him  to  blockade 
Malta.  It  may  be  added  that  this  squadron  remained  under 
liis  command  until  December,  1799,  and  was  of  substantial 
utility  in  the  various  operations.  Nelson  professed  no  great 
confidence  in  its  efticiency,  which  was  not  subjected  to  the 
severest  tests ;  but  he  made  a  handsome  acknowledgment  to 
its  commander  when  it  was  recalled  to  Lisbon. 

Three  weeks  after  reaching  Naples  his  decision  as  to  the 
direction  of  his  personal  oversight  underwent  a  change,  due 
to  a  series  of  events  for  the  initiation  of  which,  by  plung- 
ing Naples  prematurely  into  war  with  France,  he  was  himself 
largely  responsible.  From  the  time  that  ill-considered  move- 
ment began,  under  the  combined  impetus  of  the  Queen  and  of 
Lady  Hamilton,  for  both  whom  he  expressed  at  this  time  un- 
bounded chivalrous  devotion.  Nelson  felt  tied,  not  merely  to 
the  Kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  but  to  the  personal  protec- 
tion of  its  Sovereigns  as  well.  It  is  true,  certainly,  that 
orders  from  the  Admiralty,  dated  October  3d,  immediately 
after  receiving  news  of  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  named  first 
among  his  duties  "the  protection  of  the  coasts  of  Sicily, 
Naples,  and  the  Adriatic,  and,  in  the  event  of  the  war  being 
renewed  in  Italy,  an  active  co-operation  with  the  Austrian 
and  Neapolitan  armies ; "  but  long  before  receiving  these, 
acknowledged  by  him  on  the  18th  of  November,  he  had  in- 
duced the  hesitating  King  to   precipitate  war  by  advancing 


1: 


ARRIVAL  AT  NAPLES,  1798. 


817 


against  the  French  army  in  the  Roman  States,  and  had  aban- 
doned his  purpose  of  going  to  Egypt.  On  October  22d  he 
wrote  St.  Vincent,  "The  King  having  desired  my  return  to 
Naples  in  the  lirst  week  in  November,  I  shall,  after  having 
arranged  the  blockade  of  Malta,  return  to  Naples,  and  eii- 
deavour  to  be  useful  in  the  movements  of  their  army.  In 
thus  acquiescing  in  the  desire  of  the  King  of  Naples,  1  give 
up  my  plan,  which  was  to  have  gone  to  Egypt  and  attended 
to  the  destruction  of  the  French  shipping  in  that  quarter." 
"I  do  not  like  going  back  from  the  Eastward,"  he  writes 
two  days  later,  "  but  I  give  up  my  own  opinion  for  this  time, 
as  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  how  this  new  war  may  turn  out." 
These  expressions,  repeated  to  others,  show  the  anxiety  of 
liis  mind  acting  against  his  judgment.  "  I  feel  my  duty  at 
present  is  in  the  East,"  he  tells  Lady  Hamilton  herself;  but 
devotion  to  the  Court  gains  upon  him  until,  from  the  expres- 
sion "  who  could  resist  such  a  Queen  ?  "  written  in  Naples  in 
November,  he  in  February,  at  Palermo,  commits  himself  un- 
reservedly to  personal  attention  to  the  safety  of  the  sover- 
eigns. "I  have  promised  my  flag  shall  not  go  out  of  the  mole 
at  Palermo  without  the  approbation  of  the  Court,  and  that  I 
never  expect  to  get." 

On  the  22d  of  September  the  flagship  anchored  at  Naples. 
On  the  15th  her  foremast  had  been  carried  away  in  a  squall, 
and  the  "  poor  wretched  Vanguard,"  as  Nelson  called  her, 
having  to  be  towed  by  a  frigate,  her  two  crippled  consorts 
preceded  her  arrival  by  six  days.  The  news  of  the  victory 
had  been  brought  three  weeks  before  by  the  "  Mutine,"  on 
the  1st  of  September.  The  Court  party  had  gone  wild  with 
joy,  in  which  the  populace,  naturally  hostile  to  the  French, 
liad  joined  with  southern  vivacity  of  expression.  Captain 
Capel,  who  commanded  the  brig,  with  Lieutenant  Hoste,  who 
was  to  succeed  him  when  he  departed  with  the  despatches  for 
England,  had  been  at  once  taken  to  Court  and  presented. 
When  they  left  the  palace  they  were  met  by  Lady  Hamilton, 
who  made  them  get  into  her  carriage,  and  with  characteris- 
tic bad  taste  and  love  of  notoriety  paraded  them  until-  dark 
through  the  streets  of  this  neutral  capital,  she  wearing  a 
bandeau  round  her  forehead  with  the  words,  "  Nelson  and 
Victory."    "  The  populace  saw  and  understood  what  it  meant," 


II 

^ 

In 

M'^l 

1  i: 

if  i 
1     : 

bi 

1  1   * 

!^ 

f 


\m 


1. 


I'nV 


1 


■ 

■  M 

\ 

\ 

' 

i>  ^ ' 

L^^l      i    .V 


■t       W 


Si 


!h 


(•  t 


i '    'l  i 


318 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


wrote  Hoste,  "and  'Viva  Xelsoii!'  resounded  through  tho 
streets.  You  can  have  no  idea  of  the  rejoicings  that  were 
made  throughout  Naples.  Bonfires  and  illuminations  all  over 
the  town ;  indeed,  it  would  require  an  abler  pen  than  I  am 
master  of  to  give  you  any  account  but  what  will  fall  infinitely 
short  of  what  was  the  case." 

By  Nelson's  orders  the  "Mutine"  sailed  in  a  few  days  to 
meet  him  with  despatches,  and  on  the  14th  of  September 
joined  the  division  off  Stromboli.  With  more  imj)ortant  in- 
formation, and  letters  from  persons  of  greater  consequence, 
she  had  brought  also  one  from  Lady  Hamilton,  giving  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  general  joy,  and  in  particular  an  account  of  the 
Queen's  state  of  mind,  so  highly  colored  that  Nelson  hoped  he 
might  not  witness  a  renewal  of  it.  When  the  "Vanguard" 
approached  the  town,  crowds  of  boats  went  out  to  meet  her. 
The  King  himself  came  on  board  when  she  was  still  a  league 
from  the  anchorage.  He  had  been  preceded  ly  Sir  William 
and  Lady  Hamilton.  The  latter,  greatly  overcome,  dropped 
her  lovely  face  and  by  no  means  slender  figure  into  the  arms 
of  the  admiral,  who,  on  his  part,  could  scarcely  fail  to  be 
struck  with  the  pose  of  one  whose  attitudes  compelled  the 
admiration  of  the  most  exacting  critics.  The  emotion  stirred 
by  the  warmth  of  his  welcomes,  on  this  and  the  following 
days,  showed  itself  in  phrases  of  unusual  tenderness  to  his 
wife.  "  If  so  affecting  to  those  who  were  only  united  to  me 
h"  bonds  of  friendship,  what  must  it  be  to  my  dearest  Avife, 
my  friend,  my  everything  which  is  most  dear  to  me  in  this 
world  ?  "  "  The  scene  in  the  boat  was  terribly  affecting.  Up 
flew  her  ladyship,  and  exclaiming,  '  0  God,  is  it  possible  ? ' 
she  fell  into  my  arm  more  dead  than  alive.  Tears,  however, 
soon  set  matters  to  rights." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  an  intimacy  destined,  in  the  end, 
to  affect  profoundly  and  unhappily  the  future  of  Nelson. 
Although  Sir  William  Hamilton,  in  his  own  congratulatory 
letter  by  the  "Mutine,"  called  him  "our  bosom  friend,"  they 
do  not  seem  to  have  met  since  the  summer  of  1793,  when  the 
young  captain  carried  Hood's  despatches  from  Toulon  to 
Naples;  and  Nelson,  while  acknowledging  on  the  present 
occasion  the  kindness  of  an  invitation  to  take  up  his  quarters 
at  the  embassy,  had  expressed  a  preference  for  rooms  at  a 


ifl 


H 


w\ 


W 


EMMA,  LADY    HAMILTON. 

After  a  pant  ling  by  G.  Kowitiy, 


l.1 

]t\- 

1    ••■1 

'     ! 

i  ^  1 

,    ' 

V     , 

■■''■> 

1       i  1  ^ 

1  >  it  i 

l> 

■•    ^ 

Iji^ 


1 

■ 

,1 

1  ; 

;    , 
1 

1 

■ 

i 

1 

i  i 

«..-< 

( 


.';i.M 


Tin:   UVK  <.!.'   NKKSON 


> ;  t 


I  :i '! 


!■■:  f 


'.'ii.r,       n.,.f,.      ••'..,    1    ■\'i,./,     v    I         f»  1     ■      . 

M\.«    N<-lot.ti!     ivsoundi'd  through   th. 

'  ,  ■  .  '^^  "^ '^''■•'  "'  tiie  ivjoiciM;,'..  that  wcrr- 
m;ule  t'  ''uuj,.l,oiu  NapUvs.  tJontii..-.  ;.,mI  ill,„n..i:iti.,ns  .ill  uvot 
t.u>  KMsa;  inlo,.d.  .t  woul.l  ,..,iu„v  ..,„  ai,i..,  p„,  ,,,^^„  j  .„^^ 

•  niiv  :iiv.HinL  '  uf  wIkiI  will  lull  iiitiiiiirly 

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■  (mm   I.  Illy  fl  tMilf.ori,  j^'uiiii*  ri  vUid 

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'■^'^-l^aMHUtr.oliauHl.  so  ,„),„,  4  ,|nt    .    ,  -  .  l.opo.l  lu- 

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If. 


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^•'""  >'-=nT<':     Ho  U.id  h.vii  pnHv,l.Ml  ),j  Sir  Williai,, 
'  *''    '  ittcr,  <n';tf.l_\   !••.''  i'<Min\  (lr<ij)j(f',; 

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^;;;;:l  rri'i*  w  Aft:  y^}4^ij^t  :;'■;:%: 

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at   Lhu  cnh:is,y,   had  .^,.,-.....1  a   la-l-M .■-..<.   (^^  ,„„,,,^  .-.  _ 


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LADY  HAMILTON 


319 


hotel,  on  account  of  the  business  to  be  transacted.  This  re- 
luctance, however,  was  easily  and  properly  overruled,  and 
immediately  after  anchoring  he  went  to  live  at  the  ambas- 
sador's house,  which,  under  the  management  of  the  celebrated 
woman  who  presided  there,  became  the  social  centre  of  the 
welcomes  lavished  not  only  upon  himself,  but  upon  all  the 
officers  of  the  ships. 

Emma,  Lady  Hamilton,  the  second  wife  of  Sir  William,  was 
at  this  time  thirty-three  years  old,  her  husband  being  sixty- 
eight.  Her  name,  when  first  entering  the  world,  was  Amy 
Lyon.  Born  in  Cheshire  of  extremely  poor  parents,  in  the 
humblest  walk  of  life,  she  had  found  her  way  up  to  London, 
Avhile  yet  little  more  than  a  child,  and  there,  having  a  beau- 
tiful face,  much  natural  charm  of  manner  and  disposition, 
utterly  inexperienced,  and  with  scarcely  any  moral  standards, 
—  of  which  her  life  throng  'out  shows  but  little  trace,  —  she 
was  speedily  ruined,  fell  so  tar,  in  fact,  that  even  with  all  her 
attractions  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  any  man  would  own 
himself  responsible  for  her  condition,  or  befriend  her.  In 
these  circumstances,  when  not  yet  seventeen,  she  was  taken 
up  by  a  nephew  of  Sir  William  Hamilton,  Mr.  Charles  Gre- 
ville,  who  recognized  not  merely  her  superficial  loveliness,  but 
something  of  the  mental  and  moral  traits  underlying  it,  which 
promised  a  capacity  for  development  into  an  interesting  and 
affectionate  household  companion.  Upon  her  promises  of 
amendment,  in  the  matter  of  future  relations  with  men,  and 
of  submission  to  his  guidance  and  wishes  in  the  general  con- 
duct of  her  life,  he  took  her  in  charge,  and  the  two  lived 
together  for  nearly  four  years. 

Greville  bestowed  a  good  deal  of  pains  upon  her  training, 
and  was  rewarded,  not  only  by  gratitude  and  careful  cornpli- 
ance  with  his  directions,  but  by  her  sincere  and  devoted  affec- 
tion. The  girl  became  heartily  and  fondly  in  love  with  him, 
finding  both  contentment  and  happiness  in  the  simply  ordered 
home  provided  for  her.  Her  education,  which  hitherto  was  of 
the  smallest,  received  attention, — her  letters  showing  a  very 
great  improvement  both  in  spelling  and  mode  of  expression  by 
tlie  end  of  their  association.  On  the  moral  side,  of  course, 
there  was  not  much  development  to  be  expected  from  one 
whose  standards,  with  less  excuse,  were  in  no  way  better  than 


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820 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


her  own.  On  this  side  Greville's  teaching  was  purely  utili- 
tarian. Her  position  was  considered  as  a  calling,  —  success  in 
which  demanded  certain  proprieties  and  accomplishments, 
only  to  be  attained  by  the  practice  of  habitual  self-control, 
alike  in  doing  and  in  not  doing. 

The  future  Lady  Hamilton  was  affectionate  and  impulsive, 
good-humored,  with  generous  instincts  and  a  quick  temper; 
but  she  was  also  ambitious  and  exceptionally  clever.  She 
loved  Greville  warmly ;  but  she  took  to  heart  the  hard  truthr. 
of  his  teachings,  and  they  sank  deep  in  a  congenial  soil. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  two  motives,  she  applied  herself  to 
gain,  and  did  gain,  a  cert'^:^  degree  of  external  niceness  and 
self-control.  Her  affection  for  Greville  made  her  willing,  for 
his  sake,  because  he  was  not  rich,  to  live  quietly,  to  accept 
modest  surroundings,  and  to  discard  whatever  was  coarse  in 
associates,  or  unbecoming  in  her  own  person  or  conduct.  He, 
while  relaxing  none  of  his  requirements,  repaid  her  with 
courtesy  and  increasing  admiration,  than  which  nothing  was 
dearer  to  her ;  for,  if  not  appreciative  of  the  satisfaction  of 
self-respect,  she  was  keenly  alive  to  the  delights  of  homage 
from  others,  though  extorted  by  purely  adventitious  qualities. 
Glory  was  to  her  more  than  honor.  This  love  of  admiration, 
fostered,  yet  pruned,  by  Greville's  shrewd  precepts,  was  her 
dominant  trait.  To  its  gratification  her  singular  personal 
advantages  contributed,  and  they  were  powerfully  supported 
by  an  unusual  faculty  for  assuming  a  part,  for  entering  into 
a  character  and  representing  its  external  traits.  Thus  gifted 
by  nature,  and  swayed  by  vanity,  her  development  was  for  the 
time  regulated  and  chastened  by  the  disinterestedness  of  her 
passion  for  her  lover.  Her  worst  qualities  were  momentarily 
kept  in  abeyance.  Naturally  lovable,  not  only  in  exterior  but 
in  temperament,  she  became  more  and  more  attractive. 
"Consider,"  wrote  Greville,  referring  to  her  surroundings 
before  she  passed  into  his  hands,  "  what  a  charming  creature 
she  would  have  been,  if  she  had  been  blessed  with  the  advan- 
tages of  an  early  education,  and  had  not  been  spoilt  by  the 
indulgence  of  every  caprice." 

Unfortunately  the  restraining  influence,  probably  ephemeral 
in  any  event,  was  about  to  be  rudely  removed,  permitting  to 
flourish  in  unrestrained  vigor  the  natural  tendency  to  compel 


I  liifi'  I' 


LADY   HAMILTON 


:W1 


admiratioii  and  secure  advantage  by  the  spell  of  physical 
l)eauty,  and  by  the  exertion  of  natural  aptitudes  for  pleasing 
in  the  only  path  to  success  open  to  her.  In  1782  Hamilton's 
fust  wife  died,  and  in  1784  he  came  to  England  on  leave. 
'IMiere  he  met  Amy  Lyon,  now  known  as  Emma  Hart,  in  the 
lionse  provided  for  her  by  Greville.  His  admiration  of  her 
was  extreme,  and  its  tendency  was  not  misunderstood  by  her. 
He  returned  to  his  post  at  Naples  at  the  end  of  the  year.  In 
t.l»o  course  of  1785  Greville,  who  was  now  in  his  thirty-sixth 
year,  decided  that  the  condition  of  his  fortune  made  it  impera- 
tive for  him  to  marry,  and  that  as  a  first  step  thereto  he  must 
Inrak  with  Emma  Hart.  Hamilton's  inclination  for  her  pro- 
vided a  ready  means  for  so  doing,  so  far  as  the  two  men  were 
(oncerned;  but  her  concurrencre  was  not  sure.  After  some 
correspondence,  it  was  arranged  that  she  should  go  to  Naples 
ill  the  spring  of  1780,  to  live  there  under  Hamilton's  care, 
with  the  expectation  on  her  part  that  Greville  would  join  her 
a  few  months  later.  I'laced  as  she  then  would  be,  it  was 
probable  that  she  woidd  eventually  accept  the  offers  made 
licr ;  though  it  would  be  less  than  just  to  either  Greville  or 
Hamilton,  to  allow  the  impression  that  they  did  not  intend  to 
provide  sutticiently  for  her  needs,  whatever  her  decision. 

In  this  way  she  left  England  in  the  spring  of  178C,  reach- 
ing Naples  on  the  20th  of  April.  AVhen  the  poor  girl,  after 
many  of  her  letters  to  her  lover  "'eraained  unanswered,  fully 
realized  that  the  separation  was  final,  her  grief  was  extreme, 
and  found  utterance  in  words  of  tenderness  and  desolation, 
which,  however  undisciplined  in  expression,  are  marked  by 
genuine  pathos.  But  anger  struggled  with  sorrow  for  the 
mastery  in  lier  soul.  She  was  too  keen-witted  not  to  have  had 
iui  inkling  of  the  possible  outcome  of  her  departure  from 
Kngland,  and  of  the  doubtful  })osition  she  was  occupying  at 
Naples ;  but  her  wishes  had  nuide  her  willingly  deaf  to  any 
false  ring  in  the  assurances  given  her  by  Greville,  and  she 
resented  not  only  the  abaiulonmcnt,  but  the  deceit  which  she, 
justly  or  unjustly,  conceived  to  have  been  practised,  while  her 
womanliness  revolted  from  the  cold-blooded  advice  given  by 
him  to  accept  the  situation.  The  conflict  was  so  shai'p  that 
for  a  time  both  he  and  Hamilton  expected  she  would  return  to 
England;  but  Greville  had  not  labored  in  vain  at  what  he  was 

•21 


!! 


^ii^: 


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1  '  > 


HI 


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322 


THE  LIFE  OF   NELSON 


;•, 


i    T', 


■J ;. 


I  ;• 


I'.  ;i 


pleased  to  consider  her  education.  By  the  end  of  the  year  she 
was  addressing  Hamilton  in  words  of  very  fairly  assumed 
affection,  but  not  until  she  had  written  to  Greville,  with  a  cer- 
tain haughty  desperation,  "  If  you  affront  me,  1  will  make 
him  marry  me."  The  threat  was  two-edged,  for  Hamilton 
intended  Greville  to  he  his  heir;  but  the  latter  probably  gave 
little  heed  to  a  contingency  he  must  have  thought  very 
unlikely  for  a  man  of  fifty-six,  who  had  passed  his  life  in  the 
world,  and  held  Hamilton's  public  position. 

To  effect  this,  however,  Emma  Hart  now  bent  her  personal 
charms,  strong  purpose,  and  the  worldly  wisdom  with  which 
Greville  had  taught  her  to  assure  her  hold  upon  a  man. 
Love,  in  its  unselfishness,  passed  out  of  her  life  with  Greville. 
Other  men  might  find  her  pliant,  pleasing,  seductive  ;  he  alone 
knew  her  as  disinterested.  She  followed  out  her  design  with 
a  patience,  astuteness,  and  consistency  which  attest  the 
strength  of  her  resolution,  and  her  acute  intellectual  percep- 
tion of  the  advantages  at  her  disposal.  Ambition,  a  natural 
trait  with  her,  had  been  trained  to  self-control,  in  order  to 
compass  a  lowly,  colorless  success.  Unlooked-for  opportunity 
now  held  before  her  eyes,  distant  and  difficult  of  attainment, 
but  not  impossible,  a  position  of  assured  safety,  luxury,  and 
prominence,  which  appealed  powerfully  to  the  love  of  pleas- 
ure, still  dormant,  and  to  the  love  of  conspicuousness,  which 
became  the  two  most  noticeable  features  of  her  character. 

With  all  her  natural  advantages,  however,  the  way  was  hard 
and  long.  She  had  to  become  indispensable  to  Hamilton,  and 
at  the  same  time,  and  by  the  same  methods,  an  object  the 
more  desirable  to  him  because  of  her  evident  attractiveness 
to  others.  Above  all,  she  had  to  contend  with  her  own  tem- 
per, naturally  lively  and  prone  to  bursts  of  anger,  which  the 
prolonged  suspense  of  the  struggle,  acting  upon  a  woman's 
nerves,  tended  peculiarly  to  exasperate.  Hamilton  Avas  of 
an  age  when  he  might  be  enslaved  by  fondness,  but  not  con- 
strained by  strength  of  passion  to  endure  indefinitely  house- 
hold tempests,  much  less  to  perpetuate  them  upon  himself 
by  lasting  bonds.  In  all  this  Emma  Hart  showed  herself 
fully  equal  to  the  task.  Tenderly  affectionate  to  him,  excejit 
when  carried  away  by  the  tits  of  irritability  which  both  hv, 
and  Greville  had  occasion  to  observe,  she  complied  readily 


LADY   HAMILTON 


323 


W  'i-n 


with  all  his  wishes,  and  followed  out  with  extraordinary  as- 
siduity his  plans  for  her  improvement  in  education  and  in 
accomplishments.  The  society  which  gathered  round  them 
was,  of  course,  almost  wholly  of  men,  Avho  one  and  all  pros- 
trated themselves  before  her  beauty  and  cleverness,  with  the 
same  unanimity  of  submission  as  did  the  officers  of  Nelson's 
division  after  the  Battle  of  the  Nile.  But,  while  giving  free 
rein  to  coquetry,  and  revelling  in  admiration,  she  afforded  no 
ground  for  scandal  to  the  world,  or  dissatisfaction  to  Hamil- 
ton. In  the  attitude  of  outsiders  towards  her,  he  had  reason 
to  see  only  the  general  testimony  to  her  charms  and  to  his 
own  good  fortune.  At  the  end  of  1787  he  wrote  to  Greville  : 
*'  I  can  assure  you  her  behaviour  is  such  as  has  acquired  her 
many  sensible  admirers,  and  we  have  a  good  man  society,  and 
all  the  female  nobility,  with  the  queen  at  their  head,  show  her 
every  distant  civility." 

Thus  she  persisted,  keeping  her  beauty,  and  growing  in 
mental  acquirements  and  accomplishments,  but  making  little 
ajtparent  headway  towards  the  great  object  of  her  ambition. 
"  I  fear,"  wrote  Hamilton  towards  the  middle  of  1789,  when 
she  had  been  three  years  with  him,  "her  views  are  beyond 
what  I  can  bring  myself  to  execute  ;  and  that  when  her  hopes 
on  that  point  are  over,  she  will  make  herself  and  me  unhappy. 
Hitherto  her  behaviour  is  irreproachable,  but  he^  temper,  as 
you  must  know,  unequal,"  He  underrated  her  perseverance, 
and  exaggerated  his  own  strength  of  reluctance,  innate  and 
acquired.  Impossible  as  it  would  seem,  with  his  antecedents 
and  with  hers,  his  friends  and  acquaintances  became  alarmed 
for  the  result,  and  not  without  cause.  "  Her  influence  over 
liim  exceeds  all  belief,"  wrote  a  mutual  friend  to  Greville  in 
March,  1791.  "His  attachment  exceeds  admiration,  it  is 
perfect  dotage."  Shortly  after  this  letter  was  written  the 
two  went  to  England,  and  there  they  were  married  on  the 
6th  of  September,  1791.  By  the  end  of  the  year  they  were 
hack  in  Naples,  and  did  not  again  leave  Italy  up  to  the  time 
of  Nelson's  arrival  in  1798. 

Lady  Hamilton  did  not  abuse  the  security  of  the  place  she 
had  won  with  so  much  pains,  nor  on  the  other  hand  did  her 
ambition  and  love  of  prominence  permit  her  to  settle  down 
to  inert  enjoyment  of  it.     The   careful   self-restraint  with 


V  f  I 


ll 


1    » 


'( ii 


ii.  M 


324 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


I/,'    i 


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Ir> 


I  '1     !     'P , 


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wliicli  she  had  observed  the  proprieties  of  her  former  false 
position  facilitated  the  disappearanee  of  prejudices  naturally 
arising  from  it.  Many  English  ladies  of  rank,  })assing  through 
Naples,  visited  her,  and  those  who  refused  to  ignore  the  past 
of  the  woman,  in  the  position  of  the  IJritish  minister's  wife, 
were  by  some  sharply  criticised.  "She  has  had  a  difficult 
])art  to  act,"  wrote  Hamilton,  six  months  after  their  return, 
"  and  has  succeeded  wonderfully,  having  gained,  by  liaving 
no  pretensions,  tlie  thorough  approbation  of  all  the  English 
ladies.  The  Queen  of  Naples  was  very  kind  to  her  on  our 
return,  and  treats  her  like  any  other  travelling  lady  of  dis- 
tinction ;  in  short,  we  are  very  comfcu'tably  situated  here." 
"  We  dined  yesterday  with  Sir  William  and  Lady  lliiniilton," 
wrote  Lady  JVIahnesbury,  whose  husband  was  among  the  most 
distinguished  diplomatists  of  the  da3%  "  She  really  behaves 
as  well  as  ]wssible,  and  (piite  wonderfully,  considering  her 
origin  ami  education." 

This  last  phrase,  used  at  the  culmination  of  Lady  Hamil- 
ton's good  fortune  and  personal  advance,  was  wholly  good- 
natured  ;  but  it  sums  up  the  best  of  the  not  very  good  tliiit 
can  be  said  of  her  during  the  height  of  her  pros]>erity,  and 
in  later  years.  Although,  as  has  been  remarked,  she  did  not 
at  this  time  abuse  the  security  whiijh  as  a  wife  she  had  at- 
tained, —  for  policy  too  clearly  dictated  the  continuance  of 
her  previous  circumspection,  —  the  necessity  for  strenuous 
watchfulness,  exertion,  and  self-restraint,  in  order  to  reach 
a  distant  goal,  no  longer  existed;  and,  although  a  woman  of 
many  amiable  and  generous  impulses,  she  had  not  a  shred  of 
principle  to  take  the  place  of  the  motive  of  self-interest,  which 
hitherto  had  been  so  peremptory  in  its  exactions.  What  she 
was  in  delicacy  in  1791,  that  she  remained  in  1796.  —  five 
years  after  the  disappearance  of  her  social  disabilities ;  a 
pretty  fair  proof  that  what  she  possessed  of  it  was  but  skin- 
deep,  the  result  of  a  diligent  observance  of  Greville's  pro- 
prieties, for  her  personal  advantage,  not  the  token  of  a  noble 
inner  spirit  struggling  from  excusable  defilement  to  the  light. 
"  She  does  the  honours  of  the  house  with  great  attention  and 
desire  to  j)lease,*'  wrote  Greville's  correspondent  of  179L  bc- 
f(n'e  quoted,  "  but  wants  a  little  refinement  of  maiuiors,  in 
which,  in  the  course  of  six  years,  I  wonder  she  has  not  made 


LADY   HAMILTON 


822 


i^aoiiter  i)iogrnss."  "  She  is  all  Nature  and  yet  all  Art,"  said 
Sir  (.lilbcrt  Elliot,  in  1790;  '"that  is  to  say,  her  manners  are 
])erfeetly  unpolished,  of  course  very  enay,  though  not  with 
the  ease  of  good  breeding,  but  of  a  barmaid;  ex<^essively  good 
liniiioured,  and  wishing  to  please  and  be  admired  by  all  ages 
and  sorts  of  persons  that  come  in  her  way ;  but  besides  con- 
siderable natural  understanding,  she  has  acc^uired,  since  her 
marriage,  some  knowledge  of  history  and  of  the  arts,  and  one 
wonders  at  the  application  and  pains  she  has  taken  to  make 
herself  what  she  is.  With  men  her  language  and  conversa- 
tion are  exaggerations  of  anything  I  ever  heard  anywhere  ; 
and  I  was  wonderfully  struck  with  these  inveterate  remains 
of  her  origin,  though  the  impression  was  very  nuich  weakened 
by  seeing  the  other  ladies  of  Naples."  "  I  thought  her  a  very 
liaiidsome,  vulgar  woman,"  curtly  commented  the  lieutenant 
t»f  a  frigate  which  visited  Naples  in  the  summer  of  1798, 
wliile  hunting  for  Nelson  in  the  game  of  cross-purposes  that 
preceded  the  Nile.^  Allowing  for  difference  of  observers,  it 
is  plain  that  the  Lady  Hamilton  whom  Nelson  now  met,  had 
not  improved  in  essentials  over  the  Emma  Hart  of  a  half- 
dozen  years  before. 

Two  years  afterwards,  the  verdict  of  these  men  was  con- 
Hriiicd  by  ]\[rs.  St.  George,'-^  a  lady  in  London  society,  who 
viewed  lier  possibly  with  something  of  the  reiiugnant  preju- 
dice of  a  refined  and  cultivated  woman,  yet  evidently  measured 
her  words  calmly,  even  in  her  private  journal.  "  1  think  her 
bold,  daring,  vain  even  to  folly,  and  stamped  with  the  man- 
ners of  her  first  situation  much  more  strongly  than  one  would 
suppose,  after  having  represented  Aiajesty,  and  lived  in  good 
company  fifteen  years.  Her  dress  is  friglitful,  Her  waist  is 
absohiti.'ly  between  her  shoulders."  Nelson  measured  her  by 
a  dirt'erent  standard.  "  In  every  point  of  view,"  he  tells  hov- 
sclf,  "  from  Andxissatrice  to  the  duties  of  domestic  life,  1 
)iever  saw  your  equal.  That  elegance  of  manners,  accomplisli- 
iiients,  and,  above  all,  your  goodness  of  heart,  is  unparalleled." 
riie  sanu;  lady  describes  her  personal  appearance,  at  the  time 
when  his  devotion  had  reached  the  height  from  which  it  never 
declined.     "  Her  iigure  is  colossal,  but,  excepting  her   feet, 

1  Culliurii's  Uiiitwl  Service  Ma^'aziiie,  1847,  liait  ii.  p.  52. 
^  AfteiwuRls  Mis,  Trench,  tho  niotlier  of  Arclibishop  Trench. 


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826 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


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wliich  are  hideous,  well  shaped.  Her  bones  are  large,  and 
she  is  exceedingly  embonpoint.  The  shape  of  all  her  features 
is  fine,  as  is  the  form  of  her  head,  and  particularly  her  ears ; 
her  teeth  are  a  little  irregular,  but  tolerably  white;  her  eyes 
light  blue,  with  a  brown  spot  in  one,  which,  though  a  defect, 
takes  nothing  away  from  her  beauty  or  expression.  Her  eye- 
brows and  hair  ('  iiich,  by  the  bye,  is  never  clean)  are  dark, 
and  her  complexion  coarse.  Her  expression  is  strongly 
marked,  variable,  and  interesting ;  her  movements  in  com- 
mon life  ungraceful;  her  voice  loud,  yet  not  disagreeable." 
Elliot's  briefer  mention  of  her  appearance  is  at  once  confirm- 
atory and  complementary  of  that  of  Mrs.  St.  George :  "  Her 
person  is  nothing  short  of  monstrous  for  its  enormity,  and  is 
growing  every  day.     Her  face  is  beautiful." 

To  these  opinions  it  may  be  not  uninteresting  to  add  the 
critical  estimate  of  William  Beckford,  uttered  many  years 
later.  Beckford  was  not  an  admirable  character,  far  from  it ; 
but  he  had  known  good  society,  and  hs  had  cultivated  tastes. 
Nelson  accepted  his  hospitality,  and,  with  the  Hamiltons, 
spent  several  days  under  his  roof,  about  Christmas  time,  1800. 
In  reply  to  the  question,  "  Was  the  second  Lady  Hamilton  a 
fascinating  woman  ?  "  he  said,  '•'  I  never  thought  her  so.  She 
was  somewhat  masculine,  but  symmetrical  in  figure,  so  that 
Sir  William  called  her  his  Grecian.  She  was  full  in  person, 
not  fat,  but  enihonj^oint  Her  carriage  often  majestic,  rather 
than  feminine.  Not  at  all  delicate,  ill-bred,  often  very 
affected,  a  devil  in  temper  when  set  on  edge.  She  had  beau- 
tiful hair  and  displayed  it.  Her  countenance  was  agreeable, 
—  fine,  hardly  beautiful,  but  the  outline  excellent.  She 
affected  sensibility,  but  felt  none  —  was  artfid ;  and  no 
wonder,  she  had  been  trained  in  the  Court  of  Naples  —  a  fine 
school  for  an  English  woman  of  any  stamp.  Nelson  was 
infatuated.  She  could  make  him  believe  anything,  that  the 
profligate  queen  was  a  IMadonna.  He  was  her  dupe.  She 
never  had  a  child  in  her  life.*'  ^  As  to  this  last  assertion, 
Beckford  was  not  in  a  position  to  have  personal  knowledge. 

But  along  with  this  native  coarseness,  which,  if  not  ineradi- 
cable, was  never  eradicated,  she  possessed  an  intuitive  and 
perfect  sense,  amounting  to  genius,  for  what  propriety  and 
*  Beckford's  Memoirs,  London,  1859,  vol.  ii.  p.  326. 


LADY  HAMILTON 


9n 


good  taste  demanded  in  the  presentation  of  an  ideal  part,  — 
the  yit't  of  the  born  actress.  Of  her  powers  in  this  way  tlio 
celebrated  "  Attitudes  "  were  the  chief  example,  and  there  is 
no  disagreement  among  the  witnesses,  either  as  to  their  chann 
or  as  to  the  entire  disappearance  of  the  every-day  woman  in 
tlie  assumed  character.  "  We  had  the  attitudes  a  night  or  two 
ngo  by  candle  light,"  wrote  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot  in  1796.  "  They 
come  up  to  my  expectations  fully,  which  is  saying  everything. 
They  set  Lady  Hamilton  in  a  very  different  light  from  any  I 
liiid  seen  her  in  before  ;  nothing  about  her,  neither  her  conver- 
sation, her  manners,  nor  figure,  announce  the  very  refined  taste 
wliich  she  discovers  in  this  performance,  besides  the  extraordi- 
!iiiry  talent  which  is  needed  for  the  execution."  "  You  never 
s;r,v  anything  so  charming  as  Lady  Hamilton's  attitudes," 
wrote  Lady  Afalmesbury  in  1701.  "The  most  graceful 
statues  or  pictures  do  not  give  you  an  idea  of  them."  "It  is 
a  beautiful  performance,"  wrote  Mrs.  St.  George,  who  saw  her 
in  1800,  when  the  Hamiltons  and  Nelson  were  travelling  on 
the  Continent,  "amusing  to  the  most  ignorant,  and  highly 
interesting  to  the  lovers  of  art.  It  is  remarkable  that 
altliougli  coarse  and  ungraceful  in  common  life,  she  becomes 
highly  graceful,  and  even  beautiful,  during  this  performance, 
it  is  also  singular  that,  in  spite  of  the  accuracy  of  her  imita- 
tion of  the  finest  ancient  draperies,  her  usual  dress  is  taste- 
less, vulgar,  loaded  and  unbecoming." 

The  stormy  period  of  the  French  Itevolution,  which  was 
about  to  burst  into  universal  war  at  the  time  she  was  married, 
gave  Lady  Hamilton  another  opportunity  to  come  yet  more 
conspicuously  before  men's  eyes  than  she  had  hitherto  done. 
It  is  not  easy  to  say  what  degree  of  influence  she  really 
attained,  or  what  particular  results  she  may  have  effected ; 
but  she  certainly  managed  to  give  herself  so  much  the  air  of  a 
person  of  importance,  iu  the  political  intrigues  of  the  day  in 
Na[)les,  as  at  the  least  to  impose  successfully  upon  a  great 
many,  and  to  be  accepted  very  much  at  her  own  valuation. 
The  French  ambassador,  writing  to  Bonaparte  in  1798,  says  : 
'•  If  the  preponderance  which  the  French  Eepublic  ought  to 
take  here,  removed  hence  Acton  and  the  wife  of  Hamilton, 
tills  country,  without  other  changes,  would  be  extremely  nse- 
lul  for  the  execution  of  all  your  projects  in  the  Mediterra- 


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TIIK    I.IKK  OF   NKLS(»N 


iiiiiii;''  iind  Sir  William  liiinstjlt',  who  should  luive  known, 
speaks  of  ht'T  activity  and  utility,  —  "for  several  years  the 
real  and  only  confidential  iriend  ol'  the  Qu»!eu  of  Naples." 
Neison,  writing  to  tin!  (^>ueen  of  Naples  in  ltS04,  after  Hamil- 
ton s  death,  said:  "  Your  Majesty  well  knows  that  it  was  her 
capacity  and  conduct  which  sustaineil  his  dii)lomati('  <'haracter 
during  the  last  years  in  whitdi  he  was  at  Naples."  '  Certaiidy, 
Nelson  believed,  with  all  the  blindness  of  love,  whatever  his 
mistress  chose  to  tell  him,  but  lie  vas  not  without  close  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  inside  history  of  at  least  two  td"  those 
last  years;  for,  in  1S(H,  addressing  Mr.  Addington,  then 
I'rime  Minister,  he  used  these  words:  "  JIaving  for  a  length 
of  time  seen  the  corresj)ondence  both  public  and  private,  from 
all  the  Neai)olitan  ministers  to  their  Government  and  to  the 
Queen  of  Naples,  I  am  perfectly  iic(|uainted  with  the  views  of 
the  several  Powers."  For  lier  success  Lady  Hamilton  was 
indebted,  partly  to  her  personal  a<l vantages,  and  partly  to  her 
position  as  ».'ife  of  the  Hr'tish  minister  and  chosen  friend  to 
the  Queen,  (jlreat  Britain  played  a  leading  part  everywhere 
in  the  gigantic  struggle  throughout  the  Continent,  but  to  a 
remote  peninsidar  kingdom  like  Naples,  protected  by  its  dis 
tance  from  the  ceiiores  of  strife,  yet  not  wholly  inaccessible  by 
land,  the  chief  maritime  state  was  the  one  and  only  sntlicient 
ally.  A  rude  reminder  of  his  exposuu  to  naval  attack  had 
been  given  to  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  in  1792,  by  the 
appearance  ol  a  French  Heet,  which  extorted  satisfaction  for 
an  alleged  insult,  by  threatening  instant  bombardment  of  his 
capital. 

Sir  William  Hamilton,  who  had  been  minister  since  1765, 
thus  found  himself  suddenly  converted  from  a  dilettante  and 
sportsman,  lounging  through  life,  into  a  busy  diplomat,  at  the 
centre  of  affairs  of  critical  moment.  At  sixty-two  the  change 
could  scarcely  have  been  welcome  to  him,  but  to  his  beautiful 
and  ambitious  v/ife  the  access  of  importance  Avas  sweet,  for  it 
led  to  a  close  friendship  with  the  (}ueen,  already  disposed  to 
affect  her,  even  in  the  notorious  position  she  had  held  before 
her  marriage;  and  the  Queen,  a  daughter  of  Maria  Theresa 
and  sister  to  Marie  Antoinette,  was  much  more  of  a  man  than 

1  Compare  au  cijually  strong  assertion,  Niculas's  Des^»atelies,  vol,  vi. 
p,  09.  * 


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LADY   IIAMII/roN 


.120 


tlin  KinK.  '^'''e  intimacy  bccamo  the  talk  of  Naples,  and  tlio 
rt'poit  spread,  easily  believed,  bec^auso  in  the  naturti  of  tliinj^s 
very  likely,  tliat  the  jjcrsonal  ndations  Ix^tween  tlie  two 
women  cloaked  a  ^reat  deal  of  nndei-hand  work,  sncli  as  often 
iiccompanies  diplonifvJ,ic  ditticnlties.  Nor  did  Lady  Hamilton 
hick  natural  (pialitieations  for  tlio  position  int(»  which  she 
iiiid(tul)teilly  wished  to  thrust  herself.  She  was  a  brave, 
capable,  full-blooded,  etlicMent  wonian,  not  to  be  daunted  by 
tears  or  scruples;  a  woniaji  who,  if  only  nerve  and  intelii- 
t,'enco  Avere  required,  and  if  distinction  for  herself  was  at 
stake,  could  bo  fairly  depended  upon.  Then!  was  in  her 
make-up  a  good  deal  of  i)a<,'au  virtiie.  She  could  appreciate 
;iiid  admire  heroism,  and,  under  the  stimulus  of  excitement,  of 
self-cons(n(uis  magnanimity,  for  the  glitter  of  effective  ]»er- 
tormauco  and  the  applause  of  onlookers,  she  was  (pjite  cap:d)le 
(if  heroi*!  action,  it  was  this  daring  spirit,  coarsely  akin  to 
iiiMcdi  that  was  best  in  himself,  and  of  whi(d»  she  made  proof 
under  his  own  eyes,  that  Nelson  recognized ;  and  this,  in 
tlu^  thought  of  the  writer,  was  the  luxly  of  truth,  fronv  whi(!h 
his  enthusiasm,  enkindled  by  her  (diarms  and  by  her  teiuler- 
ucss  towards  himscdf,  projected  such  a  singular  phantasm  of 
iduiantic  perfections. 

Such  was  the  woman,  and  such  the  ])osition  in  the  piddic 
tye  that  she  had  gained  for  herself,  when  t(i  Najdes,  lirst 
in  the  European  continent,  came  the  news  whicdi  made  Nel- 
son for  the  moment  the  most  conspicuous  man  of  the  day. 
Ho  had  achieved  a  triumph  the  most  startlingly  dazzling  that 
had  yet  been  gained,  find  over  one  who  up  to  that  time  had 
excelled  all  other  warriors  in  the  brilliancy  and  extent  of  his 
victories.  Bonaparte  was  not  yet  the  Napoleon  whom  history 
knows,  but  thus  far  he  had  been  the  most  distinguished  child 
ot  the  Revolution.  That  Lady  Hamilton  then  and  there 
formed  the  purpose  of  attaching  Nelson  to  her,  by  the  bonds 
which  have  sullied  his  memory,  is  most  improbable  ;  but  it  is 
in  entire  keeping  with  the  career  and  the  self-revelations  of 
Mie  woman  that  she  should,  instin<!tively,  if  not  with  delibera- 
tion, have  resolved  to  parade  herself  in  the  glare  of  his  re- 
nown, and  appear  ia  the  foreground  upon  the  stage  of  his 
triumph,  the  chief  dispenser  of  his  praises,  the  patroness  and 
proprietor  of  the  hero.     The  great  occasion  should  shed  a 


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gluimmr  routnl  h(M',  togcthor  with  liiin.  "Er.nnii's  piissioii  is 
sulmirition,"  (Ji'oville  had  written  soon  alter  tlicy  j)aittul, 
"and  it  is  ('ai)al>lo  of  aspirin.!^  to  any  lino  which  wonhl 
be  ei'lehratt'd,  and  it  woidd  l>o  indilToront,  wlien  on  that 
key,  wheth(!r  sht*  was  Lncrotia  or  Sappho,  or  Si'ji'vola  or  Kcj,'- 
uhis ;  anythin;^  }i;rand,  niascidine  or  I'eniinine,  sho  oouhl 
take  m*." 

Unhappily,  Nelson  was  not  able  to  stand  the  heady  dose  of 
flattery  administered  by  a  woman  of  sncdi  eonsjtienons  beanty 
and  eonsnmmate  art ;  nor  was  his  tast(!  diseriminating  enont^h 
to  experience  any  wholesome  revolt  ai^ainst  the  rankness  of 
the  dranght  she  offered  him.  The  (juiek  appreciation  of  the 
born  actress,  which  enabled  her  when  on  the  8taj,'e  to  clothe 
herself  with  a  grace  and  refinement  that  droi)ped  away  when 
she  left  it,  conspired  with  his  simjdicity  of  confidence  in 
others,  and  his  strong  tendencty  to  idealize,  to  inv(!st  her  with 
a  character  very  different  Ironi  the  true.  Not  that  the  Lady 
Hamilton  of  reality  was  utterly  different  frojn  the  Lady  Ham- 
ilton of  his  imagination.  That  she  ever  loved  him  is  doubtful ; 
but  there  were  in  her  spirit  impulses  capable  of  sympathetic  re- 
sponse to  his  own  in  his  bravest  acts,  though  not  in  his  noblest 
motives.  It  is  inconceivable  that  duty  ever  appealed  to  her 
as  it  did  to  him,  nor  could  a  woman  of  innate  nobility  of 
character  have  dragged  a  man  of  Nelson's  masculine  renown 
about  England  and  the  Continent,  till  he  was  the  uu)ck  of  all 
beholders  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  lu-ver  (umld  have  occurred 
to  the  energetic,  eoiirageous,  brilliant  Lady  JIamilton,  after 
the  loft}'  deeds  and  stirring  dramatic  scenes  of  St.  Vincent, 
to  beg  him,  as  Lady  Nelson  did,  "  to  leave  bosirding  to  cap- 
tains." Sympathy,  not  good  taste,  would  have  Aithheld  her. 
In  Ijady  Nelson's  letters  there  is  evidence  enough  of  a  some- 
what colorless  womanly  affection,  but  not  a  thrill  of  response 
to  the  greatness  of  her  husband's  daring,  even  when  sur- 
rounded herself  by  the  acclamations  it  called  forth. 

What  Nelson  had  never  yet  found  in  woman  Lady  Ham- 
ilton gave  him, — admiration  and  appreciation,  undisguised 
and  luimeasured,  yet  bestowed  by  one  who  had  the  power,  by 
the  admission  of  even  inifriendly  critics,  of  giving  a  reality 
and  grace  to  the  part  she  was  performing.  He  was  soon  at 
her  feet.    The  playful  gallantry  with  which  Ball,  Elliot,  and 


HKLATIOMS  WITH    LADY    HAMILTON 


.'I'd 


even  old  St.  Vincent*  liiiiisclf,  paid  court  to  a  liandsoine 
wonjan,  greedy  of  hoinagr,  beeaiun  in  Nelson  a  serious  mat- 
It  r.  Romantic!  in  temperament,  las  was  all  day  in  flattering 
roiitact  with  lier.  AVorn  out  and  ill  from  tliat  "  fever  of 
;iiixiety,"  to  use  his  own  words,  whieh  hi",  had  endured  siiu'O 
tlie  middle  of  June,  sins  attended  and  nurs«'d  him.  *'  liady 
Hamilton,"  he  exelaimed  to  Lady  Nelson,  with  enthusiasm 
uiuliseriminating  in  more  ways  than  one,  "is  ones  of  the  very 
hi'st  women  in  thi.s  world;  she  is  an  honour  to  her  sex."  A 
wt'ck  lat»'r  he  tells  her,  with  an  odd  collocation  of  persons: 
"  My  pride  is  being  your  husl)and,  the  son  of  my  (U-ar  father, 
iiiid  in  having  Sir  William  and  Lady  Ihimilton  for  my  friends. 
Wiiile  these  approve  my  «!onduct,  f  shall  not  f<'el  t)r  regard 
the  envy  oi"  thousands."  The  miitter  was  passing  rapidly 
into  the  platonie  stage,  in  whiidi  Sir  William  was  also  ert;- 
Iniig  assigned  an  approjjriate,  if  not  wholly  flattering,  posi- 
tion. "  What  can  1  say  of  Ihts  and  Sir  William's  attention 
to  me  ?  They  are  in  fact,  with  th«  exception  of  you  and  my 
good  father,  the  dearest  friends  1  have  in  this  world.  1  live 
as  Sir  William's  son  iis  the  house,  and  my  glory  is  as  dear  to 
tJK^m  as  their  own ;  in  short,  I  am  under  such  obligations  as  I 
i:iii  never  repay  but  with  my  eternal  gratitude."  "  Naples  is 
a  dangerous  place,"  he  sagely  tells  Lord  St.  Vincent,  '*  and' we 
must  keep  clear  of  it.  I  am  writing  op}»osite  Lady  Hamilton, 
tlierefore-  you  will  not  be  surprised  at  the  glorious  jumble  of 
this  letter.  AVere  your  Lordship  in  my  place,  I  much  doiibt 
it'  you  could  write  so  well ;  our  hearts  and  our  hands  must  be 
all  in  a  flutter."  Matters  progressed ;  within  ten  days  the 
veteran  seaman  learned,  among  other  concerns  of  more  or  less 
oflieial  importance,  that  **  Lady  Hamilton  is  an  Angel.  She 
has  honoured  me  by  being  my  ambassadress  to  the  queen  : 
tlierefore  she  has  my  implicit  confidence  and  is  worthy 
of  it." 

That  such  intimacy  and  such  relations  resulted  in  no  in- 
fluence upon  the  admiral's  public  action  is  not  to  be  believed. 
That  he  consciously  perverted  his  views  is  improbable,  but  that 
lit'  saw  duty  under  other  than  norjnal  lights  is  not  only  prob- 
able, but  evident.     His  whole  emotional  nature  was   stirred 

'  St.  Vincent  at  this  time  had  not  met  her,  at  least  as  Lady  Hamilton,  but 
tliiy  exehiinged  occasional  letters. 


J^.ii, 


i} 


S32 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


w 


v.;  I 


I  \ 


si 


as  it  never  liacl  boon.  Incipient  love  and  universal  admiration 
had  oreated  in  him  a  tone  of  mind,  and  brouglit  to  birtli  feel- 
ings, which  he  had,  seemingly,  scarcely  known.  "I  cannot 
write  a  stiff  formal  pnl)lic  letter,"  lie  tells  St.  Vincent  effu- 
sively. "You  mnst  make  one  or  both  so.  T  feel  j-on  are  my 
friend,  and  my  heart  yearns  to  yon."  Sncli  extravagance  of 
expression  and  relaxation  of  otllcial  tone  has  no  ])ortinont 
canse,  and  is  at  least  noteworthy.  Tlie  Court,  or  ratlier  the 
Queen  through  Lady  Hamilton,  took  possession  of  him.  He 
became  immediately  one  of  the  little  coterie  centring  round 
Her  Majest}'^,  and  ho  roHooted  its  tone  and  partisanship,  wliirh, 
fostered  probably  in  the  intimate  conversations  of  the  two 
women,  were  readily  transmitted  to  the  minister  by  the  wife 
whom  h<  adored.  The  (^ueen,  imjiotuous,  enterprising,  and 
headstrong,  likf  her  mother  and  sister,  moved  more  by  fem- 
inine feelings  of  hatred  and  revenge  against  tiie  Fren(^h  tliau 
by  well-balanced  considerations  of  police}',  not  only  favored  w:ir, 
but  wished  to  pr(>cipitate  the  action  of  the  Emperor  by  ini- 
inediately  attacking  the  l*'ren(^h  in  the  lloman  territory.  Tiie 
decisiou  and  daring  of  such  a  course  was  so  consonant  to  Nel- 
son's own  tempei'ament  that  lie  readily  sympathized  ;  but  it  is 
impossible  to  admit  its  wisdom,  from  either  a  jxtliticMl  or  mili- 
tary standpoint.  It  was  an  excessively  bad  combination,  sub- 
stitnting  isolated  attacks  ft)r  co-operation,  and  risking  results 
upon  the  chance  of  ])rompt  support,  by  a  state  which  would 
be  offended  and  embarrassed  by  tlie  step  taken. 

Under  ordinary  conditions  Nelson  might  have  seen  this,  but 
he  was  well  handled.  Within  three  days  he  had  been  per- 
suaded that  upon  his  personal  presence  depended  the  salva- 
tion of  Italy.  "My  hetid  is  quite  healed,  and,  if  it  were 
necessar}',  I  could  not  at  present  leave  Italy,  who  looks  u\) 
to  me  as,  under  God,  its  Protector."  Hi;  continually,  l)y  de- 
vout recollection  of  his  ind(»btedness  to  God,  seeks  to  keep 
himself  in  hand.  "T  am  placed  by  Providence  in  that  silii- 
ation,  that  all  my  caution  will  be  necessary  to  prevent  vanity 
from  showing  itself  superior  to  my  gratitude  and  thankful- 
ness,"—  but  the  current  was  too  strong  for  him.  and  was 
swollen  to  a  torrent  by  the  stn^ams  of  adulation,  which  from 
all  (piarters  flowed  in  upon  a  temperament  only  too  dis|)os('(l 
to  accept  them.     ''Could  I,  my  dearest  Fanny,"  he  writes  to 


HONORS  PAID  AT  NAPLES 


333 


liiitly  Kelson,  '"tell  you  liulf  the  honours  wliich  are  sliown  nie 
liore,  not  a  ream  of  paper  would  hold  it."  A  grand  ball  was 
i;iven  on  his  birthday,  September  L'9 ;  and  a  rostral  eolunin 
was  "erected  under  a  niaguifieeut  canopy,  never,  Lady  Hani- 
ihon  says,  to  come  down  while  they  remain  at  ^'aples." 
Within  a  week  the  conviction  of  his  own  importance  led 
liim  to  write  to  Lady  ILimilton,  evidently  for  transmission 
to  the  (^)ueon,  an  t)pinion,  or  rather  an  urgent  Expression  of 
advice,  that  Naiiles  should  at  once  begin  war.  It  is  only 
conjectural  to  say  that  this  opinion,  which  rested  on  no 
;ulc(piate  knowledge  of  the  strength  of  the  Neapolitan  King- 
ih»m,  was  elicited  by  the  (Jueen  through  Lady  Hamilton  ;  but 
Lhc  inference  derives  support  from  the  words,  "  I  have  read 
with  admiration  the  queen's  dignified  and  incomparable  letter 
of  September,  171)6,"  —  two  years  before.  That  his  views 
wore  not  the  simple  outcome  of  his  own  unbiassed  study  of 
t  he  situation  is  evident  enough.  "  This  country,  l>y  its  sys- 
Icni  of  procrastination,  will  ruin  itself,"  he  writes  to  St. 
\'iiicent,  the  very  day  after  drawing  up  the  letter  in  question  ; 
"lhc  queen  sees  it  and  thinks  "  —  not  as  1  do,  but —  "  as  we 
do."  That  Lady  Hamilton  was  one  of  the  "  we  "  is  plain,  for 
ill  the  postscript  to  cue  letter  he  says:  "Your  Ladyship  will, 
1  hog,  receive  this  letter  as  a  prejjunitire  for  ^ir  IVUlidvt 
IliiiiiUton,  to  whom  1  am  writing,  with  all  respect,  the  firm 
and  unalterable  oi»inion  of  a  Britisli  admiral,"  etc.  Certainly 
tliose  words  —  taken  with  those  already  quoted,  and  written 
just  a  week  afterwards,  "Lady  Hamilton  has  been  my  am- 
bassadress to  the  <pieen"  —  indicate  that  she  was  the  inter- 
iiii'diary  between  Nelson  and  the  Court,  as  well  as  between 
hhit  and  her  husband. 

There  is  no  record  of  any  official  retpiest  for  this  unofficial 
and  irregular  communication  of  the  opinion  of  a  British  ad- 
miral ;  and,  of  course,  when  a  man  has  allowed  himself,  un- 
asked, though  not  lui prompted,  to  jn-ess  such  a  line  of  action, 
li(!  lias  l)ound  himself  personally,  and  embarrassed  himself 
otlicially,  in  case  it  turns  out  badly.  Nelson  very  soon, 
witliin  a  fortnight,  had  to  realize  this,  in  the  urgent  entreat- 
ies of  the  Court  not  to  forsake  them  ;  and  to  see  reason  for 
thinking  "  that  a  strong  wish  for  our  squadron's  being  on  the 
Coast  of  Naples   is,  that  in  case  of  any  mishap,  that  their 


\  r.M,'' 


:■■:,[> 


„, 


■[, 


\    ■  i 


I   ,    ( 


3:34 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


!    if 


L.S       '■   ' 


fci^. 


i  I 


li  'I  1 


:i     • 


Majesties  think  their  persons  much  safer  under  the  protection 
of  the  British  flag  than  under  any  other;"  that  is  —  than 
under  their  own.  They  could  not  trust  their  own  people ; 
they  could  not,  as  the  event  proved,  trust  their  army  in  the 
field ;  and  the  veteran  Neapolitan  naval  officer,  Caracciolo, 
whether  he  deserved  confidence  or  not,  was  stung  to  the  quick 
when,  in  the  event,  they  sought  refuge  with  a  foreign  admiral 
instead  of  with  himself.  That  Nelson  should  not  have  known 
all  this,  ten  days  after  reaching  Naples,  was  pardonable  enough, 
and,  if  formally  asked  for  advice  without  such  facts  being 
placed  before  him,  he  could  not  be  responsible  for  an  error 
thus  arising ;  but  the  case  is  very  different  when  advice  is 
volunteered.  He  is  more  peremptory  than  the  minister  him- 
self. "  You  will  not  believe  I  have  said  or  done  anything, 
without  the  approbation  of  Sir  William  Hamilton.  His 
Excellency  is  too  good  to  them,  and  the  strong  language  of 
an  English  Admiral  telling  them  plain  truths  of  their  miser- 
able system  may  do  good." 

The  particular  position  of  Naples  relatively  to  France  was 
this.  French  troops  had  for  a  year  past  occupied  the  Roman 
Republic,  which  had  been  established  by  them  upon  the  over- 
throw of  the  Papal  Government.  Their  presence  there  was 
regarded  by  iNelson  as  a  constant  threat  to  the  Two  Sicilies, 
and  this  to  an  extent  was  true ;  but  rather  because  of  the 
contagion  of  revolutionary  ideas  than  from  the  military  point 
of  view.  From  the  latter,  it  should  have  been  obvious  m  a 
man  like  Nelson  that  the  French  must  be  deterred,  under  ex- 
isting conditions,  from  entering  Naples  unprovoked  ;  because 
the  farther  they  advanced  the  more  exposed  was  their  army, 
in  cas-e  war,  Avhich  was  darkly  threatening,  should  be  renewed 
in  Upper  Italy.  They  dared  not,  unless  by  folly,  or  because 
first  attacked,  prolong  their  already  too  extended  ex-centric 
movement  into  Lower  Italy.  This  was  true,  taking  accoinit 
of  Austria  oi.ly ;  but  now  that  the  British  fleet  was  released 
by  the  entire  destruction  of  the  French  at  the  Nile,  and  could 
operate  anywhere  on  the  coast,  it  would  be  doubly  imprudent; 
and  when  the  news  that  it  had  been  done  reached  Egypt, 
Bonaparte,  who  had  himself  felt  the  weight  of  Naples  as  a 
possible  enemy,  remote  and  feeble  as  she  was,  exclaimed, 
'-'  Italy    is   lost ! "      That   Naples    should    co-operate    in   the 


t  II 


.'  I 


\ 


ADVISKS  NAl'LKS  TO  DECLARE   WAR 


335 


genei.tl  movement  against  France  was  right,  although,  as 
Nc'lsou  well  knew,  she  had  never  dared  do  so  under  nmch 
more  favorable  conditions,  —  a  fact  which  by  itself  should 
have  suggested  to  him  caution ;  but  that  she  should  act  alone, 
with  the  idea  of  precipitating  war,  refusing  to  await  the  mo- 
ment fixed  by  the  principal  states,  was  folly.  This,  however, 
was  the  course  detern.ined,  under  the  combined  impulse  of 
the  Queen,  Lady  Hamilton,  and  Nelson  ;  and  it  was  arranged 
tliat,  after  visiting  the  blockade  off  Malta,  he  should  return 
to  Naples  to  co-operate  in  the  intended  movement. 

On  tlie  15th  of  October  Nelson  sailed  from  Naples  for 
]\[alta  in  the  •"  Vanguard,*'  with  three  ships-of-the-line  which 
liad  lately  joined  him.  He  still  felt,  with  accurate  instinct, 
th-'t  Egypt  and  the  Ionian  Islands,  with  Malta,  constituted 
tlie  more  purely  maritime  interests,  in  dealing  with  which  the 
fleet  would  most  further  tiie  g...ieral  cause,  and  he  alludes 
frequently  to  his  wish  to  attend  to  them  ;  but  he  promised 
the  King  that  he  would  be  back  in  Naples  in  the  first  week 
of  November,  to  support  the  projected  movement  against  the 
French.  He  remained  ofE  IVlalta,  therefore,  only  one  week, 
(luring  which  adequate  arrangements  Avere  made  for  the  block- 
ade of  the  island,  whicli  had  been  fornially  proclaimed  on  the 
12th  of  October,  and  was  conducted  for  most  of  the  follow- 
ing year  by  the  Tortuguese  squadron  ;  the  senior  British  offi- 
cer. Captain  Ball,  acting  ashore  with  the  insurgent  Maltese. 
These  had  risen  against  the  French  duri'.ig  the  summer,  and 
now  held  them  shut  up  in  La  Yaletta.  The  adjacent  island 
of  (tozo  surrendered  to  the  British  on  the  28th.  Hood  con- 
tinued in  charge  off  Alexandria  aa ith  three  ships-of-the-line; 
while  the  Ionian  Islands  were  leit  to  themselves,  until  a  com- 
bined Ivussian  and  Turkish  squadron  entered  the  Mediter- 
ranean a  few  weeks  later. 

On  the  5th  of  Novendier  Nelson  returned  to  Naples.  "  I 
am,  I  fear,  drawn  into  a  promise  that  Naples  Bay  shall  never 
be  left  without  au  English  man-of-war.  I  never  intended 
leaving  the  coast  of  Naples  without  one ;  but  if  I  had,  who 
could  resist  the  request  of  such  a  queen  ?  "  He  could  ground 
iMUch  upon  the  A.dmiralty's  orders,  given  when  he  was  first 
sent  into  the  IVEediterranean,  to  protect  the  Kingdoni  of  the 
Two  Sicilies,  and  he  had  understood  that  the  Emperor  also 


<■;!. 


:i       'i 


f      ?     , 


''   '   ; 


h    t 


,';     ■•        ft 


I 

1 

1 

' 

i,  - 

ii. 

'•  : 

1  1 

'fe  • 

1 

1  ■ 

lii:  1 

1 

1 

J 

8»0 


Till-;    1,1 1'K  OK   NKLSON 


f'i;   i 


I    '  I 


would  j;ivo  his  jiiil,  if  Naples  aUaokotl.  This  iinitivssion  vv- 
t'oivod  slivn_y;(.h  from  an  Aust.riau  .nt'in'val,  Mack,  —  then  o\' 
high  ropulation,  Imt  artorwards  brlit'r  known  by  his  snr- 
riMuh'r  to  Napoloou  at.  Ulni,  in  ISOa,  —  lM'in,i,'s»>nl  l.o  cttnnnaiid 
tho  Neapolitan  army.  Sir  William  llantilton,  however,  wrili- 
in^iy  on  tln>  LMJth  of  Oetoher,  was  more  aeeurate  in  saying;  that 
the  Kmperor  only  advised  the  King  "  t.o  aet  openly  against 
the  FrtMich  of  Mn/fn,  as  he  would  eertaiidy  support  liim;*' 
i'or,  Naples  having  a  leudal  elaint  upon  tin;  island,  action  there 
eould  be  representeil  as  nu'rely  ri'sistatiee  U)  aggression.  In 
conseipienoe  of  this  niisunderstatiding,  gn'at  eon  fusion  ensued 
in  the  royal  eouneils  when  a.  eourier  from  Vienna,  brought 
word,  (Ml  tlu'  l.'ith  of  Nov»Mnber.  that  that  (;ourt  wished  it  left 
to  the  French  to  begin  hostilities  ;  ot.herwise,  it.  wiudd  give  no 
assurance  ot  help.  Nelson  was  now  foi-mally  one  of  the 
C\iuneil  which  deliberated  upon  military  operations.  In  virtue 
of  (his  j)ositiou  he  spoke  out,  roughly  enough.  "  I  ventured 
to  tell  their  Majesties  that  one  of  the  following  things  must 
hajtpen  to  the  King,  and  Im  had  his  ehoiee,  —  '  lOither  to  ad- 
vaui'e.  trusting  to  (Jod  for  his  blessing  on  ii  just  cause,  to  die 
with  /\'/H'i'  o  Id  mohi,  or  r('main  tpiiet  and  b*'  kicked  out  of 
your  Kingd(Mus.' ''  Tlius  rudely  adjured,  the  King  de<Mded  t,o 
bo  a  hert)  after  tin'  ])attern  of  Nels'.;n. 

On  the  L'LM  of  November  a.  summons  wiis  sent  to  the  FnMuOi 
to  evacuate  the  Tapal  States  and  Malta,  and  a  Neapolitan 
army  nuirched  iipon  Ixonw,  eonmjandeil  by  Maidc  in  person. 
At  the  same  time  Nelson  took  on  i»oa.rd  his  stp'iuirou  a  ccu-ps 
of  live  thousami,  to  sei/.e  heghorn,  the  possession  of  v/hieh, 
with  control  of  the  sea,  was  nitt  unjustly  (^)nsidered  thr(Ni,t,en- 
ing  to  the  e»>mmunications  between  the  centre  of  Ki'en«^li 
power,  in  Nortlnun  Italy,  a,nd  tim  expt)sed  eor[».s  at  the  foot 
t)f  tlu;  peninsula.  Aft.er  landing  this  body,  Nelson  again  went 
to  Naples,  leaving  Troubridge  in  charge  at  liCghorn,  with 
several  ships ;  directing  him  also  to  keep  vessels  <'rnising  along 
the  Iviviera,  and  before  (lenoa.,  to  break  up  the  eoastwi.se  tra*lic, 
which  had  resunuul  great  proportions  sin(H)  t'lo  ab.sencio  of  the 
Jiritisli  from  the  JMediterranean,  and  upon  which  tho  Krencli 
army  in  Tiedmont  and  Lombardy  now  great''  depended. 

On  the  nth  of  Dt'cember  the  "Vanguard"  oucm!  moii; 
anchored  at  Naples.     Nelson's  estimate  oi"  affairs  as  he  now 


,  ! 


nKI'KAr  n|.    nil'.    NKAroMIANS 


;i7 


iiigs    iniist, 


rotiiKl  llu'iii,  is  Im'wI,  tnld  in  liis  own  words.  " 'I'lif  sImiIc  nl' 
lliis  (!(iunti',v  is  Itiirlly  lliis:  'I  lir  ;iiiii_v  is  al  IJuiim',  rivilii, 
\(M't'Iiia.  lakt'ii,  ImiI.  ill  I  ln>  ( 'asl  li- nl  SI,.  Aii;4r|(tart'  live  imiMlrnl 
|''rriii'li  l.r*)u|is.  'I'lir  h'rriii'li  liaA'<^  lliirlt'cii  tliuiisaiMl  houps  nl 
a,  strong  posti  in  IIm*  lioiiian  Slate,  railrti  ('aslcllaiia.  <irii<'ral 
Mack  is  f^onn  a;4aiiisl,  Micni  willi  l.wml.y  l.lionsa.n<l :  l.lni  rvrnl. 
Ill  niv  u|)iniuii  is  ilonltlliil,  and  on  il,  lian;;s  l.ln^  ininit'diat.c  lain 
111'  Naples.  ir  Mark  is  dcrral.fd,  Iliis  (■uiiiiliy,  in  ronrt,t'<'n 
(lavs,  is  Idsl. ;  i'ur  lln*  Miiipt'iMM'  lias  nut,  yrl,  niovcd  liis  iiiiiiy, 
and  il  tlir  lOnipiTtir  will  nul,  inarrli.  I, liis  rniinlty  lias  tint,  tjm 
|i(iw»'r  nl'  rnsistiii!:^  Ilir  h'tcnrli.  Ilnl,  il.  was  iml,  n  case  t>\' 
rlinice,  liul.  nn-fssily,  wiiirli  lurci'd  I.Ik!  Kiiij;  <d'  Naplt'S  l.o 
iiiarcli  out.  oi'  liis  ronntiy,  and  nut,  t,o  wail,  tall  l.lir  h'li'ncli  liad 
( (i||('(-t(>d  a.  t'ui'i't'  snniricnl.  In  drive  liiiii,  in  a  week,  oiil,  ol'  liis 
Kiii^<loni."  II.  is  l»y  no  means  su  sure  tliafc  n<»  <»l.lier  euiirsn  of 
art, ion  liad  lieeii  open,  t.lioii<^di  Nelson  nainrally  cliiii*;  to  Ids 
lirsl.  opinion.  Uy  a.dvaneiiij^%  l.lie  K  in;^' j^ave  l.lie  I'leneli  oeea.- 
sion,  il  Miey  were  seekin.n  one;  and  I. lie  Neapidil.an  army, 
wliieli  iiiij^liL  well  lia.V(!  delerred  l.lieni,  as  il.  liad  (!iiil»!irra.ssed 
even  Itonaparte  in  Ids  time,  had  ils  rolieiiness  revealed  as 
niily  l.riiil  <!.in  reveal.  When  reviewed,  il.  had  appeared  to 
Mack  and  Ncdson  a  well-etpiipped  locee  «d'  thirly  Mmiisand 
di'  the  "linest  troops  in  Mnrope."  r.ioii,L,dit  lace,  to  laee  with 
lilteen  thousand  l<'reneh,  in  a  month  it  (mmsciI  tu  exist. 

Upon  Mack's  advainte,  tin;  (''reiieh  ^^eneral  (^h.'uiipionnnt 
liad  evacuated  Uonie,  inio  which  the  Kin^  made  a,  vain^hni- 
(iiis  triiiinphal  entry.  The  l*'iench  ictired  to  ( !astellanu,  I'ol- 
jnwcd  hy  tint  Neapolitans;  hut  in  the  c:inipa.i;^n  j,li.'it  eiisned 
llic  latter  hehaved  with  dis;^fra,(Mdnl  eowai'dice.  I*'lyin;<  in 
I  very  dircMition,  with  scarcely  any  loss  in  killed,  and  precM-ded 
ill  their  lii;.;ht  liy  the,  Kini^,  the,  whole  lorcc  retreated  in  con- 
lii.'^ioii  upon  til"  ea|»ital.  'I'liei-e.  revoliil,i(»nary  ideas  lia.d 
spread  widcdy  ainoiis^  the  upper  (dasses  ;  and,  although  the, 
piipiihuM)  both  in  city  and  eonntry  remainetl  laiKiticaliy  loyal, 
and  hostile,  to  th(!  I''rencli,  the  Kinj^'and  (,l|iieen  feared  to  trust 
tlicir  p(!rsons  to  the,  issiut  n'l  events.  I'owerless  throii;{h  sus- 
picions ol'  those  around  iluMn,  appa,r(!ntly  w(dl  lonnded,  and 
lliroutfh  la,<^k  <d'  a,ny  instninient  with  which  to  a,ct,  now  that 
I  heir  army  wjt,s  dcstroyeil,  their  one,  wish  was  to  escape  t(i 
I'ahirmo. 


I 


338 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


i  i!i 


I!  I 


:  ,■     'i'' 


I ' 


To  do  this  involved  some  difficulty,  as  the  mob,  like  thut  of 
l*aris,  was   bitterly  o|)j)Osed  to   their  sovereign  leaving  tlie 
capital ;  but  by  the  management  and  determination  of  Nelson, 
who  was  greatly  helped  by  the  courage  aild  presence  of  mind 
of  Lady  Hamilton,  the  royal  family  was  embarked  on  board 
the  "Vanguard "on  the  evening  of  l)e(^end)er  21st.     During 
several  previous  days  treasure  to  the  amount  of  two  and  a 
half  millions  sterling  was   being  conveyed   secretly  to   the 
ship.     "  The  whole  correspondence  relative  to  this  important 
business,"  Avrote  Nelson  to  St.  Vincent,  "  was  carried  on  witii  tlie 
greatest  address  by  Lady  Hamilton  and  the  Queen,  who  being 
constantly  in  the  habits  of  corx-espondence,  no  one  could  sus- 
pect."    On  the  evening  of  the  23d  the  ''Vanguard  "  sailed, 
and  after  a  most  tempestuous  passage  reached  I'alermo  on  the 
26th.     The  youngest  of  the  princes,  six  years  old,  taken  sud- 
denly with  convulsions,  died  on  the  way  in  the  arms  of  Lady 
Hamilton,  whose  womanly  helpfulness,  as  well  as  her  courage, 
came  out  strongly  in  this  trying  time.     Nelson  wrote  to  St. 
Vincent:  "  It  is  my  duty  to  tell  j^our  Lordship  the  obligations 
which  the  whole  royal  family  as  well  as  myself  are  under  on 
this  trying  occasion  to  her  Ladyshi])."     These  scenes  inevi- 
tably deepened  the  impression  she  had  already  made  upon 
him,  which  was  not  to  be  lessened  by  her  lapse  into  feminine 
weakness  when  the  strain  was  over.     To  use  her  own  words, 
in  a  letter  to  her  old   lover,   Greville,   '"  My  dear,  adorable 
queen  and  I  weep  tor/ether,  s^nd  now  that  is  our  onely  com- 
fort."    "Our   dear   Lady  Hamilton,"  Nelson  wrote  again  a 
few  days  later,  "  whom  to  see  is  to  admire,  but,  to  know,  are 
to  be  added  honour  and  respect;  her  head  and  heart  surpass 
her  beauty,  which   cannot  be  equalled  by  anything  I  have 
seen."     Upon  himself  the  brief  emergency  and  its  sharp  call 
to  action  had  had  the  usual  reviving  effect.     "  Thank  God," 
he  wrote  to  Spencer,  "  my  health  is   better,  my  mind  never 
firmer,  and  my  heart  in  the  right  trim  to  comfort,  relieve,  and 
protect  those  who  it  is  my  duty  to  afford  assistance  to." 

In  Palermo  Nelson  again  lived  in  the  ministers  house, 
bearing  a  large,  if  not  ;i  disproportionate,  sh-ire  of  the 
ex])enses.  When  they  returned  to  England  in  1800,  Hamil- 
ton was  £2,000  in  his  debt.  The  intimacy  and  the  manner 
of  life,  in  the  midst  of  the  Neapolitan  court,  whose  corrupt- 


I 


LIFE   AT  PALERMO 


389 


|i''    X 


iiess  of  nuinners  both  Nelson  and  Troubriilge  openly  con- 
demned, was  already  causing  scandal,  nnnois  of  which  were 
not  long  in  reaching  home.  "  I  am  quite  conc^erned,"  wrote 
Captain  Ball  to  Sanmarez,  when  Nelson  was  about  to  quit  the 
station,  "  at  the  many  severe  paragraphs  which  have  been  put 
in  the  newspapers  respecting  him  and  Lady  Hamilton.  I  am 
convinced  that  there  has  not  been  anything  improper  between 
tliem  —  his  Lordship  could  not  fail  being  delighted  witii  her 
accomplishments  and  manners,  which  are  very  fascinating." 
Lady  Nelson,  uneasy  as  a  wife  could  not  fail  to  be  at  reports 
affecting  her  husband's  honor,  and  threatening  her  own  hapj)i- 
ness,  quickly  formed,  and  for  a  time  entertained,  the  thought 
of  joining  him  on  the  station  ;  ^  but,  if  she  broached  the  idea 
to  Nelson,  he  certainly  discouraged  it.  Writing  to  her  ou  the 
10th  of  April,  1799,  he  said :  "  You  would  by  February  have 
seen  how  unpleasant  it  would  have  been  had  you  followed  ant/ 
advice,  which  carried  j'ou  from  England  to  a  wandering  sailor. 
I  could,  if  you  had  come,  oiili/  have  struck  my  flag,  and  carrif  d 
}  ou  back  again,  for  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  set 
up  an  establishment  at  either  Naples  or  Palermo."  ^ 

The  scandal  increased  apace  after  his  headquarters  were 
fixed  at  Palermo.  Lady  Minto,  writing  from  Vienna  to  her 
sister,  in  July,  1800,  says  :  "JNIr.  Rushoutand  Colonel  Rooke,' 
whom  I  knew  in  Italy,  are  here.  Mr.  Rushout  is  at  last  going 
lionie.  He  escaped  from  Naples  at  the  .same  time  as  the 
King  did  in  Nelson's  ship,  and  remained  six  months  at 
I'alermo  ;  so  I  had  a  great  deal  of  intelligence  concerning  the 
Hero  and  his  Lady.  .  .  .  Nelson  and  the  Hamiltons  all  lived 
together  in  a  house  of  which  he  bore  the  expense,  which  was 
enormous,  and  every  sort  of  gaming  went  on  half  the  night. 
Nelson  used  to  sit  with  large  parcels  of  gold  before  him,  and 
g'-nerally  go  to  sleep.  Lady  Hamilton  taking  from  the  heap 
without  counting,  and  playing  with  his  money  to  the  amount 
of  £500  a  night.  Her  rage  is  play,  and  Sir  William  says 
wlien  he  is  dead  she  will  be  a  beggar.     However,   she  has 


k»l^ 


I 


1  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  138,  note. 


2  Pi-ttigiew,  vol.  i.  p.  220. 


"  Lord  Minto  was  at  this  time  ambassador  to  Vienna.  Kusliont  and  Kooke 
were  men  well  known  on  the  Continent.  Hoth  are  mentioned  with  some 
particnlarity  in  the  Memoirs  of  Pryse  LocRhart  Gordon,  another  continental 
rainl)ler. 


840 


THE  LIKli  OF  NELSON 


',''     ! 


'!  i 


about  JtJ30,000  wortli  of  tlijuiioiids  from  tht;  royal  family  in 
presents.  She  sits  at  tlio  (,'ouiirils,  ami  rules  everything  ami 
everybody. ""  Some  of  these  statements  are  probably  beyond 
the  personal  knowledge  of  the  narrator,  and  can  oidy  be 
a(!cepted  as  current  t;dk;  but  otiiers  are  within  the  obser- 
vation of  an  eye-witness,  evidently  thought  credible  by  Lady 
Minto,  who  was  a  friend  to  kelson.  Mr.  I'aget,  who  succeeded 
Hamilton  as  Hritish  minister,  mentions  the  same  reports,  in 
his  private  letter  to  Lord  (irenville,  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs.  Hamilton  had  asked  to  see  his  instructions. 
"1  decided  at  once  not  to  do  so,  for  he  would  certaiidy  have 
been  obliged  to  show  them  to  Lady  Hamilton,  who  would 
have  conveyed  them  next  moment  to  the  queen.  .  .  .  Lord 
Nelson's  health  is,  I  tea:',  sadly  injpaired,  and  I  am  assured 
that  his  fortune  is  fallen  into  the  same  state,  in  consetpience 
of  great  losses  whi(*h  both  his  Lordship  and  Lady  Hamilton 
have  sustained  at  Faro  and  other  games  of  hazard."  ^ 

The  impressions  made  upon  Lord  Elgin,  who  tou(;hed  at 
Palermo  on  his  way  to  the  embassy  at  Ci)nstantinople,  are 
worth  quoting  ;  for  there  has  been  much  assertion  and  denial 
as  to  what  did  go  on  in  that  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the 
world,  Lady  Handlton  ascribing  the  falsehoods,  as  she  claimed 
they  were,  to  the  Jacobinical  teiulencies  of  those  who  spread 
them  **  During  a  week's  stay  at  Palermo,  on  my  passage 
here,"  wrote  Elgin,  "  the  necessity  of  a  change  in  our  repre- 
sentative, and  in  our  conduct  there,  ajipeared  to  me  most 
urgent.  You  may  perhaps  know  from  Lord  Grenville  how 
strong  my  impression  on  that  subject  was."  ^  Troubridge,  a 
pattern  of  that  most  faithful  friendship  which  dares  to  risk 
alienation,  if  it  may  but  save,  wrote  urgently  to  his  chief : 
"  Pardon  me,  my  Lord,  it  is  my  sincere  esteenj  for  you  that 
makes  me  mention  it.  1  know  you  can  have  no  pleasure  sit- 
ting up  all  night  at  cards;  why,  then,  sacrifice  your  health, 
comfort,  purse,  ease,  everything,  to  the  customs  of  a  country, 
where  your  stay  cannot  be  long  ?  .  .  .  Your  Lordship  is 
a  stranger  to  half  that  happens,  or  the  talk  it  occasions ;  if 
you  knew  what  your  friends  feel  for  you,  I  am  sure  you  wo  dd 
cut  all  the  nocturnal  parties.  The  gand)ling  of  the  p(;ople  at 
Palermo  is  publicly  talked  of  everywhere.  I  beseech  your 
1  The  Paget  Papers,  London,  1896,  p.  185.  "^  Ibid.  p.  219. 


LIFE  AT   TALKKMO 


841 


Lonlsliip  leave  off.  I  wish  my  ])en  ooulcl  tell  you  my  feel- 
ing's, I  am  surn  you  would  oblige  mo.  Lady  11 's  char- 
acter will  suffer,  uothinp;  can  i)revent  ))eople  from  talking.  A 
<,';unl)liiig  woman,  in  tiie  (>ye  of  an  Englishman,  is  lost.  .  .  . 
^'<»ti  will  be  snr|)rised  when  I  teli  you  I  hoar  in  all  companies 
the  sums  won  and  lost  on  a  card  in  Sir  William's  house.  It 
I'liinishes  niiitter  for  a  letter  (u)nstautly,  both  to  Minorea, 
Naples,  ^^essina,  etc.,  etc.,  and  finally  iu  England.  I  trust 
your  Lordshii)  will  pardon  me;  it  is  the  sincere  esteem  I 
have  for  you  that  makes  mo  risk  your  displeasure.''  To  this 
manly  appeal  Nelson  seems  to  have  made  no  reply ;  none  at 
least  is  quoted.  In  the  same  letter  Troubridge  tells  him 
phiinly  that  great  disc^outent  had  arisen  from  ''the  known 
interferen(^e  of  Ijady  Ila.milton,''  scu  lo  months  before,  in  the 
cMse  of  a  marine  condemned  to  death  for  mutiny.  "  These 
things  get  hom(%  and  an;  talked  of  in  a  different  nuinuer  to 
what  your  Ijordship  can  have  any  idea  of.'" 


.,  f 


1  Troubriage  to  Nelson,  Dec.  15  and  28,  1799. 


CHAPTER  XIT. 

Nklson's  Cmikku,  and  Okm'.uai,  Kvents  is  TiiK  Mkditkiihankan  and 
Italy,  kiiiim  tiik  OvKiniiitow  hk  tiik  Uoyai,  (iovkknmknt  in 
Nai'i.ks  to  the  iNcintsioN  ov  tiik  Fuenih  Flkkt  undkk  Admihai, 
Biiuix. 

January-May,  1799.     A<iK,  40. 


I  •'•    i 


ii'l 


:*  I 


(!    m' 


THE  four  and  a  liali'  in  aiths  of  unbroken  residence  in 
Palernu),  which  followed  tlie  flight  of  tlie  Court  from 
Naples,  were  full  of  annoyance  and  distress  to  Nelson,  inde- 
pendent of,  and  additional  to,  the  disquieting  strt.ggle  between 
his  passion  and  his  conscience,  which  had  not  yet  been  si- 
lenced. The  disasters  in  Najdes  continued.  The  Neai)olitan 
Navy  had  been  left  in  charge  of  one  of  the  Portuguese  officers, 
who  soon  found  himself  compelled  to  burn  the  ships-of-the- 
line,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  revolution- 
ists, —  a  step  for  which  he  was  severely,  but  apparently 
unjustly,  censured  by  Nelson.  The  peasantry  and  the  lower 
orders  of  the  city  took  up  arms,  under  the  guidance  of  their 
priests,  and  for  some  time  sought,  with  rude  but  undisciplined 
fury,  to  oppose  the  advance  of  the  enemj'^ ;  but  such  untrained 
resistance  was  futile  before  the  veterans  of  France,  and  on  the 
23d  of  January,  1799,  Championnet's  troops  entered  the  city. 
This  was  followed  by  the  establishment  of  the  Parthenopeian 
Republic,  a  name  which  reflected  the  y^revailing  French  affec- 
tation of  antiquity.  For  all  this  Nelson  blamed  the  Emperor, 
and  formed  gloomy  forebodings.  "Had  the  war  commenced 
in  September  or  October,"  he  had  written  amid  the  December 
disasters,  "all  Italy  would  at  this  moment  have  been  liberated. 
Six  months  he  ice,  when  the  Neapolitan  Republic  will  be  or- 
ganized, armed,  and  with  its  luimerous  resources  called  forth. 
I  will  suffer  to  have  my  head  cut  off,  if  the  Emperor  is  not 
only  defeated  in  Italy,  but  that  he  totters  on  his  throne  in 
Vienna."  To  this  text  he  stuck.  Three  months  later,  when 
the  preparations  of  Austria  and  Russia  were   complete,  he 


ANNOYANCK   AHOlH'  SlDNKY   SMITH 


Mil 


wrote :  *''  The  Froncli  have  made  war  upon  tlie  Einpe.  ,  and 
liave  surprised  some  of  his  troo^js.  S(!rve  him  right !  why  did 
h(^  not  f,'o  to  war  bct'ore  •'"  JJut  the  rapid,  eontinuous,  and 
(»veruli(!lminj»  siieeesscs  of  the  C(jalition,  between  April  and 
Aiignst,  showed  liow  untimely  had  heen  the  step  he  had  urged 
upon  the  King  t)t'  the  Sicilies,  disrcgardfnl  of  the  needed 
|ii<'[t:ir;itions  and  of  the  most  favorable  season —  February  to 
August  —  for  operations  in  Italy.  Naples  never  recovered 
such  ])olitical  equilibrium  as  slie  had  possessed  before  that 
ill-advised  advance.  In  Nelson's  career  it,  and  its  reverses, 
were  to  the  IJattle  of  the  Nile  what  Teneriffe  was  to  8t.  Vin- 
cent ;  and  it  illustrates  the  inadequacy  to  success  of  merely 
'going  ahead,"  unless  both  time  and  method  are  dictated 
Ity  that  martial  intelligence  which  Nelson  so  abundantly 
possessed,  but  in  this  case  failed  to  use. 

Not  in  Naples  only  did  fortune  now  adnunister  to  him 
rebuffs,  which  seemed  singularly  to  rebuke  the  change  of 
direction  and  of  base  which  he  had  been  persuaded  to  give 
to  his  personal  efforts.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival  in 
Palermo,  he  heard  from  St.  Vin(!ent  that  a  comparatively 
junior  captain.  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  had  been  sent  out  by  the 
Cabinet,  bearing,  besides  his  naval  commission  from  the 
Ailniiralty,  one  from  the  Foreign  Office  as  envoy  to  Turkey, 
conjointly  with  his  brother,  Spencer  Smith.  This  unusual 
and  sojnewhat  cumbrous  arrangement  was  adopted  with  the 
design  that  Smith  should  be  senior  naval  officer  in  the  Levant, 
where  it  was  thought  his  hands  would  be  strengthened  by  the 
cli])lomatic  functions  ;  but  the  Government's  explanation  of  its 
intentions  was  so  obscure,  that  St.  Vincent  understood  the 
new-comer  was  to  be  independent  of  both  himself  and  Nelson. 
This  impression  was  confirmed  by  a  letter  from  Smith  to 
Hamilton,  in  which  occurred  the  words, ''  Hood  naturally  falls 
under  my  orders  when  we  meet,  as  being  my  junior,"  while 
the  general  tone  was  that  of  one  who  had  a  right,  by  virtue 
of  his  commission  alone,  to  take  charge  of  such  vessels,  and 
to  direct  such  operations,  as  he  found  in  the  L -vant.  This 
iin])rc'Ssion  was  fairly  dedncible  from  a  letter  of  the  Secretary 
<»r  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  that  Smith  forwarded  to  Nelson  ; 
after  which,  Avithout  seeking  an  interview,  he  at  once  went 
on  for  Constantinople. 


I 


i" 


1 


'i 


I 


■iv\ 


I* 


:i44 


TIIK    Ml  r.  Ol-    NKI.SOJJ 


11  , 


lili;  ! 


i ' 


: 


iS't'lson  iinnn'«li;il,»'ly  jiskt'd  to  \w  nlicviMl.     "/  «/ii  j'nf,  fni' 
f  mil  (I  imni,''^  lin  wrote  to  SI,.  \'in('(>iil..  '•  iliiii.  it  is  iin|»<>.ssil>l«' 
for  mo  to  soi'V(^   in  ilioso  h.\'is,  willi  tin*  S(|U!i(lroM   iiixln'  \\ 
juiiior  oHiccr.      Never,  never    was    I    so  Msl.oiiislietl."      With 
tliis   |triv;ile   letter  he  sent  ;iii  o(liei;il   :i|>|)lie:ition   lor  h'iive. 
"  The  },'n';it  iinxieiy  I   li;i\ c  nniler^jone  (hirini,'  the  whoh' time 
I    have    been    honoiireil    with   this   im|)ort:int   eomncinil,   has 
nnieh  im|iaii'e(I  a  weak  eoiist.itut.ion.     And  now,  iinilin<^  that 
mneh  ahh'i"  olVieers  are   arrived  within   t.he  district  whicdi   I 
liad  thon;jfld.  nnder  my  eommand,  .  .  .  and,  I   Ihitt.er  mysell, 
havinfj:  maihi  the   I'.ritish   nation  and  onr  j^raeions  Sovereiufn 
morn  ludovcMl  and   respected  than  heret.ol'ore  ;  nnder  these  cir- 
cumstances  I   <Mitroat,   that,   if  my   lieait.h  and   nnea.sin(>ss  <d' 
mind  shouhl  not  he  mench'd.  that.   I  may  have  your  hordship's 
jiermission   to  leave  this   eommand   t.o  my  ji^allaid.  and   most 
i'xcellent  second  in  eonnnand,  ('aptain  TronhriilLje."     In  simi- 
lar torms,  thoniLjh  niore  jjjnardeil,  Im^  widtt!  to    Marl  Spem-er. 
At  th(»  same  time  he  t(»ok  ])roper  st.eps  t.o  prevent  the  ollicial 
impropriety,  not  to  say  rudeness,  which  Smith  was  about  to 
c(»mmit  by  takiujj;  from   Hood  his  eliai-.Lfe,  without  either  the 
latter  or  Nelson  roceiviu<^  i)ersonal   instruct. ions  to  surremler 
it.      Ho   sent  Troubridint'  hastily  t.o  .Mexjindria  to  lake  com- 
mand there,  with  orders  that,  upon  Smith's  arrival,  he  should 
deliver  up  the  blockade  to  him,  and  return  to  the  westward. 
*'  1  should  hope,"  he  wrote  to  Spencer,  ''that  Sir  Sidney  Smith 
will  not  take  any  ship  from  nnder  my  command,  without  my 
ord(M's;"  but  he  evidently  expected  that  he  wouhl,  and  was 
determined  to  forest.all  the  j)ossibility  of  such  an  affront. 

Nelson's  R(>rvices  had  been  so  eminent,  and  wei-e  at  this 
time  so  indispensable,  and  his  exceptions  to  the  manner  in 
which  Smith  had  been  intruded  into  his  commajul  were  so 
well  founded,  that  the  matter  was  reetitied  as  rapidly  as  the 
slow  rcmnd  of  communications  in  that  ilay  would  permit.  The 
Admiralty  disclaimed  any  int.<Mition  of  circumsi-ribinj^'  his  con- 
trol in  the  Ab^dittM'ranean,  and  Smith  reoeived  peremptory 
orders  from  St.  N'incent  to  n^port  himself  to  Nelson  by  letter 
for  orders.  The  latter  of  course  carried  out  the  Admiralty's 
wishes,  by  intrustiuLi;  to  Smith  the  in)mediat(>  direction  of 
operations  in  the  Levant,  while  retaining  in  his  own  hands 
the  general  outlines  of  naval  policy.     He   kept  a  very  tight 


'    : 


a  i. 


r.:^i 


MIS    DII'LUMATIC  AlUhlTV 


:U5 


I't'iii   oil    Siiii 


Ml,   I 


iu\vr\    r,  :iiitl    iiilnidiict'd  iiiin  tli«!    sitiiiitiiiii 


iiiliif    dry    llUliini-,    iiiMlsiiill     willi    liilii.       'I'lir     two    lirot  licis, 
•  Mvoys,    li(!   :i<ldt'('sst>d   jnintly,    in    liis   n||i<-i;il    It-l.trrs,   liy   Mk; 


)llc('tivc  term  "  N'uiir   I'lxc-cllciicy, 


I    Im'^'    nl'    yuiif    I'iXcid- 


Iciicy,''  lu!  s;iys  in  sncli  ;i  Ictli-r,  "to  loiwuid  my  I«!l,l,cr  to 
Sii'  Sidney  Smith,  (!;i|»t;iin  of  tlio  Tij^itf.  I  liavr  tliis  diiy  lo- 
(■civctl  IcttiMS  Iroiii  Sir  Sidiiijy  Sniitli,  in  Ids  Ministtiiul 
(•;i|i;icity,  I  liuliiivc.  I  *r/.s7/  tliid,  iill  M iiiistfi'ial  letters  ,slionl(( 
lie  written  ill  y(><ir  joint  iiiiiiK's  ;  for  it  miiy  Ik;  iliflie.ult  Tor 
iiie  to  distin^'uisli  tlio  (':i.|(tiiin  ol'  tlie  iii;iii-(d'w:u'  Irotn  tlin 
.joint  Minister,  and  tlio  propriety  of  liiii^Miii;^'e  in  one  iiii^lit 
lie  very  pro[>ei'  to  wind,  it  is  in  tin;  other."'  'I'o  tin;  iiavul  eiip- 
tiiiii  he  writes:  "  I  iniist  t/ln-rf  yon,  whenever  you  have  Minis- 
Icrial  alTairs  to  eommnnieate,  that  it  is  dont;  jointly  with 
yiMir  respeittalilo  hrother,  and  not  mix.  naval  hiisiness  witli 
the  (tther.  I  have  sent  you  my  orders,  which  your  aWilities  as 
a  sea-oHieer  will  lead  you  to  puiietiially  execute." 

iNelsoii  res(!iit(!il  to  the  end  this  i;ivin<,'  to  a  junior  naval 
(illicer,  by  a  sidowind,  an  authoritative  position  in  diplomatic 
;iH'airs,  wliicdi,  on  tin;  naval  side,  properly  beloii;^(Ml  to  him. 
'•  Sir  SidiK^y  should  recollect,"  he  told  K;iil  Speiicicr,  meaning; 
(louhtless  that  the  latter  also  should  reeolltM-t,  "how  I  must 
Icel  in  seeing'  him  idaced  in  the  situation  which  I  thoii^dit 
ii;i,tiir;illy  would  fall  to  me."  It  Wiis  a  siiif^ular  step  on  the 
]i;irt  of  the  («ov(;riiment,  justifiecl  neither  hy  .general  practice, 
nor  hy  jiartit^ular  ability  ')ii  the  part  cd'  the  person  chosen  ; 
luii!  ai!  Nelson's  cjire  and  ('.ecisioii  were  iiisullicient  to  itruvent 
the  conse(pieiit  evil,  altlrmj^h  lu;  was  [Hirlectly  clear  in  his 
iiitiiiiatioii  t(»  "■  Your  l'l,\cell(;!i(!y,"  the  joint  ministers,  that 
tlii'V  should,  "u|toii  :ill  oeciasions,  arraii,i;e  plans  of  op(!rations 
with  me,''  and  not  with  CJaptaiii  Sir  Sidnciy  Smith,  Smith 
was  active  and  fought  well  ;  but,  as  far  as  he  dared,  he  <lid  as 
lie  pleased  ill  virtiu!  of  his  diplomatic  commission,  looked 
only  to  the  interests  (d'  his  own  small  part  of  the  field,  and,  as 
will  a[>|)ear  later,  Hatly  disobeyed  both  the  spirit  and  the 
letter  of  Nelson's  orders,  as  widl  as  tlm  (Joveniment's  pur- 
pose, coiKHM-ninj^  th(!  Fn^nch  army  in  K;4y|)t.  The  general 
sound  judi^'ineiit  and  diplomatic  ability  of  Nidson,  who  was 
tlnis  sup(M-seded,  had  on  the  other  hand  been  fully  vecojL;ni/,ed 
—  ionaally  by  the  (Joverniuent,  explicitly  by  St.  Vincent  and 


■0m 


1.  I 


'it 


346 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


:f   ; 


r' 


i  i 


I     8  ' 


b 


Minto,  botli  of  whom  liad  personal  experience  of  his  conduct 
in  such  matters.  "  Wliat  rehites  to  co-operation  with  the 
arniiss  of  the  allied  powers  cannot  be  in  better  hands  than 
yours,"  wrote  the  forMier.  "  You  are  as  great  in  tlie  cabinet 
as  on  the  ocean,  and  your  whole  conduct  fills  me  with  admira- 
tion and  conridence."  "  There  is  one  other  point  of  excel- 
lence," said  Minto  in  the  House  of  Peers,  "  to  which  I  must 
say  a  single  word,  because  I  am,  perhaps,  the  man  in  the 
world  who  has  had  the  best  opportunity  of  being  acquainted 
with  it.  The  world  knows  that  Lord  Nelson  can  fight  the 
bfittles  of  his  country :  but  a  constant  and  confidential  corre- 
spondence with  this  greai  man,  for  a  considerable  portion  of 
time,  has  taught  me,  that  lie  is  not  less  capable  of  providing- 
for  its  political  in^.erests  at.d  honour,  on  occasions  of  great 
delicacy  and  embarrassment.  In  that  new  capacity  I  have 
witnessed  a  degree  of  ability,  judgment,  temper,  and  concilia- 
tion, not  always  allied  to  the  sort  of  spirit  which  without  an 
instant's  hesitation  can  attack  the  whole  Spanish  line  witli 
his  single  ship."  Of  Nelson's  superior  fitness  in  this  respect, 
the  unfortunate  choice  of  Sidney  Smitli  for  his  anomalous 
position  was  to  furnish  the  Government  an  additional  proof. 

It  was  not  in  this  mutter  only  that  maritime  affairs  in  tlie 
East  took  a  turn  contrary  to  Nelson's  wishes.  The  Admi- 
ralty's orders  to  him  had  prescribed  —  next  after  the  protec- 
tion of  Naples  and  Sicily  —  the  blockades  of  Egypt  and 
Malta,  and  co-operation  with  the  llussian  and  Turkish  fleets, 
which  were  to  enter  the  Mediterranean  from  the  Pdack  Sea. 
Nelson,  although  never  slow  to  express  want  of  confidence  in 
foreign  navies,  wished  their  eiforts  to  be  directed  against  tlie 
French  army  in  Egypt,  a  factor  in  the  general  situation  most 
decisive  by  its  nximbers,  by  its  etiiinency,  and  by  the  genius  ot 
its  leader.  He  was  urgent,  both  with  the  joint  ministers  and 
with  the  representatives  of  llnssia  and  Turkey,  that  tlic  fleets 
of  these  two  powers  should  relieve  Hood  oft'  Alcxandriii,  in 
order  to  strengthen  his  own  hands  on  the  coast  of  Italy  ami 
off  Malta.  Neither  Russia  nor  Turki'y  was  easily  to  hv,  con- 
vinced. Egypt  wa.s  no  affair  of  the  former's,  exccipt  us  it  con- 
cerned the  gereral  cause  ;  and  from  tliat  point  of  view  it  was 
as  much  the  business  of  Great  JJritain,  already  on  the  H|)ot,  as 
it  was  hers.     With  twenty  thousand  troops  about  to  enter 


Si 


SUSPICIONS  OF  RUSSIA 


847 


into  a  campaign  in  Northern  Italy,  as  allies  of  Austria,  Kussia 
had  undeniable  interests  there,  as  well  as  in  the  Ionian 
Islands,  which  commanded  the  entrance  to  the  Adriatic,  a  sea 
important  to  communications  between  Austria  and  Lombardy. 
The  islands  also  were,  in  the  hands  of  France,  a  threat  to  the 
Turkish  mainland.  It  was  against  these,  therefore,  that  the 
iiusso-Turkish  forces  directed  their  efforts,  greatly  to  Nelson's 
disgust,  and  there  they  remained,  chained  by  the  obstinate 
resistance  of  Corfu,  until  the  1st  of  March,  1709,  when  it  sur- 
rendered. The  rifty-gun  ship  "  Leander,"  which  had  been 
tiiken  by  the  French  seventy-four  "  Genereux,"  when  carrying 
Nelson's  despat(!hes  after  the  Nile,  was  here  recaptured  and 
restored  to  Great  Britain. 

Nelson  viewed  the  progress  and  policy  of  Eussia  with  a 
jiiiud  fully  imbued  with  the  distrust,  which,  for  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century,  had  been  supplanting  gradually  the 
previous  friendly  feeling  of  Great  Britain  toward  that  country. 
As  so jn  as  he  heard  of  the  intention  to  attack  the  islands, 
in  November,  1798,  he  hurried  off  Troubridge  to  anticipate  u 
seizure  which  he  expected  to  be  more  easy  than  it  proved. 
"  ^'ou  will  proceed  to  sea  without  a  moment's  loss  of  time," 
his  instructions  ran,  "  and  make  the  best  of  your  way  to  the 
Island  of  Zante  ;  and  if  the  Russians  have  not  taken  posses- 
sion of  that  island  and  Cephalonia,  you  will  send  on  shore  by 
tiio  Priest  I  shall  desire  to  ai^company  you,  my  Declaration. 
It'  you  can  get  possession  of  the  islands  before  named,  you 
will  send  my  Declaration  into  the  Island  of  Corfu,  and  use 
your  utmost  endeavours  to  get  ])Ossession  of  it.  .  .  .  Should 
tW  Ilussians  have  taken  possession  of  these  Inlands  and  be 
cruizing  near  with  the  Turkish  fleet,  you  will  pay  a  visit  to 
the  Turkish  admiral,  and  by  saluting  him  (if  he  consents  to 
return  gun  for  gun)  and  every  other  mark  of  respect  and 
attention,  gain  his  contidencc.  You  will  judge  whether  he 
is  of  a  sufficient  rank  to  hold  a  confidential  conversation 
with.''  It  is  evident  that  Nelson's  action  was  precipitated 
l>y  the  news  of  the  Russian  movement,  and  its  tenor  dictated 
l)y  a  wish  to  sow  distrust  between  Turkey  and  Russia.  The 
omission  of  any  mention  of  a  Russian  admiral  is  most  sig- 
uilieiint.  "Captain  Troubridge  was  absolutely  under  sail," 
he  wrote  to  Spencer  Smith,  "  when  I  heard  with  sorrow  that 


i    -5    'IHll 

w 


\u 


;.  '1 


1       ' 


!i    ? 


348 


THK   LIFE   OF   NFXS<^N 


;  ■! 


el- 


the  Kussiiuis  were  there."  His  eiigeriiess  in  the  matter  is  this 
more  evident,  in  that  h^  thus  detached  Troubridge  at  the 
moment  vvlien  lie  was  al)Out  to  start  for  Legliorn,  wliere  his 
truste(}  s'lbordinate  and  his  ship  wonhl  be  greatly  needed. 

"1  was  in  hopes  that  a  part  of  the  united  Turkish  and 
Kussian  squadron  would  have  gone  to  Egypt  — the  first  ob- 
ject of  the  Ottoman  arms,"  he  tolls  the  Turkish  admiral. 
''  Corfu  is  a  secondary  coiicjideration."  To  Spencer  Smith  ho 
writes:  ''I  have  had  a  long  and  friendly  conference  witli 
Kelim  Ettendi  on  the  conduct  likely  to  be  pursued  by  the 
Ivussian  Court  towards  the  unsuspicious  (I  fear)  and  upright 
Turk.  The  Porte  ought  to  be  aware  of  the  very  great  danger 
at  a  future  day  of  allowing  the  JIussians  to  get  footing  at 
Corfu,  and  1  hope  they  will  keep  them  in  the  East.  Our 
ideas  have  exactly  been  tlie  same  about  Hussia.  .  .  .  Surely 
I  had  a  right  to  exp'ict  that  the  united  Heets  would  have 
taken  care  ">f  the  things  cast  of  Candia.  I  never  wished  tu 
have  them  west  of  it.'  "  The  Ilussians  seem  to  me  to  be  more 
intent  on  taking  ports  in  the  Mediterranean  than  destroyin;^' 
Bonaparte  in  Egypt." 

it  was  well  known  at  this  time  that  the  C/ar  was  looking' 
towards  Malta  and  the  restoration  of  the  Order  of  the  Knights, 
of  which  he  had  been  elected  C^rand  Master  the  previous 
October,  immediately  after  Bonaparte's  seizurt  of  the  island 
became  known.  Nelst)n  held  that  the  King  of  Naples  w;is 
the  legitimate  sovereign,  and  he  directed  Captain  Ball,  his 
own  representative  there,  to  have  all  the  JMaltese  posts  and 
for" '3  Hy  the  Neapolitan  Hag;  but  he,  with  Hamilton,  got  a 
note  from  the  King,  promising  that  Malta  shoidd  never  Iw 
transferred  to  any  other  Tower  without  the  consent  of  Eng- 
land. "  Should  any  Kussian  f.liips,  or  admiral,  arrive  vil 
Malta,"  he  instructed  Ball,  "you  will  convince  him  of  tlm 
very  unhandsome  manner  of  treating  tiie  legitimate  sovereign 
of  Malta,  by  wishing  to  see  the  llussian  Hag  fly  in  Malta,  ami 
also  of  me,  who  command  the  forces  of  a  ]*ower  in  such  close, 
alliance  with  the  Kussian  Emperor,  which  have  been  blockad- 
ing and  attacking  Malta  for  near  six  months.  The  Kussiaiis 
shall  never  take  the  lead." 

Three  weeks  later  he  authorizet^   l»all,  with  the  consent  of 
the  King,  to  preside  over  the  meetings  of  the  IVIaltese  chicls, 


i!     I 


'il 


JKALOIJSY  OF  RUSSIA 


949 


was  look  in  L' 


aiul,  by  the  desiro,  of  his  Sicilian  Majesty,  the  British  flag 
was  to  be  hoisted  alongside  the  Sicilian  in  every  place  where 
the  latter  was  flown,  "side  by  side,  that  of  England  being  on 
the  right  hand,"  to  show  that  the  island  was  under  the  special 
l)rot(!ction  of  Groat  Britain  during  the  war.  On  the  23d  of 
March  he  cordially  (congratulates  the  llussian  admiral  upon 
tlic  fall  of  Corfu,  news  of  which  he  has  just  received,  and  ho 
iiiciitions,  meaningly,  "The  flag  of  his  Sicilian  Alajesty,  with 
th.it  of  (.Jreat  Britain,  is  flying  on  all  parts  of  Malta,  ex(!Opt 
the  town  of  Valetta,  the  inhabitants  of  whiol:  liave,  with  his 
Sicilian  Mnjcsty's  consent,  put  themselves  under  the  protec- 
tion ol'  Great  Britain."  "  1  attadi  no  value  to  it  for  us,"  he 
s;i,id  explicitly  to  the  First  Lord,  meaning,  no  doubt,  for  the 
l»iiriios(!S  of  the  existing  war.  This  opinion  was  perfectly 
consonant  to  the  secondary  importance  he  had  latterly  at- 
tribntcd  to  the  presence  of  the  British  in  the  Levant,  as  com- 
|i:ued  to  their  duties  towards  Naples,  but  though  he  reiterated 
it,  in  tlie  later  war,  it  was  with  the  express  qualification  that, 
l'(ir  the  security  of  communication  with  India,  not  then  in 
(|n(;stion,  the  value  of  the  island  was;  indisputable. 

r»ut  if,  positively,  Malta  was  of  little  use  to  England, — 
'^a  useless  and  enormous  ex{)ense,''  to  use  his  own  words,  — 
yet,  negatively,  the  consequences  of  its  passing  into  the  hands 
of  a  powerful  rival  were  too  serious  to  be  permitted.  "  Any 
ex[)ense  should  be  incurred  rather  than  let  it  remain  in  the 
hands  of  the  French.''  The  same  distrust  of  the  Russians 
was  suggested  by  his  kf^ni  ),olitical  insight.  "  You  will  ob- 
serve what  is  said  in  the  despatches  of  the  Consul  at  Corfu," 
he  writes  to  St.  Vincent,  "respecting  the  Russians  being  or- 
dered to  Malta.  I  know  this  is  a  favourite  object  of  the 
Emperor's,  and  is  a  prelude  to  a  future  war  with  the  good 
Tiirk,  when  Constantinople  will  change  masters.  This  is  so 
clear,  that  a  man  must  be  blind  not  to  see  it."  "I  have  just 
received  the  Em|teror  of  Russia's  picture  in  a  box  magnifi- 
cently set  with  dianu)nds  ;  it  has  done  him  honour  and  me  a 
jileasure  to  have  my  conduct  apju-oved ; "  "but,"  he  tells 
I'.all,  significantly,  "this  shall  not  prevent  my  keej.ing  a 
sharp  look-out  on  his  movements  against  the  good  T'urk." 

As  regards  I'aid  !.,  ferocious  and  half  crazy  as  he  was,  this 
imputation  of  merely  interested  foresight  scarcely  did  justice 


'^.< 


I  ' 


■3       ^'     ■        I 


•1    ■ 

'  1    I 

I    [ 

>  ■'    I 

;! , 


•  -i 


Vi^i 


■  vl 


S50 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I'l't 


iiy 


to  the  quixotic  passions  which  often  impelled  him  to  the  most 
unselfish  acts,  but  the  general  tendency  was  undeniable  ;  and 
Nelson's  watchful  attitude  exemplifies  the  numerous  diplo- 
matic, as  well  as  military,  responsibilities  that  weighed  upon 
him.  He  was,  practically,  commander-in-chief  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, even  if  Government  refused  to  recognize  the  fact 
by  reward,  or  by  proper  staff  appointments;  for  St.  VmeeiiL, 
autocratic  as  he  was  towards  others,  could  roll  off  upon  Nelson 
all  his  responsibilities  thee,  —  "  the  uncontrolled  direction 
of  the  naval  part,"  were  his  own  words, — and  sleep  quietly. 
Despite  his  objections  to  the  island  itself,  and  his  enthusiastic 
fidelity  io  the  Neapolitan  royal  house.  Nelson  had  evidently 
the  presentiment  that  Malta  must  come  to  Great  Ihitain,  a 
solution  which  Ball  and  the  Maltese  themselves  were  urging 
upon  him.  "A  Neapolitan  garrison  would  betray  it  to  the 
first  man  who  would  bribe  him,"  he  wrote  ;  which,  if  true, 
left  to  Great  Britain  no  other  alternative  than  to  take  it  her- 
self. Neither  he,  Troubridge,  nor  the  sovereigns,  had  confi- 
dence in  the  fidelity  of  Neapolitan  officers. 

The  blockade  of  Malta  was  maintained  with  great  tenacity, 
and,  coupled  with  the  maritime  prostration  of  France  in  the 
Mediterranean,  resulted  in  a  complete  isolation  of  the  Frencli 
garrison  in  La  Valetta  by  sea,  the  Maltese  people  hemming  it 
in  by  land.  By  the  1st  of  May  Ball  had  erected  a  battery  at 
the  head  of  the  harbor,  sweeping  it  to  the  entrance,  so  that 
the  French  ships,  one  of  which  was  the  "Guillaume  Tell," 
eighty,  that  had  escaped  from  Aboukir,  had  to  be  kept  in  the 
coves.  These  affairs  of  Malta  brought  Nelson  into  difficult 
diplomatic  relations  with  the  Barbary  States,  Tunis  and 
Tripoli.  The  island  not  affording  sufficient  food,  sti-enuous 
efforts  had  to  be  made  by  him  and  Ball  to  get  grain  from 
Sicily  and  elsewhere,  a  matter  very  difficult  of  accomplish- 
ment even  were  the  transit  unmolested ;  but  these  petty 
Mussulman  states,  for  the  purposes  of  piracy,  kept  themselves 
in  formal  war  with  Naples  and  Portugal,  and  frequently 
captured  vessels  under  the  Sicilian  flag  carrying  corn  to 
Malta.  The  British  had  too  much  on  hand  now  to  spare 
readily  the  force  necessary  to  put  down  these  depredators,  at 
v/hose  misdeeds  they  had  winked  in  quieter  days ;  and  it 
required  all  Nelson's   tact,  combining  threats   with  compli- 


TUUUBLE   WITH   BAKBAKY   STATES. 


361 


ments,  and  with  api)eals  to  the  prejudices  of  believers  in  God 
against  those  who  denied  Him,  to  keep  the  marauding  within 
bDunds.  The  irrepressible  activity  of  Bonaparte's  emissaries 
also  stirred  the  Beys  up  to  measures  friendly  to  France. 
••The  infamous  conduct  of  the  French  during  the  whole  war, 
lias  at  last  called  down  the  vengeance  of  all  true  Mussulmen," 
he  writes  to  the  Bey  of  Tunis;  "and  your  Highness,  I  am 
siMc,  will  agree  with  K:e  that  Divine  Providence  will  never 
|ii  rmit  these  infidels  to  God  to  go  unpunished.  The  conduct 
of  your  Highness  reflects  upon  you  the  very  highest  honour. 
Although  I  have  a  squadron  of  Portuguese  ships  under  my 
orders,  I  have  prevented  their  cruizing  against  the  vessels  of 
war  of  your  Highness.  For  at  this  moment  all  wars  should 
cease,  and  all  the  world  should  join  in  endeavouring  to  extir- 
pate from  off  the  face  of  the  earth  this  race  of  murderers, 
o])])ressors,  and  unbelievers." 

After  these  preliminary  compliments.  Nelson  presents  his 
grievances.  He  has  given  the  passports  of  a  British  admiral 
to  Sicilian  vessels  bond  fide  employed  in  carrying  grain  to  the 
besiegers  of  the  French,  and  to  such  only ;  and  he  must  insist 
iipon  those  passports  being  respected,  as  the  vessels  bearing 
them  are  serving  the  great  common  cause.  He  demands,  also, 
that  aid  be  not  given  to  the  common  enemy.  "  I  was  rejoiced," 
he  writes  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  "to  find  that  you  had  re- 
nounced the  treaty  you  had  so  imprudently  entered  into  with 
some  emissaries  of  General  Bonaparte  —  that  man  of  blood, 
that  despoiler  of  the  weak,  that  enemy  of  all  true  Musselmen  ; 
for,  like  Satan,  he  only  flatters  that  he  may  the  more  easily 
destroy ;  and  it  is  true,  that  since  the  year  1789,  all  French- 
imn  are  exactly  of  the  same  disposition."  His  Highness, 
however,  has  relapsed  into  his  former  errors.  "  It  is  now  ray 
duty  to  speak  out,  and  not  to  be  misunderstood.  That  Nelson 
wiio  has  hitherto  kept  your  powerful  enemies  from  destroy- 
ing you,  can,  and  will,  let  them  loose  upon  you,  unless  the 
following  terms  are,  in  two  hours,  complied  with.  ...  If 
these  proper  terms  are  not  complied  with,  I  can  no  longer 
prt'vent  the  Portuguese  ships  from  acting  with  vigour  against 
your  Highness.  Your  Highness  will,  without  difficulty,  write 
iiie  a  letter,  the  substance  of  which  will  be  dictated  by  the 
British  consul." 


M     -  : 


352 


TIIIC   LIFK  OF  NKLSON 


;, 


The  vehemence  with  wliich  the  French  are  liere  denounced, 
though  pitched  in  a  key  deemed  harmonious  to  the  ears  for 
wlsiclj  it  was  immediately  intended,  was  entirely  consonant  to 
the    t'eolings  which   had   lately  taken  possession  of  Nelson. 
Tliey  were  the  result,  probably,  in  part,  of  the  anxious  raniror 
bred  by  the  uncertainties  and  worry  of  the  jjursuit  of  Jlonu- 
parte ;  in  part,  also,  of  more  direct  contact  than  before  witli 
the  unbridled  license  which  the  Fremdi  Government  and  its 
generals,  impelled  by  dire  ncc^esf^ty  and  by  ap  uncpiestionablf 
lack  of  principle,  had  given  to  the  system  of  njaking  war  sup- 
port war.     The  feebleness  and  corru[>tion  of  the  Directory  had 
relaxed   the  reins  of  discipline   from  top  to  bottom,  and  a 
practice  which  finds  its  justification  only  wlien  executed  with 
the  strictest  method  and  ac(!ouiitability,  had  degenerated  into 
little  better  than  disorganized  pillage.     "'Down,  down  with 
the  French  ! '   is  my  constant   prayer."'     '"  JJoint,  lioirn  w\t\i 
the  French  ! '  ought  to  be  ]>laced  in  the  council-room  of  every 
country  in  the  world."     "To  serve  my  King,  and  to  destroy 
the  French,  1  consider  as  the  great  order  of  all,  from  which 
little  ones  spring ;    and   if  one  of  these  little  ones  militate 
against  it.  I  go  back  to  obey  the  great  order  and  object,  to 
down,  down  with  the  damned   French  villains.     Excuse  my 
warmth ;  but  my  blood  boils  at  the  name  of  a  Frenchman. 
I  hate  them  all  —  Royalists  and  Kepublicans."     Infidels,  rob- 
bers, and  murderers  are  the  characteristic  terms.     This  detes- 
tation of  the  legitimate  enemy  spread,  intensified,  to  those 
who  supported  them  in  Naples,  —  the  Jacobins,  as  they  were 
called.     '*  Send  me  word  some  proper  heads  are  taken  off,"  ho 
wrote  to  Troubridge,  "  this  alone  will  comfort  me."      "  Our 
friend  Troubridge  had  a  present  made  him  the  other  day,  of 
the  head  of  a  Jacobin,"  he  tells  St.  Vincent,  ''and  makes  an 
apology  to  me,  the  weather  being  very  hot,  for  not  sending  it 
here!"     Upon    the   copy   of    the   letter    accompanying    this 
ghastly  gift  to  him,  Troubridge  had  written,  "  A  jolly  fellow. 
T.  Troubridge."     The  exasperation  to  which  political  animo.s- 
ities  had  given  rise  may  be  gauged  by  the  brutal  levity  shown 
in    this    incident,    by   men   of    the   masculine   and   generous 
characters   of    Troubridge   and    Nelson,    and   should   not   bo 
forgotten  in  estimating  the  actions  that  in  due  consequence 
followed. 


;   i 


t 

J. 


MENTAL  DEPRESSION. 


353 


The  duties  as  well  as  the  anxieties  of  his  situation  bore 
heavily  upon  Nelson,  and  may  help  to  account,  in  combination 
witli  the  tide  of  adverse  fortune  now  running  strongly,  for 
the  depression  that  weighed  upon  him.  "My  public  corre 
si)ondence,  besides  the  business  of  sixteen  sail-of-the-line,  and 
all  our  commerce,  is  with  Petersburg,  Constantinople,  the 
Consul  at  Smyrna,  Egypt,  the  Turkish  and  Russian  admirals, 
Tiieste,  Vienna,  Tuscany,  Minorca,  Earl  St.  Vincent,  and  Lord 
S[»encer.  This  over,  what  time  can  I  have  for  any  private 
correspondence  ?  "  Yet,  admitting  freely  that  there  is  a  limit 
lu'yond  which  activity  may  cease  to  please,  what  has  become 
of  the  joyous  spirit,  which  wrote,  not  four  years  before :  "  Tiiis 
I  like,  r.ctive  service  or  none  ! "  Occupying  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  posts  open  to  the  Navy  ;  practically,  and  almost 
formally,  independent ;  at  the  very  head  and  centre  of  the 
greatest  interests,  —  his  zeal,  while  preserving  all  its  inten- 
sity, has  lost  all  its  buoyancy.  "My  dear  Lord,"  he  tells 
8t.  Vincent,  alluding  at  the  moment  to  his  stepson  Nisbet, 
"there  is  no  true  happiness  in  this  life,  and  in  my  present 
state  I  could  quit  it  with  a  smile."  "  My  spirits  have  received 
such  a  shock,"  he  writes  some  days  after,  to  the  wife  of  his 
early  patron.  Sir  Peter  Parker,  "that  I  think  they  cannot 
recover  it.  You  who  remember  me  always  laughing  and  gay, 
would  hardly  believe  the  change ;  but  who  can  see  what  I 
have  and  be  well  in  health  ?  Kingdoms  lost  and  a  royal 
family  in  distress."  "Believe  me,"  he  confides  to  his  inti- 
mate friend  Davison  a  month  later,  "  my  only  wish  is  to  sink 
with  honour  into  the  grave,  and  when  that  shall  please  God, 
I  shall  meet  death  with  a  smile.  Not  that  I  am  insensible  to 
the  honours  and  riches  my  King  and  Country  have  heaped 
upon  me,  so  much  more  than  any  officer  could  deserve  ;  yet  I 
am  ready  to  quit  this  world  of  «rouble,  and  envy  none  but 
those  of  the  estate  six  feet  by  two. "  "  I  am  at  times  ill 
at  ease,  but  it  is  my  duty  to  submit,  and  you  may  be  sure  I 
will  not  quit  my  post  without  absolute  necessity."  "  What  a 
state  I  am  in ! "  he  writes  of  one  of  those  perplexities  inevi- 
table to  an  officer  in  his  position.  "  If  I  go,  I  risk  Sicily ;  as 
I  stay,  my  heart  is  breaking."  This  is  not  the  natural  temper 
of  a  man  to  whom  difficulties  and  perplexities  had  been,  and 
were  yet  again  to  be,  a  trumpet  call  that  stirred  to  animation, 

23 


Wi : 


'•■fi 


!    3 


n .: 


I  w 


;  I  ; 


I    I 


354 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


!i, 


VI 


a  stimulant  that  steadied  the  nerves,  and  sent  the  blood 
coursing  with  new  life  through  heart  and  brain.  Mingled 
as  these  expressions  were  with  despondent  broodings  over 
his  health,  even  if  the  latter  weve  well  founded,  they  aro 
the  voice  of  a  mind  which  has  lost  vhe  spring  of  self-content. 
The  sense  of  duty  abides,  but  dogged,  cheerless  ;  respondent 
rather  to  the  force  of  habit  than  to  the  generous  ardor  oi' 
i'ornnr  days. 

For  over  two  months  after  the  flight  to  Palermo,  the  condi- 
tion of  affairs  for  the  Kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies  was  seem- 
ingly critical  to  the  verge  of  desperation ;  for  neither  tho 
preparations  of  the  Coalition,  nor  the  hollowness  of  the 
French  successes,  were  understood,  and  news  was  slow  to 
reacli  the  remote  city  v;Lere  the  Court  now  dwelt.  The 
republican  movement  extended,  though  superficially,  to  the 
toe  of  Italy,  many  of  the  towns  in  Calabria  planting  ^he  tree 
of  liberty,  and  the  new  flag  flying  on  the  islands  along  the 
coast.  Sicily,  though  hostile  to  the  French,  was  discontented 
with  the  existing  government,  and  disaffection  there  was 
feared.  In  that.  Nelson  truly  observed,  lay  the  dange  •. 
"Respecting  an  invasion  of  the  French,  I  have  no  alarms  ;  IF 
this  island  is  true  to  it&clf  no  harm  can  happen."  Nevertht- 
less,  "  it  is  proper  to  be  prepared  for  defence,  and,"  it' 
Calabria  is  occupied  by  the  French,  "  the  first  object  is  the 
preservation  of  Messina." 

For  thio  purpose  he  ordered  the  Portuguese  squadron  thcro, 
immediately  after  he  reached  Palermo ;  and,  when  the  outlook 
grew  more  threatening,  appealed  to  the  Turkish  and  Eussiaii 
admirals  to  send  a  detachment  to  the  Straits.  General  Stuart, 
commanding  the  troops  in  Minorca,  which  had  passed  into  tlio 
hands  of  Great  Britain  the  previous  November,  was  entreated 
to  detail  a  garrison  for  the  citadel  of  Messina,  as  no  depend- 
ence was  placed  upon  the  Neapolitan  troops.  Stuart  com- 
plied, and  the  citadel  was  occupied  by  two  English  regiments 
about  the  lOtli  of  March.  The  danp-er,  however,  was  consid- 
ered sufficiently  imminent  to  withdraw  to  Palermo  the  trans- 
ports lying  at  Syracuse;  a  step  which  could  not  have  been 
necessary  had  Nelson  made  Syracuse,  as  he  at  first  intended, 
the  base  of  operations  for  the  British  fleet,  and  suggests  the 
idea,  which  he  himself  avows,  that  his  own  presence  with  t'.c 


I    i    H 


THE  FRENCH  INVADE  ITALY 


m 


\i^'\i\ 
i^'- 


Court  was  rather  political  than  military  ^  in  its  utility, 
dependent  upon  the  fears  of  their  own  subjects  felt  by  the 
sovereigns.  While  these  measures  were  being  taken  he 
endeavoured,  though  fruitlessly,  to  bring  matters  to  a  conclu- 
sion at  Alexandria  and  Malta,  in  order  to  release  the  ships 
tliere  employed  and  fetch  them  to  the  coast  of  Naples. 
''  Tlie  moment  the  Emperor  moves,"  he  wrote  to  St.  Vincent, 
•'  1  shall  go  with  all  the  ships  I  can  collect  into  the  Bay  of 
Xa{)les,  to  create  a  diversion."  Nothing  certain  can  be  said  as 
ycfc,  "  whether  all  is  lost  or  may  yet  be  saved ;  that  must 
depend  upon  the  movements  of  tlie  Emperor."  Yet  it  was  the 
liand  of  the  emperor  which  he  had  advised  the  King  of  Naples 
to  force,  by  his  ill-timed  advance. 

Troubridge  rejoined  the  Flag  at  Palermo  on  th  ;  17th  of 
^Marcli,  having  turned  over  the  command  in  the  Levai.t  to  Sir 
Si(h)f^y  Smith,  after  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  destroy  the 
French  shipping  in  Alexandria.  By  this  time  matters  had 
begun  to  mend.  Calabria  had  returned  to  its  loyalty,  and  the 
insurrection  of  the  peasantry  against  the  French  was  general 
throughout  the  country,  and  in  Ai^  Koman  State.  The 
Directory,  taking  umbrage  at  the  advance  of  Kussiati  croops 
to  the  frontiers  of  Austria,  demanded  explanations  from  the 
latter,  and  when  these  proved  unsatisfactory  directed  its 
armies  to  take  thj  oiiensive,  The  French  advanced  into 
Germany  on  the  f^rst  of  March,  and  in  Italy  towards  the  end 
of  the  month.  But  the  action  of  the  French  Government, 
though  audacious  and  imposing,  rested  upon  no  solid  founda- 
tion of  eiiiciency  in  the  armies,  or  skill  in  the  plan  of  cam- 
]iaign.  SerioviS  reverses  soon  followed,  and  the  fatally  ex- 
centric  position  of  the  corps  in  Naples  was  then  immediately 
apparent. 

Before  this  news  could  reach  Palermo,  however.  Nelson  had 

1  PaleiTOo  possessed  a  strategic  advantage  over  SjM-acnsp,  in  that,  with 
wisttrly  win.ls,  it  was  to  windward,  especially  as  regards  Naples  ;  and  it  was 
itiM)  nearer  the  narrowest  part  of  the  passage  between  Sicily  and  Africa,  the 
liij'nvay  to  the  Levant  and  Egypt.  AVith  easterly  winds,  the  enemy  of 
loiuMo  could  not  proceed  thither  ;  and  at  this  time  there  was  no  enemy's  force 
in  ti. I'  Mediterranean,  so  that  westward  TiKvenients  had  not  to  be  appre- 
lic'idcl  All  dangers  must  come  from  Un  westward.  These  considerations 
woni  don't tiess  present  to  Nelson;  but  the  author  has  not  found  any  mention 
of  thenx  by  liim  at  this  period. 


m 

I  'A  •  . 

V' ' 

urn 


.1 


!      ! 


nM 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


",■■  I 


sent  Troubridge  with  four  ships-of-the-lino  and  .some  smaller 
vess(;ls  to  the  liay  of  Naples,  to  blockade  it,  and  to  enter  into 
eomnmnication,  if  possible,  with  the  loyalists  in  the  city.     As 
the  extreme  reluctance  of  the  King  and  Queen  prevented  his 
going  in  person,  —  a  reason  the  sufficiency  of  winch  it  is  difficult 
to  admit, — Nelson  I.v^'isted  his  flag  on  board  a  transport  in 
the  bay,  and  sent  tlie  flagship,  in  order  not  to  diminish  the 
force  detailed  for  such  important  duties.     Within  a  week  the 
islands  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Naples  —  Procida, 
Ischia,  Capri,  and  the  Ponzas  —  had  again  hoisted  the  royal 
ensign.     On  the  22d  of  April  the  French  evacuated  the  city, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Elmo,  in  which  they 
left  a  garrison  of  five  hundred  men.     In  Upper  Italy  their 
armies  were  in  full  retreat,  having  been  forced  back  from  the 
Adige  to  the  Adda,  whence  an  urgent  nu'ssage  was  sent  to 
Macdonald,  Championnet's  .aiccessor  at  Naples,  to  fall  back 
to  the  northward  and  effect  i.  junction  with  the  main  body, 
soon  to  be  sorely  pressed  by  aa  overwhelming  force  of  the 
Austro-Russians,  at  whose  head  was  the   famous  Suwarrow. 
On  the  29th  the  Allies  entered  Milan,  and  on  the  7th  of  May 
the  Northern  French,  now  under  the  command  of  Moreau,  had 
retired  as  far  as  Alessandria,  in  riodiuont.     On  this  same  day, 
Macdonald,  having  thrown  garrisons  into  Capua  and  Gaeta, 
evacuated  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  and  hastenei'  northward  to 
join  Moreau.     With  the  exception  of  these  fortified  posts  and 
the  city  of  Naples,  the   country  was   now   overrun   by  the 
Christian  army,  the  name  applied  to  the  numero.us  but  utterly 
undisciplined  bands  of   rude  peasantry,  attached  to  the  royal 
cause,  and  led  by  Cardinal  Ilnffo.     The  Jacobins  in  the  city 
still  held  out,  and  had  in  the  bay  a  small  naval  force  under 
the  command  of  Commodore  Caracciolo. 

Troubridge's  successes  continued.  A  week  later  Salerno 
had  been  taken,  and  the  royal  (colors  were  flying  at  Castelhi- 
mare,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Bay  from  Naples,  and  dis- 
tant from  it  only  twelve  miles  by  land.  Nelson  questioned 
Troubi'idge  about  the  return  of  the  King,  whose  most  evident 
political  conviction  was  that  the  success  of  the  royal  cause 
was  vitally  connected  with  the  safety  of  the  royal  person. 
"  What  are  your  ideas  of  the  King's  going  into  the  Bay  of 
Naples,  without  foreign  troops  ?     If  it  shoul'»  cause  insurrec- 


mm 


INCrUSION   OF  THE    HHKST  FI.KKT 


357 


tidii  [of  tho  royuli.sts]  in  Naples  which  did  not  succeed,  would 
it  not  he  worse  7  Tiie  Kin<jf,  if  ii  rising  of  loyal  people  took 
])liie(',  ought  to  be  amongst  them  ;  and  that  he  will  never  con- 
sent to."  "  The  King,  God  bless  him  !  is  a  [ihilosopher,"  he 
had  said,  repeating  an  expression  of  Lady  Hamilton's^  refer- 
ring to  the  disasters  which  (tuused  tho  headlong  flight  from 
Home,  through  Naples,  to  I'alermo;  "but  the  great  Queen 
tt'f'ls  sensibly  all  that  has  happmied."  Tho  (Jueen  also  was 
extremely  fearful,  and  Nelson  intimated  to  St.  Vincent  that 
;i  request  would  be  made  for  British  troops  to  protect  the 
sovereigns.  "  Their  Majesties  are  ready  to  cross  the  water 
whenever  Naples  is  entirely  cleansed.  When  that  happy 
event  arrives,  and  not  till  then,  a  desire  will  be  expressed 
for  the  IJritish  troops  to  be  removed  from  IMessina  into  Naples 
to  guard  the  jjcrsons  of  their  Majesties."  That  Nelson  should 
liave  considered  it  essential  to  maintain  in  power,  by  any 
means,  sovereigns  devoted  to  Great  Britain,  is  perfectly  com- 
]»rehensil)le.  Wliat  is  ditiicult  to  understand  is  the  esteem  lie 
continued  to  profess  for  those  whose  unheroic  bearing  so  be- 
lied the  Avords  he  had  written  six  months  before  :  "  His  Maj- 
esty is  determined  to  conquer  or  die  at  the  head  of  his  army." 
Under  other  conditions  and  influences,  none  would  have  been 
more  forward  to  express  dissatisfaction  and  contempt. 

Withal,  aespite  the  favorable  outlook  of  affairs  and  the 
most  joyous  reason  of  the  year,  his  depression  of  spirits  con- 
tiiuied.  ''  I  ant  far  from  well,"  he  writes  on  the  3d  of  jNIay,  "  and 
the  goodne\.  '  of  the  success  of  the  Austrian  arms  in  Italy  does 
not  even  chee:  me."  r)Ut  in  the  midst  of  the  full  current  of 
success,  and  of  his  own  gloom,  an  incident  suddenly  occurred 
wliich  threw  everything  again  into  confusion  and  doubt,  and 
roused  him  for  the  time  from  his  apathy.  On  the  12tli  of 
May  a  brig  arrived  at  Palermo,  with  news  that  a  French  fleet 
of  nineteen  ships-of-the-line  had  escaped  from  Brest,  and  ^  .j 
boon  seen  less  than  a  fortnight  before  off  Oporto,  stee'-'  xor 
the  Mediterranean. 


;||. 


!  1 


36  insurrcc- 


CIIAlTEli  XIII. 

FitoM  TIIK  iNCU'.lHroN  f)K  THK  FitKNCII  Fl.KKT  UNDKIl  BlllMX  TO  TltK  Hv.H- 
•nil!ATIl»N  OK  Till';  UOYAI,  AlJIIIOUITY  AT  Napi.ks. — TlIK  CaIIACCIOU) 
KXKCUTION,  —  NkLNON'h    DlNOIlKKIKNCK   TO    AUMIUAL  LoltU   KkITII. 


i     >" 


\'\ 


^i.'. 


H 


< 


May-July,  17l)i).     A(je  40. 

THE  iiitontion  of  the  French  to  send  a  fleet  into  the  Medi- 
terranoiin  hail  transpired  some  time  before,  and  the 
motive  —  to  retrieve  the  destruetion  of  their  naval  power  in 
that  sea  by  the  Hattle  of  the  Nile  —  was  so  obvious  tliat  th«! 
attempt  was  rejjfarded  as  probable.  As  far  back  as  the  7th 
of  .hmuary,  Nelson  had  written  to  Commodore  Duckwortli, 
commanding  the  detachment  of  four  ships-of-the-line  at  Mi- 
norca, that  he  had  received  notification  of  the  force  expected 
from  lirest.  If  thev  got  into  the  Mediterranean,  he  was  con- 
fident they  would  go  first  to  Toulon,  and  he  wished  to  con- 
cert beforeliand  with  Duckworth,  who  was  not  under  liis 
orders,  the  steps  necessary  to  be  tjiken  at  once,  if  the  case 
arose.  He  did  not  think,  so  he  wrote  to  Ball,  that  they 
would  venture  a  squadron  to  Malta  or  Alexandria,  in  view 
of  the  certain  destruction  which  in  the  end  must  befall  it, 
even  if  successful  in  reaching  the  port. 

IJoth  remarks  show  that  he  did  not  look  for  the  number 
of  ships  that  were  sent  —  nineteen,  as  the  first  news  said, 
twenty-five,  as  was  actually  the  case.  An  emergency  so  great 
and  so  imminent  drew  out  all  his  latent  strength,  acute  judg- 
ment, and  promptitude.  The  brig  that  brought  the  news  was 
sent  off  the  same  night  to  Naples,  with  orders  to  proceed  from 
there  to  Minorca  and  Gibraltar,  and  to  notify  Duckworth  and 
St.  Vincent  what  Nelson  intended  to  do.  A  cutter  sailed  iit 
tiie  same  time  for  Malta.  Troubridge  and  Ball  were  both 
directed  to  send  or  bring  all  their  ships-of-the-line,  save  one 
each,  to  Minorca,  tliere  to  unite  with  Duckworth.  Trou- 
bridge's  ships  were  to  call  off  Palermo  for  further  instruc- 


I'KKl'AliATlONh    ru  MKK'i'   HUUIX 


UTjU 


tions,  but  not  to  lose  tiino  by  coining  to  anchor  tboru.  Ex- 
pri'ssi'S  woro  8(Mit  to  the  (littVitMit  ports  of  Sicily,  in  caao  any 
Ivussiiin  or  Turkish  shij)s  had  arriv«'(l,  to  put  thcni  on  their 
i,'ii;inl,  iuul  to  r('([uest  (lo-oixMation  by  j(»ining  the  fonsc  usscni- 
liliiig  olT  Minorca,  where  Nelson  reasoned  J^ord  St.  Vincent 
;ilso  would  repair.  To  tlu?  latter  he  wrote  :  '•  Ki<,'ht,  nine,  or 
ten  sail  of  the  line  shall,  in  a  few  days,  be  off  iMahon,  ready 
io  obey  your  onhirs  (not  in  the  port)  ;  "  for  his  intention  was 
that  they  should  remain  outside  under  sail.  *' You  may  de- 
|Mnd  upon  my  exertion,  and  I  am  only  sorry  that  I  cannot 
iiiovc^  to  your  help,  but  this  island  appears  to  hang  on  my 
stay.  Nothing  could  console  the  Queen  this  night,  but  my 
pioniiso  not  to  leave  them  unless  the  battle  was  to  be  i'ought 
olf  Sardinia." 

The  next  day  he  wrote  again  in  similar  terms,  seeking  to 
n'i!oncile  his  promise  to  the  (iue(Mi  with  his  impulses,  and,  it 
may  bo  said  safely,  with  his  duty.  ''Should  you  come  up- 
wards without  a  battle,  I  hope  in  that  case  you  will  alTord  nio 
;iii  opportunity  of  joining  you  ;  for  my  heart  would  break  to 
lie  near  my  commander-in-(!hief,  and  not  assisting  him  at  such 
a  tinu\  What  a  state  I  am  in !  If  I  go,  I  risk,  and  more 
than  risk,  Sicily,  and  what  is  now  safe  on  the  Continent ;  for 
we  know,  from  experience,  that  more  depends  on  opinion  than 
on  acts  themselves.  As  I  stay,  my  heart  is  breaking ;  and, 
to  mend  the  matter,  I  am  seriously  unwell." 

That  evening,  the  13th,  at  nine  o'clock,  a  lieutenant  arrived, 
who  had  been  landed  to  the  westward  of  Palermo  by  a  sloop- 
of-war,  the  "  Peterel,"  she  not  being  able  to  beat  up  to  the 
city  against  the  east  wind  prevailing.  From  him  Nelson 
learned  that  the  French  fleet  had  passed  the  Straits,  and  had 
been  seen  off  Minorca.  The  next  day,  the  "Peterel"  having 
come  off  the  port,  he  went  alongside,  and  sent  her  on  at  once 
to  ]\Ialta,  with  orders  to  Pall  to  abandon  the  blockade,  bring- 
iiit;  with  him  all  his  ships,  and  to  proceed  off  Maritime,  a 
small  island  twenty  miles  west  of  Sicily,  where  he  now  pro- 
])(tsod  to  concentrate  his  squadron  and  to  go  himself.  Trou- 
bi'idge,  having  already  orders  to  come  to  Palermo,  needed  no 
further  instructions,  except  to  bring  all  his  ships,  instead  of 
leaving  one  at  Naples.     Every  shiivof-the-line  in  the  squadron, 

1  That  is,  in  person. 


■ .:» ' 


f  W   .1 


300 


TIIF']  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


'A    ! 


).'! 


.'/' 


■'    ;i 


;■/ 1 


\\ 


»i!;^        ;t 


including  the  Portuguese,  was  thus  summoned  to  join  the 
Fliig,  ill  a  position  to  cover  I'alernio  and  the  approaches  to 
the  eastern  Mediterranean.  To  tliese  necessary  dif^Mositions 
"vvas  owing  that  tlie  senior  officer  left  at  Naples  was  Captain 
Foote,  who  afterwards  signed  the  articles  of  capitulation  witii 
the  insurgents,  which  gave  such  offence  to  Nelson,  and  have 
occasioned  much  controversy  in  connection  with  his  subse- 
quent action. 

Troubridge,  having  sailed  at  once  on  receipt  of  his  first 
orders,  arrived  on  the  17th  with  three  IJritish  ships  and  one 
Portuguese.  A  heavy  gale  prevented  Nelson  getting  to  sea 
till  the  20th,  when  he  sailed,  and  was  joined  the  next  morning 
by  the  fourth  ship  from  Naples.  The  same  day  came  a  Portu- 
guese corvette  from  Gibraltar  and  Mahon,  with  letters  from 
S*".  Vincent  and  Duckworth.  The  former  announced  that 
the  Frencli  had  i)assed  the  Straits,  and  that  he  was  about  to 
start  in  pursuit.  Duckworth,  who  also  was  asked  to  join  off 
Maritimo,  declined  to  do  so,  saying  that  he  must  await  the 
commander-in-chief.  Nelson  had  of  course  immediately  com- 
municated to  the  latter  his  change  of  plan.  He  hoped  to 
collect  ten  sail-of-the-line,  which,  "if  Duckworth  reinforce  me, 
will  enable  me  to  look  the  enemy  in  the  face "  —  fourteen 
ships  to  nineteen  ;  "but  should  any  of  the  Russians  or  Turks 
be  off  Malta,  I  hope  to  get  a  force  of  different  nations  equal 
to  the  enemy,  when  not  a  moment  shall  be  lost  in  bringing 
them  to  battle." 

On  the  23d  of  May  he  was  off  Maritimo  with  seven  ships, 
Ball  not  Laving  joined  yet.  His  spirits  were  fast  rising,  as  in 
thought  he  drew  near  the  enemy.  "  Duckworth  means  to  leave 
me  to  my  fate,"  he  wrote  to  Lady  Hamilton.  "Never  mind; 
if  I  can  get  eleven  sail  together,  they  shall  not  hurt  me." 
"  I  am  under  no  apprehension  for  the  safety  of  his  Majesty's 
squadron,"  he  said  in  a  circular  letter  to  his  scattered  vessels, 
designed  to  heighten  their  ardor  ;  "on  the  contrary,  from  the 
very  high  state  of  discipline  of  the  ships,  I  am  confident, 
should  the  enemy  force  us  to  battle,  that  we  shall  cut  a  very 
respectable  figure ;  and  if  Admiral  Duckworth  joins,  not  one 
moment  shall  be  lost  in  my  attacking  the  enemy."  It  must 
be  mentioned  that  St.  Vincent  had  expressed  his  opinion  that 
the  French  were  bound  for  Malta  and  Alexandria,  and  Nelson, 


i       :! 


_ki  !•''*■'. 


PREPATIATIONS  TO   MEET  BRUIX 


801 


when  he  wrote  these  words,  was  hourly  expecting  to  see  their 
sails  appear  on  the  horizon.  He  did  not  know  yet,  however, 
that  they  were  twenty-five,  instead  of  nineteen,  of  the  line. 
To  St.  Vincent  he  expressed  himself  with  the  sobt.'r,  dauntless 
resolution  of  a  consummate  warrior,  who  recognized  that  op- 
portunities must  he  seized,  and  detachments,  if  need  be,  sacri- 
liced,  for  the  furtherance  of  a  great  common  object.  "Your 
Lordship  may  depend  that  the  squadron  under  my  command 
shall  never  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  and  before  we 
arc  destroyed,  I  have  little  doubt  but  the  enemy  will  have 
their  wings  so  completely  clipped  that  they  may  be  easily  over- 
taken "  —  by  you.  In  this  temper  he  waited.  It  is  this  clear 
perception  of  the  utility  of  his  contemplated  grajiple  with 
siii)erior  numbers,  and  not  the  headlong  valor  and  instinct  for 
Hifhting  that  unquestionably  distinguished  him,  which  consti- 
tutes the  excellence  of  Nelson's  genius.  This  it  was  which 
guided  him  in  the  great  Trafalgar  campaign,  and  the  lack  of 
which  betrayed  Villeneuve  at  the  same  period  to  his  wretched 
shortcomings.  Yet,  as  has  before  been  remarked,  mere  in- 
sight, however  accurate  and  penetrating,  ends  only  in  itself, 
or  at  best  falls  far  short  of  the  mark,  unless  accompanied  by 
Nelson's  great  power  of  disregarding  contingencies  —  an  in- 
sjiircd  blindness,  which  at  the  moment  of  decisive  action  sees, 
not  the  risks,  but  the  one  only  road  to  possible  victory. 

Whilst  thus  expecting  an  engagement  which,  from  the  dis- 
])arity  of  numbers,  could  be  nothing  short  of  desperate,  he 
drew  up  a  codicil  to  his  will,  making  to  Lady  Hamilton  a 
befpiest,  in  terms  that  show  how  complete  were  the  infatua- 
ti(.u  and  idealization  now  in  possession  of  his  mind  :  "  I  give 
and  bequeath  to  my  dear  friend,  Emma  Haniilton,  wife  of  the 
Ikight  Hon.  Sir  William  Hamilton,  a  nearly  round  box  sot 
with  diamonds,  said  to  liave  been  sent  me  by  the  mother  of 
tlie  Grand  Signor,  which  I  request  she  will  accept  (and  never 
part  from)  as  token  of  regard  and  respect  for  her  very  emi- 
nent virtues  (for  she,  the  said  Ennna  Hamilton,  possesses 
them  all  to  such  a  degree  that  it  would  be  doing  her  injustice 
was  any  particular  one  to  be  mentioned)  from  her  faithful 
and  affectionate  friend."  During  this  short  cruise  he  wrote 
her  almost  daily,  and  at  some  length,  in  addition  to  the  inore 
otlicial  communications  addressed  to  Hamilton.     At  this  same 


X 


'\i 


«    Jl 


'i  • 


862 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


"i 


.*  'i\  Ml  i«l 


^!f 


period  he  was  excusing  himself  to  his  wife  for  the  shortness 
and  infrequency  of  his  let*^  .rs  :  "  Pray  attribute  it  to  the  true 
cause — viz.,  that  in  truth  my  poor  hand  cannot  execute  what 
ray  head  trails  me  I  ought  to  do." 

On  the  28th  of  May  Nelson  received  letters  from  St.  Vin- 
cent, dated  the  21st,  otf  Minorca,  which  put  him  in  possession 
of  the  movements  of  the  enemy  up  to  that  date.  The  Frencli 
fleet,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Bruix,  had  appeared  on 
the  4th  of  the  month  off  Cadiz.  It  Avas  then  blowing  a  half- 
gale  of  wind,  and  the  French  admiral  did  not  care,  under  that 
condition,  to  engage  the  fifteen  British  ships-of-the-line  which 
were  cruising  off  the  harbor,  under  Lord  Keith,  who  had  come 
out  from  England  the  previous  autumn  to  be  St.  Vincent's 
second  in  command.  The  intended  junction  with  the  Spanisli 
squadron  in  Cadiz  being  thus  thwarted,  Bruix  passed  the 
Straits  on  the  5th,  and  Lord  St.  Vincent,  having  recalled 
Keith,  followed  on  the  12th  with  sixteen  ships.  On  the  20th 
he  joined  Duckworth,  and  learned  that  the  enemy,  when  last 
seen,  were  heading  for  Toulon.  Keith's  removal  had  uncov- 
ered Cadiz,  and  St.  Vincent  fully  expected  that  the  Spanish 
fleet  would  leave  there  for  the  Mediterranean,  which  it  did, 
and  on  the  20th  entered  Cartagena,  to  the  number  of  seven- 
teen of  the  line,  but  much  crippled  from  a  stormy  passage. 
This  Nelson  did  not  yet  know,  nor  that  Bruix  had  reached 
Toulon  on  the  14th  of  May,  and  sailed  again  on  the  2Cth  for 
the  eastward. 

Satisfied  that  the  enemy  woi.ld  not  at  once  come  his  way, 
and  knowing  that  a  vessel  had  passed  up  the  Mediterranean 
from  St.  Vincent  to  put  Sidney  Smith  on  his  guard.  Nelson 
ordered  Ball  to  resume  the  blockade  of  Malta  with  two  ships- 
of-the-line.  The  i-est  of  his  squadron  he  kept  massed,  and  took 
to  Palermo,  where  he  arrived  May  29th.  Lookout  ships  were 
stationed  off  the  north  end  of  Corsica  and  west  of  Sardinia. 
"My  reason  for  remaining  in  Sicily,"  he  wrote  St.  Vincent, 
"is  the  covering  the  blockade  of  Naples,  and  the  certainty  of 
preserving  Sicily  in  case  of  an  attack,  for  if  we  were  to  witli- 
draw  our  ships,  it  would  throw  such  a  damp  on  the  people 
that  I  am  sure  there  would  be  no  resistance." 

On  the  6th  of  June  Duckworth  arrived  at  Palermo  from  tlie 
main  fleet,  with  four  ships-of-the-line,  among  them  the  ''  Fou- 


PREPARATIONS  TO  MEET  BRUIX 


363 


droyant,"  eighty.  This  ship  had  been  designated  originally  for 
Nelson's  flag,  and  he  shifted  to  her  from  the  "  Vanguard  "  on 
the  8th.  Duckworth  brought  a  report  that  St.  Vincent  was 
about  to  give  up  the  comnuind  and  go  home,  on  account  of  ill- 
health.  This  at  once  aroused  Nelson's  anxiety,  for  he  had 
long  felt  that  few  superiors  would  have  the  greatness  of  mind 
to  trust  him  as  implicitly,  and  humor  him  as  tenderly,  as  the 
great  admiral  had  done.  It  is  not  every  one  that  can  handle 
an  instrument  of  such  trencliant  power,  yet  delicate  temper, 
as  Nelson's  sensitive  genius.  The  combination  in  Ft.  Vincent 
of  perfect  professional  capacity  with  masterful  trength  of 
character,  had  made  the  tactful  respect  he  showed  to  Nelson's 
ability  peculiarly  grateful  to  the  latter;  and  had  won  from 
him  a  subordination  of  the  will,  and  an  affection,  which  no 
subsequent  commander-in-chief  could  elicit.  He  wrote  to 
him:  — 


!li*' 


^Iv  DKAR  Lord,  —  We  have  a  report  that  you  are  going  home. 
This  distresses  us  most  exceedingly,  and  myself  in  particular ;  so 
much  so,  that  I  have  serious  thoughts  of  returning,  if  that  event 
.should  take  place.  But  for  the  sake  of  our  Country,  do  not  quit  us 
at  this  serious  moment.  I  wish  not  to  detract  from  the  merit  of 
whoever  may  be  your  successor;  but  it  must  take  a  length  of  time, 
which  I  hope  the  war  will  not  give,  to  be  in  any  manner  a  St.  Vin- 
cent. We  look  up  to  you,  as  we  have  always  found  you,  as  to  our 
Fatiior,  under  whose  fostering  care  we  have  been  led  to  fame.  .  .  . 
(iive  not  up  a  particle  of  your  authority  to  any  one;  be  again  our 
St.  Vincent,  and  we  shall  be  happy. 

Your  affectionate  Nelson. 

This  letter  did  not  reach  St.  Vincent  before  he  carried  his 
purpose  into  eifect ;  but  Nelson  never  quite  forgave  the  aban- 
donment of  the  command  at  such  a  moment.  In  after  years 
ho  spoke  bitterly  of  it,  as  a  thing  he  himself  could  not  have 
done ;  failing,  perhaps,  to  realize  the  difference  in  staying 
power  between  forty-five  and  sixty-five. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  being  then  seventy  miles  southwest  of 
Toulon,  St.  Vincent  turned  over  to  Keith  the  command  of  the 
twenty  ships-of-the-line  then  with  him,  and  went  to  Port 
Mahon.  For  the  moment  he  retained  in  his  own  hands  the 
charge  of  the  station,  —  continued  Commander-in-chief,  —  with 


M  ?    t 


u 


s 


8M 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


lf\ 


;?? 


headquarters  at  Minorca,  and  two  divisions  cruising :  one  of 
twenty  ships,  with  Keith,  between  Tonkin  and  Minorca,  and 
one  of  sixteen,  incUiding  tliree  Portuguese,  under  Nelson  in 
the  waters  of  Sicily.  Friction  between  these  two  began  at 
once.  Lord  Keith  was  an  accomplished  and  gallant  officer, 
methodical,  attentive,  and  corre<^t;  but  otherwise  he  rose  little 
above  the  connnonplace,  and,  while  he  could  not  ignore  Nel- 
son's great  achievements,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  had  the 
insiglit  which  could  appreciate  the  rare  merit  underlying 
them,  nor  the  sympathetic  temperament  which  could  allow 
for  his  foibles.  Nelson,  exasperated  at  the  mere  fact  of 
the  other's  succession  to  the  command,  speedily  conceived 
for  him  an  antipathy  which  Keith  would  have  been  more 
than  mortal  not  to  return ;  but  it  is  to  the  honor  of  the 
hitter's  self-command  that,  while  insisting  upon  obedience  from 
his  brilliant  junior,  ho  bore  his  refractoriness  with  dignified 
patience. 

After  St.  Vincent  left  him,  Keith  continued  to  stand  to  the 
northward  and  eastward.  On  the  5th  of  June  he  received 
certain  information  that  the  French  fleet,  now  twenty-two 
ships-of-the-line,  Avas  in  Vado  l>ay.  This  word  he  at  once  sent 
on  to  Nelson.  Next  day  his  division  was  so  close  in  with  the 
Riviera,  off  Antibes,  that  it  was  lired  upon  by  the  shore  bat- 
teries ;  but  the  wind  coming  to  the  eastward,  when  off  Monaco, 
did  not  permit  it  to  pass  east  of  Corsica,  and,  fearing  that  the 
French  would  take  that  route  and  fall  upon  Nelson,  Keitli 
uetached  to  him  two  seventy-fours,  which  joined  him  on  the 
13th  of  June. 

At  the  moment  of  their  arrival  Nelson  haf""  just  quitted 
Palermo  for  Naples,  taking  with  him  the  whoie  sqiadron. 
I'he  King  of  Naples  had  formally  requested  him  to  afford  to 
the  voyal  cause  at  tlie  capital  the  assistance  of  .ho  fleet,  be- 
cause tlie  successes  of  the  royalists  elsewhere  in  the  kingdom 
rendered  imminent  an  insurrection  in  the  city  against  the 
republican  party  and  the  French,  which  held  the  castles ;  and 
such  insurrection,  unless  adequately  supported,  might  either 
fail  or  lead  to  deplorable  excesses.  Lady  Hamilton,  whose 
irregular  interference  in  State  concerns  receives  here  singular 
illustration,  strongly  urged  this  measure  in  a  letter,  written  to 
the  admiral  after  an  interview  with  the  Queen.     Nelson  con- 


li     i! 


■I  i 


PREPARATIONS  TO  ivIEET  BRUIX 


305 


sented,  took  on  board  seventeen  hundred  troojis,  with  the 
Hereditary  Prince,  who  was  to  represent  the  King, — the 
latter  not  wishing  to  go,  —  and  was  already  clear  of  Palermo 
Bay  when  the  two  ships  from  Keith  appeared.  Gathering 
from  their  information  that  the  Fi-ench  were  bound  for  Naples 
or  Sicily,  in  which  his  own  judgment  coincided,  he  returned 
at  once  into  port,  landed  the  Prince  and  the  troops,  and  then 
took  the  squadron  again  off  Maritime,  whore  he  expected  Ball 
and  the  two  ships  off  Malta  to  join  him  without  delay.  "  The 
FieiH!h  force  being  twenty-two  sail  of  the  line,"  he  wrote  in 
suppressed  reproach  to  Keith,  "  four  of  which  are  first  rates, 
the  force  with  me  being  only  sixteen  of  the  line,  not  one  of 
which  was  of  three  decks,  three  being  Portuguese,  and  one  of 
the  English  being  a  sixty-four,  very  short  of  men,  I  had  no 
ch()i(!e  left  but  to  return  to  Palermo." 

With  this  iucidtnt  of  the  insufficient  reinforcement  sent, 
began  the  friction  with  Keith  which  appears  more  openly  in 
his  correspondence  with  others.  To  St.  Vincent,  still  com- 
mander-in-chief, he  wrote :  *•'  I  send  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  Lord 
Keith,  and  I  have  only  stated  my  regret  that  his  Lordship 
could  not  have  sent  me  a  force  fit  to  face  the  enemy  :  but,  as 
we  are,  I  shall  not  get  out  of  their  way ;  although,  as  I  am,  I 
cannot  think  myself  justified  in  exposing  the  world  (I  may 
almost  say)  to  be  plundered  by  these  miscreants.  I  trust  your 
Lordship  will  not  think  me  wrong  in  the  painful  determina- 
tion I  conceived  myself  forced  to  make,"  that  is,  to  go  back  to 
Palermo,  "for  agonized  indeed  was  the  mind  of  your  Lord- 
sliii»'s  faithful  and  affectionate  servant." 

Nelson  appears  to  have  felt  that  the  return  to  Pnlermo, 
though  imperative,  in  view  of  the  relative  forces  of  himself 
and  the  French,  would  not  only  postpone  and  imperil  the 
restoration  of  the  royal  family,  but  would  bring  discredit  upon 
himself  for  not  seeking  and  fighting  the  enemy's  fleet.  "I 
shall  wait  off  Maritimo,"  he  wrote  Keith,  "  anxiously  expect- 
ing such  a  reinforcement  as  may  enable  me  to  go  in  search  of 
the  enemy's  fleet,  when  not  one  moment  shall  be  lost  in  bring- 
ing them  to  battle;  for,"  he  continues,  with  one  of  those 
flashes  of  genius  which  from  time  to  time,  unconsciously  to 
himself,  illuminate  his  writings,  "  I  consider  the  best  defence 
for  his  Sicilian  Majesty's  dominions  is  to  place  myself  along- 


.   I 


[1 


366 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I   ■  I 


i:     h  1 


ii 


^ 


ur 


side  the  French.*'  "My  situation  is  a  cruel  one,'*  he  wrote  to 
Hamilton,  "  and  I  am  sure  Lord  Keith  has  lowered  me  in  the 
eyes  df  Europe,  for  they  will  only  know  of  18  sail  [Ball  hav- 
ing joined],  and  not  of  the  descri  tion  of  them ;  it  has  truly 
made  me  ill."  liut,  although  not  justified  in  seeking  them, 
he  had  off  Maritirao  taken  a  strategic  position  which  would 
enable  him  to  intercept  their  approach  to  either  Naples  or 
Sicily,  "and  I  was  firmly  resolved,"  he  wrote  with  another  of 
his  clear  intuitions,  "they  should  not  pass  me  without  a 
battle,  wiilch  would  so  cripple  them  that  they  might  be  unable 
to  proceed  on  any  distant  service."  "u.  this  you  may  de- 
pend," ho  had  written  to  Lady  Hamilton,  on  the  first  cruise 
off  Maritimo,  three  weeks  before,  "that  if  my  little  squadron 
obeys  my  signal,  not  a  ship  shall  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy ;  and  I  will  so  cut  them  up,  that  they  will  not  be  fit 
even  for  a  summer's  cruise." 

On  the  20th  of  June,  off  Maritimo,  he  received  a  despatch 
from  St.  Vincent  that  a  reinforcement  of  twelve  ships-of-the- 
line  from  the  Channel  was  then  approaching  Port  Mahon,  and 
that  Keibh,  having  returned  thither,  had  left  again  in  search 
of  Br-iix,  whose  whereabouts  remained  unknown.  He  v/as 
also  notified  that  St.  Vincent  had  resigned  all  his  command, 
leaving  Keith  commandev-in-chief.  Nelson  was  convinced  — 
"I  knew,"  was  his  expression  —  that  the  French  intended 
going  to  Naples.  He  determined  now  to  resume  his  enterprise 
against  the  reuublicans  in  the  city ;  a  decision  which  caused 
him  unusual  mental  conflict.  "  I  am  agitated,"  he  wrote  Ham- 
ilton the  same  day,  in  a  note  headed  "  Most  Secret,"  "  but  my 
resolution  is  fixed.  For  Heaven's  sake  suffer  not  any  one  to 
oppose  it.  I  shall  not  be  gone  eight  days.  No  harm  can 
come  to  Sicily.  I  send  my  Lady  and  you  Lord  St.  Vincent's 
letter.  I  am  full  of  grief  and  anxiety.  I  must  go.  It  will 
finish  the  war.  It  will  give  a  sprig  of  laurel  to  your  affection- 
ate friend.  Nelson."  The  military  dilemma  of  divergent  in- 
terests confronting  him  is  plain  enough,  being  the  same  that 
had  "  agonized  "  his  mind  in  abandoning  the  first  expedition 
to  Naples  on  the  14th.  Off  Maritimo,  with  winds  prevailing 
from  the  we«Lv;ard,  he  covered  both  Naples  and  Sicily,  and 
could  hurry  to  either  at  a  moment's  notice.  By  going  to  Naples 
he  surrendered  this   advantage  as   regarded   Sicily  and   the 


;    i     .. 


s^    V 


TRANSACTIONS  AT  NAPLES,  JUNE,   1799 


307 


Court,  in  oi'der  to  undertake  a  strictly  offensive  movement; 
and  to  this  he  dreaded  opposition,  which  would  be  the  more 
painful,  because  the  fears  that  prompted  it  would  rest  on 
arguments,  the  strength  of  which  he  could  not  but  admit.  On 
the  21st  he  was  at  Palermo,  and  after  two  hours'  consultation 
with  their  Majesties  and  Acton,  the  Prime  Minister,  he  sailed 
again,  accompanied  in  the  "  Foudroyant "  on  this  occasion  by 
Sir  William  and  Lady  Hamilton,  but  not  by  the  Hereditary 
Prince,  nor  the  Sicilian  troops.  On  tiie  24th,  at  9  p.  m.,  the 
flagship  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Naples,  the  rest  of  the  squad- 
ron remaining  outside  for  the  night.  Flags  of  truce  were  at 
tliat  moment  flying  on  the  castles  of  Uovo  and  Kuovo,  which 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  Neapolitan  republicans,  and  upon 
the  frigate  "  Seahorse,"  whose  commander.  Captain  E.  J.  Foote, 
had  been  the  senior  British  officer  present,  before  Nelson's  own 
appearance.  The  following  morning  the  "  Foudroyant "  shifted 
farther  in,  near  the  mole,  the  remainder  of  the  ships  taking 
position  from  her,  in  close  line  of  battle,  about  noon. 

Tlie  occurrences  at  Naples  during  the  remaining  days  of 
June,  1799,  have  been  the  occasion  of  the  most  serious  impu- 
tations ever  made  against  Nelson's  character.  Thes  5  imputa- 
tions are  not  limited  to  a  breach  of  faith  in  disa  lowing  a 
(iapitulation,  asserted  by  accusers  to  have  been  irrevocably 
I'oniploted  by  authorities  of  final  action.  Nelson  openly  dis- 
allowed and  suspended  the  capitulation  on  the  ground  that  it 
had  not  been  executed,  and  that  it  was  also  an  improper  trans- 
action, entered  into  contrary  to  the  orders  given  by  the  King 
to  Cardinal  Ruffo,  his  representative.  Nelson  claimed  that  ho 
had  powers  direct  from  the  King,  to  overrule  Ruffo ;  in  virtue 
of  which  he  did  openly  overrule  him  in  this  particular  instance, 
because,  although  the  treaty  had  been  signed,  it  had  advanced 
110  further.  "Never  executed,  and  therefore  no  capitulation," 
was  his  own  expression.  In  this  ho  may  have  done  wrong. 
The  present  writer  does  not  think  so ;  but  the  question  is  one 
of  military  public  law,  as  it  stood  at  that  date.  Whatever  the 
merit  of  the  action  otherwise,  it  was  open,  positive,  above- 
board,  and  Ruffo  was  requested  to  convey  the  knowledge  of  it 
to  the  enemy.  This  he  refused  at  first  to  do.  Subs'^quently, 
he  did  communicate  to  them  the  substance  of  Nelson's  opin- 
ion.    The  latter  asserted  that  the  final   surrender  was  com- 


,  I'. 
• » 


■5 


I    f  ' 


8(18 


TUK   lAVl)  OK   NKLSON 


Li  Ur! 


!  ■** 


f   it'" 


! 


i     1    '      ?"■' 


li* 


l)lotoil   umlor    full   knowlotlgo   of   ilio   ut-Litudo   ussumiHl   by 
liiin. 

Tho  sorious  chargos  niatlo  arc:  lirst,  that  Nelson  wns  iiol, 
invested  -vitli  li'gal  autliority  to  ovin'rido  Kun'o;  se(U)n(l,  and 
elii(>ti_v,  tliat  not  only  did  l;e  hn-ak  a  treaty,  and,  as  is  idainied, 
deprive  the  enemy  of  rights  acijuired  hy  lawful  eompaet,  hut 
that  lie  pernu(te(l,  if  he  did  not  iiuhuH',  them  to  leave  their 
I'orlilieations,  and  to  place  iheniselves  in  his  power,  uiuler  the 
supposition  that  he  acquiesced  in  a  treaty  of  capitulation. 
'I'his  view  was  sunnuari/c''  by  Captain  l"\)oti>,  writing  in 
.1S07:  '*  I  ludicvc  t  is  1>' *  toe*  true  that  the  ga-risons  oi  I'ovo 
•in»l  Nu>i\  w  -re  t  '.  M';  ..  ..I  k''  heso  castles  under  the  /trrfrntr 
of  putting  th(>  ".uitiJuhUi  n  I  had  signed  into  execution."' 
This  charg(*  luviUg  v.  ij  i\ '•( 'itly  been  repeated,  the  author 
has  ret'ast  his  treatnuMit  of  t':  .  idvjcct  from  that  pursued  in 
the  first  cditituis.  'I'iiis  ])aragra]>h,  and  the  ono  preceding  it, 
convey  in  brief  outline  the  twocoi(tentit)ns  to  bo  tested,  —  that 
of  Nelson,  and  that  of  his  accusers. 

It  is.  lirst,  noi'essary  to  tell  the  transactions  aboiit  Naples 
u|)  to  the  dat.e  of  Nels()n's  arrival,  on  the  evening  of  Juno  L'l. 
Tlu»  French  having  evaeuated  the.  kingilom,  leaving  garrisons 
only  in  Ca]>ua„  in  (lai'ta,  and  in  Fort  St.  Klmo,  overlooking 
Naples,  the  Neapolitan  republicans  were  left  to  their  own 
defeiu'o.  Against  them  wt>re  advancing  the  so-called  (!hristia.n 
Army,  composcit  ch icily  of  ('alabrian  ])easants  and  brigands, 
under  the  command  of  Cardinal  HulTo,  the  King's  V^icai- 
CioniM-al,  and  a  body  of  some  live  huiulred  Russians  and  Turks 
from  the  Adriatic.  The  assistance  of  the  latter  had  been  oh- 
taiuoil  by  the  Chevalier  Micheroux,  sont  to  Corfu  for  that 
purpose  by  the  Kir^if.  His  stylo  and  title  was,  "Minister 
plenipotentiary  of  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies  near  tlu> 
l\ussi)-()ttoman  Fleet."  ^licheroux  plaj'cd  a  consiih'i'ablo  part 
in  the  subsecpient  treaty,  but  both  Footo  and  Nelson  declined 
to  recognize  any  authority  save  in  Kiiffo. 

On  June  13  the  liritish  S(|nadrou  began  to  co-oper.atc 
with  Kuffo  and  his  allies,  who  then  reached  the  Bay;  aiul  on 
the  lOth  Fo(^te  reported  to  Nelson  that  th.e  city  was  in  lluffo's 
power,  except  Fort  St.  Klmo,  held  by  the  French,  and  the  two 

'  Caiitiiii  Foote's  Viiulioatiou,  Loiuloii,  ISIO,  j).  39.  Tho  italii's  aio 
Foote's. 


lijs'  w 


TUANSACnONS  AT  NAPLES,  JUNK,   17tn) 


a((o 


lovvor  OJistlcM,  IFovo  ami  Niiovo,  into  which  the  Nriipolit.-ui 
insiiri^oiits  had  nitired.  On  tho  17th  R-iiTo  notified  Footo  thut 
Nuovo  vviis  iidniittiul  to  an  armistice,  IVoni  wliich  Uovo  stood 
jil()(.i  :  but  that  night  a  sorti"  wa.s  made  hy  some  of  the  French 
;ui,.  (publicans,  who  spiled  the  ^'iins  of  a  battery  and  killed  a 
nuui!  cr  of  the  besiegers.  Uuffo  then  riisumed  operations, 
inf'-'  ning  Foote  ti.nt-.  negotiations  were  useless,  but  on  the 
nidi  I  ing  o!  the  iDth,  iK!  sent  word  that  an  armistice  had  been 
ul;  mu  granted,  and  negotiatioiis  begun  witli  good  promise  of 
success  ;  he  then  "oFv.  lecjuested  Foute  to  desist  from  all  hos- 
tilities. The  latter  a<!ccded,  though  unwillingly ;  saying  that 
so  prolonge<l  a  cessation  of  arms  was  injurious  to  the  common 
causi!.  Not  hearing  anything  by  tin;  evtMiing  of  the  2()th,  h(5 
again  wrote  urgcuitly  t(j  ^!io  same  eU'ect;  but  about  niidniglit 
there  was  brought  to  V;'ui  the  Hrst  draft  of  a  capitulation, 
wlii(!h  ho  signed.  This  then  went  back  to  the  shore,  was  ])ut 
into  iinal  shape,  and  so  api)roved  by  the  French  (iommandant 
of  St.  I'ilmo,  as  the  terms  re(iuired.  It  then  received  tlr 
signatures  of  liulfo,  of  Micluu'oux,  of  the  Russian  and  'I'urkish 
comnianders,  and  finally  of  Footo  liiniself;  the  latter  bein  ' 
giviMi  on  the  early  morning  of  Juno  23. 

rhe  document  may  be  consid(!red  then  to  have  been  for- 
mally complete;  tl'O  only  question  being  whether  it  was  sus- 
ceptible of  ratification  or  disallowance  by  superior  authority. 
IkulTo,  Footo,  and  the  others  held  that  it  was  n(jt.  Nelson 
maintained  that  it  was,  provided  it  had  not  received  execu- 
tion. This  it  liad  not,  for  the  secoiul  article  provided  that  the 
garrisons  should  keep  possession  of  the  forts  nntil  the  vessels 
that  were  to  take  them  to  Toulon  were  ready  to  sail,  which 
was  not  the  case  when  Nelson  arrived.  The  latter  also  said 
that  the  treaty  was  "infamous."  The  term  was  too  strong. 
The  treaty,  in  the  author's  judgment,  was  weak  .and  culpable,  — 
w(!ak,  because,  as  Fort  St.  Elmo  dominated  the  lower  castles, 
terms  so  very  favorable  should  not  have  been  granted  unless  St. 
Klmo  was  included  in  the  surrender;  ^  and  culpable,  because 
IvufTo's  orders  were  disobeyed  in  granting  such  liberal  terms  to 

1  For  Foote'a  opinion  of  the  terms,  sco  Vindication,  iip.  154,  l.'J.'i,  190,  191  ; 
and  of  tlio  conununding  position  of  St.  Elmo,  pp.  1J17,  141.  The  unfavoraldft 
o|iiiiion  of  C'onnt  Thnrn,  the  senior  Neapolitan  naval  ofHcer  present,  is  piven 
by  Marenca  (Archivio  Stori   )  per  lo  Provincie  Napoletane,  vol.  xix.  p.  503). 

24 


I 
i 


r 


N 


Mi 


i.l 


I 


t 


370 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


lh\     ( 


men  of  the  political  and  military  antecedents  of  many  of  those 
shut  up  in  the  castles.^  Tliese  considerations  do  not,  however, 
affect  the  character  of  Nelson's  act  in  nullifying  the  treaty. 
That  depends  upon  the  questions,  whether  Ruffo's  act  was 
from  the  first  absolutely  final,  and,  if  it  were  not,  whether  the 
method  of  revoking  it  were  fair  and  honorable. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  consideration  of  these  questions, 
it  is  necessary  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  were 
before  Nelson  two  principal  conditions,  which  have  been  con- 
founded one  with  another.  There  was  an  Armistice,  which 
had  lasted  since  the  morning  of  the  19th  ;  and  there  was  the 
Treaty  of  Capitulation,  signed  on  the  morning  of  the  23d. 
The  Armistice  began  for  the  purpose  of  negotiation,  and  con- 
tinued after  the  signature,  awaiting  the  execution  of  the  terms, 
which  was  to  take  place  when  the  vessels  were  ready  to  em- 
bark the  garrisons.  This  seems  so  clear  as  to  be  unnecessary 
to  mention,  had  it  not  been  affirmed  in  a  serious  historical 
magazine  that  Nelson  persisted  in  styling  the  Treaty  an 
Armistice;'*  upon  which  an  elaborate  argument  is  founded. 
Nelson's  own  words  are,  "  I  used  every  argument  in  my  power 
to  convince  the  Cardinal  that  the  Treaty  and  Armistice  was  at 
an  end  by  the  coming  of  the  fleet."  '  If  it  be  thought  that  the 
singular  verb  "  was  "  shows  confusion  in  Nelson's  mind,  the 
reply  is,  not  only  was  his  grammar  notoriously  careless,*  but 
that  a  treaty  and  an  armistice  are  very  different  things. 
Thus  Foote,  Nelson's  chief  English  accuser,  says,  "  A  treaty 
may  be  infamous  ;  an  armistice,  or  cessation  from  hostilities, 
cainiot  deserve  this  term.  It  is  only  a  step  towards  an  accom- 
modation." Without  accepting  Foote's  dictum  as  to  the 
infamy  of  either,  the  distinction  is  obvious,  and  the  undeniable 
truth  is  that  there  was  an  armistice  and  there  was  a  treaty. 

The  confusion,  introduced  and  asserted  by  others,  but  which 
did  not  exist  in  Nelson's  mind,  is  due  probably  to  the  fact  thai 


:| 


1  See  tlie  King's  letter  of  Maj  1,  to  Ruflfo  (DuuifiS,  I  Borboiii  di  Nupoli, 
vol.  V.  p.  240);  and  of  June  17  (p.  253). 

2  English  Historical  Review,  Ajiril,  1898,  p.  273,  and  p.  275,  note  1. 
8  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  393.     (Author's  italics.) 

*  Thus,  in  the  same  letter.  Nelson  writes:  "Under  this  opinion  the 
Rebels  came  out  of  the  Castles,  which  was  instantly  occupied  by  the  Marines 
of  the  squadron."     (Ibid.) 


u  ^!ti 


Nlli'  I 


f ,  ,:» 


!      .     'A 


DISALLOWS  CAPITULATION 


m 


hi'fore  he  saw  Foote  he  had  received  word  —  erroneous  — that 
an  Armistice  had  been  granted,  by  the  terms  of  which  there 
was  to  be  no  fighting  for  twenty-one  days ;  ^  at  the  end  of 
which,  if  not  relieved,  the  garrisons  were  to  march  out  with 
tho  honors  of  war.  Such  an  Armistice  —  by  no  means  unpre- 
cetlented "  —  though  so  called,  is  more  than  an  armistice,  for 
it  agrees  to  more  than  a  stoppage  of  hostilities.  To  it  Nelson 
applied  the  term  "  infamous."  After  seeing  Foote,  and  learn- 
ing the  actual  state  of  affairs,  he  speaks  (in  tho  same  letter) 
of  the  infamous  "  terms  "  entered  into  with  the  Kebels.  These 
terms  were  much  the  same,  though  not  exactly,  as  in  the  sup- 
posed Armistice,  but  they  were  embodied  in  a  Capitulation,  in 
which  no  mention  of  an  armistice  occur'  from  first  to  last, 
llaniilton,  writing  for  Nelson  to  RufFo  of  the  same,  calls 
it  tho  "capitulation,"^  not  the  armistice;  and  that  the 
distinction  was  understood  both  by  Hamilton  and  by  Nelson  is 
( lear  from  the  fact  that  the  latter  formally  disapproved  and 
prevented  the  'apitulatloti.  sending  Ruffo  the  information, 
together  with  papers  to  the  same  effect  to  bo  sent  in  to  the 
oneiny.  This  was  positive  action,  taken  independent  of  Ruffo, 
and  so  finished  ;  after  which  —  not  before  — the  question  was 
]iut  to  Ruffo,  "  If  Lord  Nelson  breaks  the  Armistice,  will  your 
Eminence  assist  him  ?  "  The  manner  and  the  order  in  which 
the  events  are  told  by  Nelson,  and  his  own  course  described,  in 
his  letter  of  June  27  to  Keith,*  show  that  he  disapproved  and 
suspended  the  Capitulation,  by  his  own  powers,  without  consult- 
ing,' Ruffo  ;  but  that  concerning  the  Armistice,  though  he  held 
it  to  be  at  an  end  by  the  mere  arrival  of  the  fleet,  he  would  not 
tak(i  the  step  of  actively  breaking  it  —  though  he  at  first  fully 
intended  to  do  so  —  without  previous  consultation.  This 
se[»aration  in  treatment  of  the  two  things  shows  conclusively 
the  distinction  between  them  in  his  own  mind.^ 


1  Nicolas,  vol,  iii.  p.  384. 

-  As  at  C'alvi,  in  1794.     See  ante,  p.  124. 

'^  (leorse  Rose's  Diaries,  vol.  i.  p.  236. 

*  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  392. 

''  That  the  Treaty  and  the  Armistice  had  separate  and  independent  exist- 
ences, is  an  historical  fact,  beyond  doubt.  That  Nelson  so  understood  them 
iviniiies  to  be  deduced;  that  is,  to  those  who  doubt  his  clear-headedness  or  his 
liuiiesty.    Like  men  generally,  when  things  are  clear  in  their  own  m  nds,  h^ 


I     ' 


(  , 


!  i 


■ 


372 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Tho  treaty,  as  finally  signed, — and  afterwards  8U8pendc(l 
by  him,  —  read  as  follows  :  — 


LIBERTY. 


EQUALITY. 


I  I 


V(' 


|! 


II 


NEAPOLITAN    REPUBLTC. 


Castel  Nuovo,  2d  Mossidor,*  Year  7  of  Liberty. 

Citizen  Massa,  General  of  Artillery,  and  Commandant  of  Castd 
Nuovo,  tho  surrender  of  Castel  Uovo  having  been  demanded  by 
Coniniandant  Foote  of  the  English  Navy ;  and  afterwards  that  of 
Castel  Nuovo  by  Cardinal  lluffo,  Vicar  General  of  tlie  Kingdom  of 
Naples,  by  Chevalier  Miclieroux,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  II.  M. 
the  King  of  tho  Two  Sicilies  near  the  Russo-Ottoraan  fleet,  and  hy 
the  commandant  in  chief  of  the  Ottoinan  troops  ;  the  Council  of  War 
of  Castel  Nuovo  assembled,  and  having  deliberated  upon  tho  said 
siinunons,  resolved  that  the  two  forts  shall  be  delivered  to  tlio 
coninianders  of  the  troops  of  tho  above  named  by  means  of  an  honor- 
able capitulation,  and  after  having  communicated  to  the  commandant 
of  Fort  St.  Elmo  tho  motives  for  the  said  surrender,  in  consequence) 
the  said  Council  has  drawn  up  the  articles  of  the  following  capitu- 
lation without  the  acct;ptance  of  which  tho  surrender  of  the  forts 
cannot  take  place. 

Article  1.  The  Forts  Nuovo  and  Uovo  shall  be  delivered  to  tlie 
Commanders  of  the  Troops  of  II.  M.  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 
and  of  those  of  his  Allies,  the  King  of  England,  the  Emperor  of  all 
the  llussias,  and  the  Ottoman  Porte,  with  all  warlike  stores,  pro- 
visions, artillery,  and  effects  of  every  kind  now  in  the  magazines,  of 
■which  an  inventory  shall  be  made  by  Commissaries  on  both  sides, 
after  the  present  capitulation  is  signed. 

Article  2.  The  Troops  composing  the  Garrisons  shall  keep  pos- 
session of  their  Forts,  until  the  Vessels  which  shall  be  spoken  of 
hereafter,  destined  to  convey  such  as  are  desirous  of  going  to  Toulon, 
are  ready  to  sail." 

did  not  suspect  misundiTstanding  in  others ;  consequently,  intent  only  on 
the  hnsiness  before  him,  he  did  not  provide  for  posterity  a  categorical  decliini- 
tion  that  he  was  conscious  of  a  very  obvious  difTorence. 

1  Jnne  20. 

2  The  first  draft  here  contained  these  additional  words  :  "The  evacuation 
shall  not  take  place  until  the  moment  of  embarcation  "  (Vindication,  p.  195). 
These  do  not  appear  in  the  final  ttM'ms.  This  mifjht  have  been  important, 
because  Article  2  fixes  the  time  when,  by  evacuation,  the  treaty  should  re- 
ceive actual  execution,  as  distinguished  from  completeness  of  form.  As  it 
was,  Nelson  arrived  before  the  transports  were  ready,  and  consequently  foinid 


TKUMS  OF  CAPITULATION 


87!) 


Articio  y.  The  (liUTisniiH  shall  nmrch  out  with  the  honors  of  war, 
with  anna,  aiwl  haggag*',  drums  itoaliug,  colors  tlyiiig,  iiuitchos  liglittMJ, 
1111(1  eai'h  with  two  pieces  ot"  artillery;  they  shall  lay  down  their  arms 
ou  the  beach. 

Articio  4.  I'er.-ons  and  Proiwily,  both  movaldo  and  immovablo, 
of  every  individual  of  the  two  Garrisons,  shall  bo  respected  and 
guarantee*!. 

Articio  5.  All  tho  said  individuals  shall  liavo  their  choice  of  em- 
liiirking  on  board  tho  cartels,  which  shall  be  furnished  to  carry  them 
t(i  Tt>ulon,  or  of  remai'iing  at  Naples  without  being  molested, either 
ill  tli''ir  persons  or  families. 

Article  0.  Tho  conditions  contained  in  tho  present  Capitulation 
jirc  common  to  every  person  of  both  sexes  now  in  the  Forts. 

Article  7.  The  same  conditions  shall  hold  with  resjM'ct  to  all  tho 
prisoners  which  the  Troops  of  Ilis  Majesty  the  King  of  tho  Two  Sici- 
lies, aii«l  those  of  his  Allies,  may  have  made  from  tho  Hepublican 
troops,  in  the  different  engagements  which  have  taken  place  before 
tlie  blockade  of  the  Forts. 

Article  8.  Messieurs,  the  Archbishop  of  Salerno,  ]Micherf<iix, 
Dillon,  and  the  Bishop  of  Avellino,  detained  in  tho  Forts,  shall  bo 
delivered  to  tho  Commandant  of  Fort  St.  Klmo,  where  they  shall 
reinuin  as  hostages,  until  the  arrival  of  tho  individuals,  sent  to 
Toulon,  shall  be  ascertained. 

Article  9.  All  the  other  hostages  and  State  prisoners,  confined  in 
tl'.e  two  Forts,  shall  be  set  at  lib(!rty,  immediately  after  the  present 
Capitulation  is  signed. 

Article  10.  None  of  tho  Articles  of  tho  said  Capitulation  can  be 
put  into  execution  until  after  they  shall  have  been  fully  approved  by 
the  Commandant  of  Fort  St.  Elmo. 


fill 


1 


Thirty-six  hours  after  Footo  signed,  Nelson  arrived,  and  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  flag  of  tnice  flying  from  the  forts  and  from 
the  "  Seahorse,"  he  made  a  signal  annulling  the  truce.^  This 
was  l)efore  lie  saw  Foote,-*  Avho,  by  the  log  of  the  "  Seahorse," 
e;ime  on  board  outside  of  the  harbor  at  4  r.  m.,  having  got  the 
ship  under  way  to  meet  the  admiral.'  Shortly  after  his  inter- 
view with  Foote,  who  brought  with  him  a  copy  of  the  capitula- 
tion. Nelson  sent  ahead  of   the  flagship,  'n  a  pulling  boat, 

tlu!  l^i'publicans  still  in  poss«  ion  of  the  forts.  He  therefore  clnimed,  and 
umloubtedly  believed,  that  thf  uoaty  could  rightfully  be  suspended,  because 
not  executed. 

1  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  392.  ^  Vindication,  p.  71. 

3  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  494. 


374 


TIIK  LIFE  OF   NKLSON 


c 


'-A    ■ 


i 


Troubridgo  ami  Ball — two  of  his  inost  trusted  captiiins  — 
to  visit  Huffo.  Those  oflicors  carriod  with  them  a  letter  to 
the  Cardinal/  written  in  the  name  of  Nelson  hy  Sir  VVilliaiii 
Hamilton,  who  seems  througlumt  to  havt*  acct'pted  a  minis- 
terial position  between  Nelson,  as  his  prineii)al,  anil  the  t)tlu  r 
parties  to  these  transactions.  In  this  letler  it  was  stated 
tliat  Nelson,  havinj^  seen  the  treaty,  entirely  disapi)roved  of 
it;  that  ho  wouhl  not  remain  neuter  with  the  tlot^t;  and  that 
the  two  captains  wore  fully  infornud  of  his  sentiments  and 
would  explain  them  to  his  Kminenco.  lie  added  that  he 
hoped  tho  Cardinal  would  agree  with  him,  and  that  to-morrow 
(the  -."Jth),  at  break  of  day,  they  would  bo  able  to  act  in  con- 
cert. Hesidos  tho  letter  tho  captains  carried  with  them  two 
papers.'*  Df  these,  one,  addressed  to  tho  French  in  St.  Ehno, 
demam'cd  their  surrender  within  two  hours."  Tho  other,  tt) 
tho  Kei)ublicans  in  Uovo  and  Nuovo,  inforujod  them  that  they 
wouhl  not  bo  pornntted  "  to  embark  or  to  (piit  those  places. 
They  must  surrender  themselves  to  llis  Majesty's  Koyal 
mercy."  * 

Together  with  the  letter  and  the  papers  already  mentioned, 
the  captains  ])rol)ably  took  with  them  another  paper,'  in  which 
Nelson,  taking  for  his  text  the  supposed  armistice  for  twonty- 
ono  days,  reported  to  him  before  his  arrival,  had  developed 
his  argument  to  prove  that  such  a  con)i>act,  which  was  of  the 
nature  of  a  vreaty  rather  than  of  an  armistice,  could  be  au- 
nidled  by  a  superior  power  appearing  on  the  scene.  This  pai)ci' 
Kuifo  had,  either  from  th.o  captains,  or  from  Nelson  himscH 
tho  next  day  ,  for  on  it  is  noted,  in  Nelson's  hand,  '*  Read 
ami  explained,  and  rejected  by  tho  Cardinal."" 

KulTo  absolutely  refused  to  send  into  the  castles  tho  pa]MMs 
brought  by  the  captains,  and  upon  Troubridgo  asking  him 
whether  ho  would  co-operate  with  Nelson,  if  the  latter  broke 
the  armistice,  he  said  he  would  not.  Aftiu*  much  communica- 
tion, he  decided  to  see  Nelson  personally,  and  went  on  board 


i' 


v.. 


O; 


*  Hose's  Diarios,  etc.  vol.  i.  p.  iSfi.     In    i  •"iicsimilf  given  by  Siiochinclli 
the  hour  of  writing  apiu'ui-s  to  Imvo  been  H  v.  M. 

a  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  35)2.  «  Ibi.l.  p.  38(5. 

*  Ibi.l.  6  Ibid.  p.  384. 
6  Ibiil.  p.  386. 


NKLSON  AND  UVVVO 


mr, 


V'  Siiochiiu'lli 


tlio  tiagsliip*  tho  aftornoon  of  tho  ITith.''  A  long  and  stormy 
intcrviow  lollowod,  in  which  neither  party  yiehUjd  his  gronn*!, 
and  which  ended  in  Nelson  defining  his  status  in  tho  loUow- 
ing  written  opinion,  given  to  tho  Ci'rdinal :  — 

FoniiiioYANT,  ytiUi"  June,  1700. 

Ui'iir  Admiral  Lord  Nelson  arrived  with  Mu!  IhitiHh  llt'et  tho  'Jllh 
.liiiK'  ill  the  liuy  of  Nupit's,  iiiid  t'ouiid  a  treaty  entered  into  with  the 
Ki'liels,  wideh,  in  his  opini^tn,  eunnot  he  ciiiried  into  exetntlion,  witii- 
iiiit  tliu  approbation  ol'  his  Sicilian  Maj«!sly.* 

KulTo  then  went  on  shore,  and  that  evening,  the  2r»th,  hn 
sent  into  Castel  Nnovo  a  hotter  addressed  to  the  (ronnnandaiit, 
iMassa,  as  follows  : 

"  Although  h(!  himself  and  tla;  representatives  of  the  allies  held  as 
sacred  au«l  inviolal)le  the  trejity  of  eapitulation  of  the  castles,  never- 
theless the  renr-admiral  ol  the  Knglish  squadron  was  not  willing  to 
recognize  it, and  then^font  tin;  garrisons  were  at  liherty  to  avail  theni- 
sehcs  of  the  5th  article  of  ihe  capitulation,  as  the  patriots  of  St. 
Martin's  Hill  had  done,  who  had  all  <leparted  hy  laud;  ho  he  made  to 
llieui  this  conununicution,  in  order  that,  eousideriug  that  th(>  Knglish 
ciiiniuauded  tlu^  sea,  the  garrisons  might  tak(;  tht^  resolution  which 
licst  pleased  them."' 

At  the  same  time  he  liad  proelainntion  made  thronghout  the 
city,  and  notiees  posted,  annou;u'ing  tho  surrendcsr  of  the 
(Mstles,  and  f()rl)id«ling  any  molestation  of  the  nuMubers  of 
the  garrison,  in  goods  or  person,  nndev  penalty  of  death." 

As  the  garrisons  had  not  yet  end)arked,  although  nuiny  of 
tlieir  number  had  been  stealing  away,  even  Ixjfore  the  projct 
of  capitulation  was  framed,''  and  throughout  tho  sueeeeding 

'  Nelson  to  Keith,  Nicolns,  vol.  iii.  ]).  ;?02. 

-  Tlie  tinio  of  tlie  interview  is  fixed  l»y  tiie  following  entry  in  the  lojj  of  tlio 
ll:if,'.sliii>,  reganl  lieing  luul  to  the  seii-diiy,  which  bej^iui  twelve  hoius  belon;  tho 
civil  (luy  :  "  Wednesday,  20th,  Saluted  a  C'anlinal  who  came  on  hoard  with 
l;i  1,'uns.     A.M.  Kinployed  occasionally."     (Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  &(I8.) 

"  Sea-time. 

♦  From  Nelson's  Order  Hook,  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  388. 

'•  Maresca,  Arch.  Stor.  Prov.  Nap.,  vol.  xix.  j).  f)21. 

<>  Ibid.  ;  (|uoted  from  tho  Diario  Napol.,  of  .lui-'i  2,''>,  1700. 

^  "  Kver  since  this  morning  (.luno  10),  from  aw.  motnent  they  '>egan  to 
tiruL  about  a  eapitulation,  a  great  many  began  to  desert  from  tho  two  castles," 
etc.     Uullo  to  Footc,  Vindication,  p.  18r».     (Author's  italics.) 


ilJLrLH 


!:  \'i 


'\} 


!'    , 


■;  .    ■ 


376 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


w 


p 


V 

V;! 


days,  it  ciiunot  be  said,  in  view  of  the  above,  that  tliey  had  no 
warning  of  Nelson's  attitude.  Doubtless,  in  saying  thus  much, 
and  yet  omitting  —  if  he  adhered  to  his  first  refusal  — to  send 
in  the  papers  bearing  Nelson's  own  words,  Jluffo  did  not  deal 
candidly  with  them;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  is  fairly  open 
to  belief  that  he  may  similarly  have  equivocated  to  the 
admiral,  who  stated  positively,  and  immediately  after  the 
transactions,^  that  the  rebels  came  out  of  the  castles  "  under 
this  opinion  "  ^  and  "  with  this  knowledge,"  "  both  which  were 
passed  to  Ruffo  to  be  communicated,  and  could  by  him  have 
been  transmitted,  if  he  chose. 
Massa  replied  for  the  garrison  : 

"  Wc  have  given  to  j'our  letter  the  interpretation  which  it  deserved. 
Finn,  however,  in  our  duties,  we  shall  religiously  observe  the  articles 
of  the  treaty,  convinced  that  an  equal  obligation  should  be  main- 
tained by  all  the  contracting  parties  who  have  therein  solemnly  taken 
part.  For  the  rest  we  cannot  be  either  surprised  or  intimidated,  and 
we  shall  re.snnjo  a  hostile  attitude  whenever  it  may  hai)pen  that  you 
constrain  us  thereto."  * 

He  then  requested  an  escort  for  a  messenger  to  communi- 
cate with  St.  Elmo  on  the  matter. 

"  From  these  two  letters,"  remarks  AFaresca,*  "  it  appears 
that  we  must  deduce,  even  admitting  that  Nelson  did  not 
directly  send  in  his  Decdaration,  that  the  patriots  of  the 
castles  were  made  acquainted  with  his  intentions  by  means  of 
Kuffo's  letter." 

The  author  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  evidence,  hith- 
erto unquoted,  strongly  corroborative  of  this  deduction.-  The 
same  evening,  June  !i5,  liulfo  wrote  to  Nelson  also,  informing 
him  that  "  the  letter  "  had  then  gone  forward  to  the  castles, 
that  it  was  to  be  hoped  they  would  surreiuhu-  at  discretion, 
but,  as  they  might  decide  to  attack,  he  wished  a  reinforcement 

'  To  Kcutli,  on  June  27  (Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  393  ;  and  to  Knrl  Spencer,  on 
July  13  (Ibid.,  p.  40(5). 

'■^  Nelson's  Opinion  (Ibid.,  pp.  388,  393). 

"  Of  Nelson's  Opinion,  and  of  liis  Declaration  to  the  Kebels,  Ibid.,  pp. 
38G,  388. 

*  Sacchinelli,  Menioric  sulla  Vita  del  Cardinale  Il'iffo,  Home,  189r»,  pji. 
233,  23 1  (Maresca,  r)22). 

''  Arehivio  Storico  per  Ic  Piov.  Nap.,  vol.  xix.  p.  .'522. 


t-WMMM 


NELSON   AND  KUFFO 


.'577 


cominuni- 


ot'  1,200  men  might  be  landed.^  The  contents  of  "the  letter" 
;in!  not  specified,  which  indicates  tliat  Nelson  knew  them,  while 
the  results  expected  tell  us  what  its  nature  was,  and  that,  in  the 
matter  of  the  Treaty,  llufFo,  as  Acton  afterwards  wrote,'-*  had 
yielded  to  Nelson  so  far  as  to  send  the  latter's  Declaration  to 
the  garrisons,  in  substance,  if  not  in  its  exact  words.  This 
step  towards  a  compromise,  by  which  the  two  chiefs  might  act 
ill  accord,  was  met  by  a  corresponding  concession,  concerning 
the  Armistice,  on  the  part  of  Nelson,  lie  ajjparently  did  not 
ii'ccive  Ruffo's  letter  of  the  evening  of  the  25th  until  the  2Gth 
was  well  advanced,  —  "1  am  Just  honoured  with  your  Excel- 
lency's letter,"  —  but  at  an  earlier  hour  Hamilton  had  written 
in  his  name  to  the  Cardinal,  as  follows  :  — 

"  Lord  Nelson  begs  m(5  to  assure  your  Eminence  that  he  is  resolved 
to  do  nothing  whieh  can  break  the  armistice  whicli  your  Kinincnce 
lias  accorded  to  the  castles  of  Naples."" 

This  promise  referred  explicitly  to  the  Armistice,  and 
gave  no  assurances  concerning  his  future  action  upon  the 
Capitulation.  This,  Nelson  had  said  in  writing,  "cannot  be 
carried  into  effect  without  the  approval  of  the  King;"  and 
that  opinion  had  not  been  recalled  —  could  not  be  recalled, 
effectively,  except  by  a  written  paper,  the  existence  of  wliieli 
has  never  been  even  suggested.  The  Treaty,  so  far  as  Nelson 
was  concerned,  remained  suspended,  but  the  Armistice  was  to 
continue. 

The  wording  of  this  letter  not  only  expresses  the  decisive 
concdusion  reached  by  Nelson  after  a  night's  reflection,  but 
a[>pears  also  to  confirm  Jin  arrangement  already  conditionally 
ri^ached.  In  short,  as  Hamilton  wrote  to  Acton,  "  If  <  ne  can- 
not do  exactly  as  one  wishes,  one  must  do  the  best  one  can, 
and  that  is  wliat  Lord  Nelson  has  done."*  It  was  inexpe- 
dient, having  in  view  Knffo's  attitude,  to  proceed  to  hostilities, 
as  at  first  intended.  If  the  Cardinal  would  acciuiesco  in  the 
annulling  of  the  treaty,  in  submission  to  the  Admiral's  powers, 

1  British  Museum,  Nelson  MSS,,  a.j^jji. 

^  Nioolns,  vol.  vii.  p.  clxxxvi. 

8  Suceliiiielli.  p.  23(5. 

*  Dunins,  1  IJorboiii  di  Nnpoli,  vol.  iv.  |i.  81). 


378 


THE  LIKK  OF  NELSON 


*( 


:ii'i 


iind  would  send  in  the  hitter's  dechinition  to  that  effect, — 
though  refusing  to  join  in  it,  —  Nelson  would  continue  the 
armistice.  This  concession  met  lluffo's  leading  idea,  which 
was  to  save  the  city  from  further  injury,  not  only  by  stop- 
ping fighting,  but  also  by  releasing  the  regular  troops  avail- 
able, to  suppress  the  outrages  increasin;^ly  committed  by 
Kuffo's  undisciplined  forces,  by  the  lazzaroni,  and  by  the 
Turkish  auxiliaries.  Such  seem  to  be  conclusions  fairly 
deducible  from  lluffo's  letter  of  the  25th,  and  from  the 
following  reply  by  Nelson  on  the  26th.  The  latter  is 
undated,  but  the  date  is  fixed  bv  the  reference  to  that 
written  by  Hamilton. 

"lam  just  honoured  with  Your  Emiueiicy's  letter;  aud  as  His 
Excellency  Sir  William  Ihiniiltoii  lias  wrote  you  this  morning,  that 
1  will  not  on  any  coiisideration  break  the  Aruiistice  entered  into  by 
you,  I  hope  Your  Kiuineuey  will  be  satisfied  that  T  am  supporting 
your  ideas.  I  send  once  more  Captains  Troubridge  and  Ball,  to 
arrange  with  your  Eininency  everything  relative  to  an  attack  on  St. 
Elmo  ;  wluMiover  your  army  and  cannon  are  ready  to  proceed  against 
it,  I  will  land  I'JOO  men  to  go  with  them,  under  the  present  Armis- 
tice. J  have  only  to  rejoice  that  His  Britannic  Majesty's  fleet  is 
liere,  to  secure  tl;e  city  of  Naples  from  all  attacks  by  sea,  —  I 
am,  &c.  Nelson."^ 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  purpose  of  the  present  mission 
of  Troubridge  and  Ball  is  strictly  defined,  and,  because  denned, 
limited.  They  were  to  make  arrangements  for  an  attack  upon 
St.  Elmo.  During  the  interview  Ruffo,  according  to  Sacchi- 
nolli,  was  by  them  assured  that  Nelson  "does  not  oppose  the 
execution  of  the  Capitulation."  Sacchinelli  states  further  that 
Troubridge  drew  up  the  following  paper,  based  on  this  alleged 
assurance : — 

"Captains  Troubridge  and  Ball  have  authority,  on  the  part  of 
Lord  Nelson,  to  declare  to  his  Eminence  ihot  his  Lordship  will  not 
oppose  the  etnburkation  of  the  Rebels  ai'd  of  the  people  who  compose 
the  garrison  of  the  castles  Uovo  and  Nuovo." 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  one  statement,  "does  not  op- 
pose the  execution  of  the  Capitulation,"  is  not  identical  with 

'  From  Nelson's  Lettin-  Book,  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  394. 


i)       i 


NELSON   AND   lUIFFO 


379 


that  of  the  alleged  coiise(iuent  paper,  "  will  not  oppose  the 
embarkation."  This  effort  to  confuse  two  distinct  things  re- 
sembles closely  tl>e  attempt  to  confound  Armistice  and  Capitu- 
lation. Further,  Sacchinelli  does  not  give  at  all  Nelson's  own 
letter,  last  quoted,  but  attributes  the  captains'  visit  to  bearing 
Hamilton's  preceding  letter  of  the  same  day.  "This  declara- 
tion," he  states,  "Troubridge  wrote  with  his  own  hand,hnt  '•as 
not  willing  to  sign  it,  saying  that  they  had  been  charged  and  ac- 
eredited  with  the  letter  of  June  24  to  confer  verbally  concern- 
ing,' military  operations,  and  not  at  all,  in  writing,  concerning 
iilfairs  belonging  to  diplomacy."  ^  It  is  clear  from  this  that 
Sacchinelli,  though  Kuffo's  secretary,  was  imperfectly  informed 
as  to  the  details  of  what  happened.  Not  only  is  he  ignorant 
(if  Nelson's  letter,  which  certainly  was  brought  by  the  captains, 
hut  he  attributes  to  Hamilton's  of  June  24th  a  scope  which 
]H'rtains  only  to  Nelson's  of  the  2()th.  lioth  these  were  cer- 
tainly carried  by  the  captains,  while  it  is  not  certain  that  they 
took  Hamilton's  of  the  20th.  In  the  letter  of  the  24th,  the 
mission  of  the  captains  was  clearly  diplomatic.  They  were  to 
convey  to  the  Cardinal  Nelson's  disapproval  of  the  Capitula- 
tion, and  his  intention  not  to  remain  neuter.  This  agrees  with 
Nelson's  statement  in  his  letter  of  the  27th  to  Keith,  "I  sent 
Captains  Troubridge  and  Ball  instantly  to  the  Cardinal  Vicar- 
(Jeneral,  to  represent  my  opinion  of  the  infamous  terms  en- 
ttMvd  into  with  the  Rebels,  and  also  two  papers  which  I 
enclose."  These  papers  were  the  Summons  to  the  French  and 
the  Declaration  to  the  Rebels ;  both  part  of  the  diplomacy  of 
war.  IJy  this  letter  of  the  24th  they  were  accredited  as  "  fully 
inl'ornuul  of  Lord  Nelson's  sentiments  and  will  have  the  honour 
to  explain  them  "  —  verbally,  of  course  —  "  to  your  Eminence." 
These  functions  are  all  diplomatic  —  negotiatory  —  in  charac- 
ter, and  that  letter  goes  no  further  than  to  hope  for  agreement 
with  the  Cardinal,  so  that  military  operations  may  proceed. 
Tluire  is  in  it  no  mention  of  military  arrangements  as  part  of 
the  captains'  then  mission,  although  there  is  in  that  of  the 
L'()tli ;  and  at  the  very  least  it  is  clear  that  their  function  on 
the  24th  was  not  limited,  as  Sacchinelli  states  that  they  said, 
to  military  operations.     Finally,  the  declaration  which  it  is 


Sacchinelli,  p.  236,  and  Ajipcndix,  Facsiniile  c.     (Author's  italics.  ) 


380 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


\      V 


r     I*  ■ 

Mi 


7' 


I- 


said  ti^e  captains  refused  to  si ;»n  is  not  in  Tronbridfje's  hand, 
as  alleged.  Tlie  antlior  has  a  letter  of  Troubridge's,  written 
in  Jannary,  1799,  whi(!h  differs  distinctly  from  the  facsimile 
of  the  declaration  given  by  Sacchinelli. 

The  atteir.pt  to  implicate  Nelson  as  partner  in  a  disreputablii 
trick,  upon  evidence  as  faulty  as  this,  is  mere  futile  prevarica- 
tion.    It  may  be  tliat  the  captains  wore  asked  to  sign  such  u 
paper;  although  Sacrhinelli,  by  stating  that  Troubridgo  wrote 
it,  invalidates  his  own  testimony, — showing  that  he  is  willing 
to  make  a  statement  of  infa:nous  import,  when  he  was  not 
eye-witness,  nor  had  adequate  proof.     The  captains,  however, 
liad  neither  authority  nor  power,  direct  nor  indirect,  so  to 
pledge  Nelson,  by  word  or  script,  as  was  perfectly  known  to 
lluffo ;  for  ho  had  in  his  hands  the  letter  they  brought  him 
from  Nelsi)n,  defining  their  present  mission,  viz.  to  arrange 
for  the  atta(!k  o\i  St.  Elmo.    To  say,  as  some  have,  that,  be- 
cause accredited,  two  days  before,  "as  fully  informed  of  Lord 
Nelson's  sentiments,"  upon  one  subjjct,  of  a  specific  character, 
they  were  equally  accredited  with  knowledge  of  his  views,  and 
with  authority  to  express  them,  on  another  subject,  when  sent 
upon  a  second  mission,  having  no  relation  to  the  former,  but 
clearly  defined  and  limited,  would  be  to  introduce  anarchy  into 
negotiation.     U'he  verbal  assurance  of  an  envoy,  sent  as  Troii- 
bridge  and  iJall  then  were,  is  of  no  weight  against  two  written 
d(;clarations  of  their  princi;)al,  close  at  hand,  viz. :  that  the 
capitulation  could  not  be  carried  into  effect  without  the  King's 
approval,  and  that  they  were  sent  to  arrange  for  an  attack 
on  St,  Elmo.     ]}oth  these  lluffo  had  in  his  hands;  and  only 
a  written  revocation  of  the  former  could  justify  him  in  assum- 
ing it  to  be  withdravv  \  .     There  is  not  the  slightest  proof,  nor 
even  indication,  that  Nelson  by  letter  or  by  word  receded  from 
liis  attitude  towards  the  Capitulation.     He  regarded  it  as  be- 
yond his  powers.     An  armistice  —  a  cessation  of  hostilities  — 
was  within  his  powers;  and  thic  he  undertook  to  observe. 

After  stating  that  the  cai)tains  refused  to  sign,  Sacchinelli 
continues:  "The  Cardinal,  althorgh  he  suspected  that  then; 
might  here  be  bad  faith,  not  wishing  to  dispute  with  those  two 
captains,  concerned  himself  nofartl  .'i  than  to  chargo  Minister 
Micheroux  to  accompany  theia  to  the  castles,  to  concert  with 
the  republican  commanders  the  execution  of   the  stipulated 


b(      I 


'\ 


u      .  |, 


NKLSON  AND  RUPFO 


381 


articles."  The  insinuation  of  the  last  few  words,  that  the 
execiitiou  of  the  treaty,  which  Nelson  had  unwaveringly 
refused,  was  now  arranged  by  his  representatives  with  the 
otlier  party,  becomes  an  explicit  affirmation,  a  few  lines  on. 
"  At  the  end  of  some  hours  Alicheroux  reported  to  the  Cardi- 
nal that,  thanks  to  God,  all  had  been  arranged  by  common 
accord."  These  words  end  a  paragraph,  and  may  be  assumed 
tlicrefore  to  be  all  that  Micheroux  reported.  Common  accord 
is  stated,  but  what  was  arranged  is  left  to  inference.  What 
follows  is  Sac:ihinelli'8  inference,  which,  in  view  of  the  loose- 
ness of  his  other  statements,  must  go  for  what  it  is  worth. 
••  The  English  themselves  executed  that  treaty,  which  at  first 
they  were  unwilling  to  recognize.  They  disembarked  some 
hundreds  of  marines,  and,  the  republicans  having  embarked, 
took  possession  of  Castel  Nuovo,"  etc.  It  is  clear  in  this  last 
(quotation  that  Sacchinelli  assumes,  in  face  of  the  Cardinal's 
(listrust,  that  the  embarkation  of  the  republicans  and  the  tak- 
ing possession  of  the  castles  prove  Nelson's  acceptance  of  the 
Treaty.  It  is  equally  clear  to  a  careful  reader  that  the  infer- 
ence is  far  from  inevitable,  and  that  the  tv;o  acts  may  equally 
indicate  the  submission  of  the  rebels  to  Nelson's  terms.  Tiiis 
Nelson  explicitly  affirmed  to  be  the  case  in  two  letters  v  -itajn 
witliiu  three  weeks  of  the  transaction  to  the  men  to  who.  <  ho 
wiis  chiefly  responsible — his  Commander-in-Cliief  and  the 
I'irst  Lord.  "  The  liebels  came  out  of  the  Castles  under  this 
opinion,'"  ^  "with  this  knowledge."* 

Jlighas  Nelson's  own  reputation  is,  it  is  nevertheless  for- 
tunate tliat  the  stigma  of  Sacchinelli  is  rebutted  not  by  that 
alone,  nor  yet  by  Sacchinelli's  own  carelessness  of  statement, 
liut  by  the  share  borne  in  these  transactions  by  Ball  and 
Tioubridge.  Of  the  latter  especially,  who,  as  the  senior  of 
tho  two,  stood  for  their  joint  action,  St.  Vincent  said,  "  his 
honour  and  his  courage  are  as  bright  as  his  sword.''  Is  it  to 
bi  believed  that  such  a  man  gave  assurances  to  which  he 
refused  to  sign  his  name,  and  deceived  even  rebels  —  much 
as  he  hated  them  —  when  they  were  trusting  to  his  honor, 
wiclx  their  lives  on  the  stake  ?  Further,  Clarke,  ihe  biographer 
of  Xelson,  writing  to  Captain  Foote,  Nelson's  bitterest  English 
assailant,  quotes  two  other  captains  of  the  fleet  as  cognizant 

i  To  Kuith,  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  393.  -  To  Sponcer,  Ibid.  p.  40(5. 


I: 


^■M 


ii 


i 

r 

I 

j 
i 

i 

j 

■ 

fisi 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


hi  ! 


14, 


ii'  I 


■'i;  ^' 


of  Nelson's  action.  "From  tho  conversation  I  had  with 
Admiral  Foley  and  with  Hardy,  and  from  seeing  the  King  ol 
Sicily's  private  letter  in  his  own  hand  to  Kuffo,  I  was  inclin(>(l 
to  think  more  favourably  of  Lord  Nelson's  conduct."  ^  This 
conversation  was  after  Nelson's  death,  and,  though  somewhat 
vague  in  allusion,  it  is  clear  that  tho  opinion  of  these  two 
honorable  men,  present  throughout,  could  not  have  been  that 
the  garrisons  on  surrendering  were  deceived  by  Nelson  or  his 
representatives.  Such  also  is  the  deliberate  judgment  of  t\w. 
Italian  Maresca,  writing  in  these  present  days  (1894),  wIumi 
passionate  prepossession  has  given  place  to  historical  research 
and  deliberate  judgment,  and  who  has  devoted  especial  atten- 
tion to  these  transactions.  He  is  far  from  approving  the  sub- 
sequent treatment  of  the  prisoners,  but  concerning  these  facts  Ik; 
says  :  "  It  is  allowable  to  believe  that  Micheroux  with  the  two 
Englishmen  arranged  with  the  commandants  of  the  forts  that 
the  capitulation  should  be  executed  upon  lines  subordinated 
to  Nelson's  declarations.  That  it  should  receive  unconditional 
effect  after  the  declarations  of  the  admiral,  and  after  tho  en- 
forced adhesion  of  Kuffo,^  was  no  longer  to  bo  thought  of. 
Only  an  unconditional  surrender  could  at  that  moment  be 
entertained ;  and,  if  conditions  were  offered,  they  could  only 
have  been  briefly  these:  +hat  the  patriots  should  give  up  th.; 
castles,  purely  and  simply,  that  those  who  had  declared  their 
wish  to  go  to  Toulon  should  embark  and  remain  in  the  roads, 
that  the  others  should  stay  in  the  forts,  until  the  dctormina- 
tion  of  the  King,  in  the  case  of  each,  should  be  known."  ^ 

That  ai  t  moon  tho  garrisons  quitted  Uovo  and  Nuovo, 
those  who  b>  elected  embarking  in  the  vessels  which  were 
now  ready  ;  and  in  them  they  remained  undisturbed,  at  t\w 
mole,  during  the  27th.  The  surrendered  castles  were  occu- 
pied on  the  evening  of  the  2Gth  by  British  marines.  On  tiie 
27th  Nelson  requested  of  Iluffo  that  these  should  be  relieved 
by  two  or  three  hundred  Neapolitan  soldiers,  in  order  that  the 

*  Vindiciition,  p.  56. 

'  Maresca  agrees  with  tlie  German  IliifFer  in  tliinking,  contrary  to  Sacclii- 
iielli,  that  RutFo  ended  by  siilunitting  to  Nelson's  decision.  He;  thus  ae(:e|its 
Acton's  words  in  his  hitter  of  August  1,  179'.),  to  Nelson:  "Tho  Cardiiml 
yielded  to  your  wise  and  steady  declanition."     (Nicolas,  vol  vii.  p.  clxxxvi.) 

8  Archivio  Storico,  1894,  pp.  523-526. 


NELSON'S  POWERS  AT  NAPLES 


m 


IWitish  and  llnssian  troops  raiglit  proceed  with  tlie  attiick  on 
St.  Elmo.^  On  the  28th,  early,  a  despatch,  dated  the  25th,* 
was  received  from  Palermo,  from  the  contents  of  which  Nelson 
inferred,  correctly,  that  the  terms  of  the  Capitulation  could 
not  be  approved  by  the  King.  He  then  wrote  to  the  Cardinal, 
;iiinouncing  the  fact,  and  that  ho  was  about  to  seize  and  make 
sure  of  those  who  had  embarked.'  Before  noon  of  the  same 
(l;iy,^  the  vessels  were  brought  out  from  the  mole  and  anchored 
(iiuler  the  guns  of  the  fleet ;  some  of  the  ringleaders  beinf; 
transferred  to  liritish  ships  for  safer  keeping.  The  transac- 
tion, as  far  as  Nelson  was  concerned  in  it,  was  completed 
by  holding  them  until  the  King's  arrival,  on  the  10th  of 
.Inly. 

So  far  the  author's  effort  has  been  confined  to  stating  clearly 
ami  fully  just  what  Nelson  did,  in  order  to  demonstrate  that 
Ills  conduct  throughout  was  open  and  consistent.  This  it 
was,  whatever  judgment  may  be  passed  upon  the  correctness 
of  the  opinion  which  he  avowed,  and  upon  which  he  acted, 
viz.  that  he  not  only  had  a  right  to  suspend  the  Capitulation, 
because,  though  signed,  it  had  not  been  executed,  but  that  it 
was  his  bounden  duty  so  to  do  ;  having  both  legal  power  and 
adeciuate  force  to  prevent  its  execution. 

It  remains  to  consider  what  was  the  obligation  under  which 
h(!  conceived  himself  to  lie,  and  what  was  the  autiiority  in  law 
by  which  he  assumed  to  act.  The  reply,  which  it  is  purposed 
to  substantiate,  is  that  he  regarded  himself  as,  and  for  the  time 
being  actually  was,  the  representative  of  the  King  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  as  well  as  the  admiral  of  the  British  fleet.  As  repre- 
sentative, he  was  charged  with  the  interests  and  honor  of  the 
Sovereign  and  had  authority  over  all  Neapolitan  officials  ;  as 
adiiiinil,  he  wielded  power  to  enforce  obedience,  if  refused. 

'  Diaries,  etc.  of  Geo.  Rose,  vol.  i.  p.  2.37. 

'^  Oil  June  25  Acton  wrote  to  Huiiiiltoii  throe  letters  (E<:,'crton  MSS.  Br. 
Miweum  2640  ;  Nos.  267,  269,  271).  Tlie  first  of  these,  sent  by  a  Nciii.olitan 
ftliicca  "  with  the  utmost  s[>ee(l,"  was  in  reply  to  Hiiniilton's  of  the  2:5il, 
wiiich  had  transmitted  the  erroneous  intelligence  of  a  twenty-one  days'  arniis- 
tici',  after  which  the  reiiuhlit^iins  were  to  march  out,  if  not  hefore  relieved, 
i'nmi  the  tenor  of  all  these,  it  was  clear  that  the  terms,  when  known,  would 
ii'it  1)1!  npproved,. 

•'  Diaries,  etc.  of  Geo.  Tlose,  vol.  i.  y.  238. 

*  Foudroyant's  Lo<;,  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  508. 


Mi 


n     i    »  1 


i. 


h) 


384 


THE  LIFK  OF  NKLSOM 


IJ.    i 


i 


Considering  the  terms  of  the  Ciipituhitiou  to  be  (lontniry  to 
the  interests  and  the  lionor  of  the  Kingdom,  ho  was  luuh  r 
an  obligation  to  prevent  their  going  into  eifect,  until  tlie 
King's  decision,  becoming  known,  should  supersede  his  own 
discretion. 

The  proof  of  Nelson's  commission  to  act  for  the  King  goes 
back  of  June  21,  the  day  of  .his  second  dc^iarture  from  Paleriiio. 
It  is  admitted  that  no  written  instructions  have  been  found 
bearing  that  date,  or  fipecitically  issued  lor  that  occasion.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  th.o  mission  which  he  then  under- 
took, and  carried  through  to  the  results  which  we  have  been 
considering,  was  only  the  resumption  of  a  similar  task,  begun 
upon  the  13th  of  Juue.  Though  then  interrupted,  the  trans- 
action was  in  effect  continuous;  postponed,  not  abandoned. 
The  only  modification  introduced  on  the  second  occasion  was 
in  the  nature  of  verbal  instructions,  consequent  upon  later 
intelligence,  which  in  no  wise  affected  his  powers  ;  for  these 
had  been  amply  defined  on  the  first  occasion,  and  were  indeed 
so  extensive  as  scarcely  to  admit  of  enlargement. 

Looking  to  Nelson's  arranged  departure  on  the  first  occa- 
sion, the  King  had  on  the  10th  of  June  addressed  him  a  letter, 
in  which,  after  defining  the  causes  which  then  made  it  expedi- 
ent that  the  fleet  should  go  to  Naples,  taking  with  it  Neapoli- 
tan troops  (as  before  mentioned),*  he  proceeds  thus:  "Tliis 
measure,  without  your  valuable  assistance  and  direction,  can- 
not produce  the  necessary  result.  I  have  recourse,  therefore, 
to  you,  my  Lord,  to  obtain  both  the  one  and  the  other,  so  that, 
tliis  Kingdom  being  speedily  delivered  from  the  scourge  which 
it  has  experienced,  I  may  henceforward  be  in  a  condition  to 
perform  the  engagements  contracted,  which  duty  and  reason 
prescribe.  /  send,  therefore,  a  copy  of  the  instruetions  I  tjirr. 
to  the  superior  generals,  and  which  I  forward  to  those  on  t/ir 
Continent/'  i.  e.  to  Ruffo  in  principal,  as  Vicar-Gener.il,  and 
to  others  ;  among  whom  doubtless  Micheroux.  "  At  the  head 
of  these  [generals]  I  have  placed  my  son,  whom  I  trust  to 
your  friendly  assistance,  so  that  his  first  steps  in  the  present 
critical  career  which  he  will  have  to  run,  may  be  guided  by 
your  wise  advice,  requesting  you  not  on/i/  to  help  him  with 
your  powerful  aid,  hut  that  you  tvill  always  act  j't'inclpall ij, 

1  Ante,  p.  361. 


NELSON'S  I'OWKWS  AT  NAI'LES 


886 


as  your  forces  are  tlio  true  means  and  support  on  whieli  I  rest 
my  future  hopes,  as  they  have  hii^'itrto  been  my  safety."  * 

Tlio  Instructions  to  the  generals,  only  alhulecl  to  here,  are 
clearly  for  Nelson's  information,  as  to  his  own  authority, 
in  them  set  forth,  and  for  his  guid""---  in  his  relations 
with  the  Neapolitan  otHcers.  They  inuiv...,o  their  duties  to- 
wards liimself,  towards  the  Prince,  and  towards  Ruffo,  whoso 
position  would  be  radically  affected  by  the  nrrival  of  the  new- 
comers and  by  the  instructions  they  carried.  The  artiedes  of 
the  Instructions  which  are  decisive  as  to  Nelson's  powers  will 
alone  be  quoted ;  but  readers  who  wish  to  scrutinize  closely 
tlio  regularity  of  his  procedure,  as  distinguished  from  the 
liL^litfulness  of  his  action,  can  study  the  entire  document.'' 


h*'.r 


"  Ariiclo  4.  All  tlu'  military  and  polilicul  operations  shall  bo  agreed 
iipdii  by  tlio  Prince  lloyal  and  A<bniral  Lord  Nelson.  The  opinion 
(tl"  this  latter  alwaj's  to  liavo  a  prepondoranee,  on  account  of  the  re- 
s|ii(t  due  to  his  experience,  as  well  as  to  tlu;  forces  under  Jus  com- 
iiiaii<l,  whit  h  will  doterinint!  the  operations  ;  and  also  because  we  are 
SCI  (leeply  indebted  to  him  for  the  zeal  and  attachment  of  which  he 
liiis  ;;iven  so  many  proofs.  Tin.'refore,  should  the  attack  takt!  ]>lace, 
I  111'  cmiiloyment  of  tiie  royal  [Xeapolitan]  forces,  and  alt  other  means 
tending  to  obtain  the  surrender  of  Naples,  .shall  be  thus  decided. 

"7.  When  Naples  shall  bo  entirely  surrendered  and  sulubied,  the 
\i(;;ir-(ieneral  [IlulTo]  shall  at  once  take  possession  of  the  eutire  gov- 
eriiiiient  of  the  Kingdom;  and  to  this  intent  uill  receive  from  the 
i'lince  Royal  the  King's  fiew  ratification  of  this  his  commission  and 
cliiiri^e,  with  all  the  particidar  dct(>rmination  that  the  circumstance 
r('(|uires,  and  any  rides  that  the  importance  of  the  time  and  special 
cunsitlerations  indispeusably  demand. 

"  JO.  The  acts  of  demeucy  concerinng  the  noted  offenders,  and  the 
]iaril<)Hiiig  of  tlu!  .same,  are  reserved  for  the  Kiny,  (excepting  those  stip- 
nhitctl  in  the  articles  of  Capitulation." 


IL  will  bo  observed  that  these  Instructions  concerning  Ca- 
[litidutiou  are  for  the  Crown  Prince  and  Nelson  ;  not  for  liuffo, 

'  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  492.  The  author  quotes  from  llio  translntion.  The 
I'ligiiiul  is  also  given,  p.  522.  Tlieio  is  more  that  procedus,  and  also  follow- 
in;,'  ;  but  nothing  which  la  the  author's  judgment  impairs  —  but  rather 
coiilirnis  —  the  force  of  the  words  rpioted. 

-  (ii'oige  Hose's  Diaries,  etc.,  vol.  i.  pp.  231-2;5t).  l>otli  the  Ittdian  origi- 
ii:d  i;iid  the  translation  are  there  given.     Tlie  italics  are  tho  author's. 

25 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Ui  U&   II  2.2 


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Sciences 
Corporation 


'^^ 

<^.i«^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  •72-4S03 


'i^ 


^ 


'^ 


386 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


^il 


I'M 


I  ' 


whose  orders  at  that  time  were  not  to  approach  Kaples  until 
the  squadron  appeared,  and  who  had  special  directions,  less 
discretional  than  those  in  these  Instructions,  as  to  terms  to  be 
offered  to  prisoners. 

The  extent  of  the  powers  intrusted  to  Nelson  —  who  him- 
self received  a  copy  of  this  paper  for  his  information  —  are 
clear  from  the  4th  Article.  All  military  operations,  and  all 
political^  were  to  be  agreed  upon  by  him  and  the  Prince  ;  but 
in  case  of  a  difference  arising,  it  was  known  to  the  generals, 
and  to  Nelson,  and  to  Ruffo  (who  also  had,  or  was  to  have, 
his  copy)  —  known  to  each  and  to  all  —  that  the  opinion 
of  Nelson  was  to  preponderate  —  overweigh  the  others.  As 
this  was  to  be  in  political  as  well  as  in  military  matters,  it  is 
difficult  to  see  what  more  is  wanted  to  constitute  the  full 
powers  which  Nelson  claimed  to  possess. 

Further,  it  has  been  questioned  whether  he  held  power  to 
supersede  Ruffo ;  but  from  Article  7  it  is  clear  that  Ruffo  Avas 
already  superseded  as  Vicar-General,  ?/>so  faoto,  by  the  mere 
coming  of  the  Crown  Prince  and  Nelson.  For,  after  a  certain 
further  time  should  have  elapsed,  —  ''when  Naples  shall  be 
entirely  subdued,"  — "  the  Vicar-General  shall  take  posses- 
sion of  the  entire  government  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  this 
intent  will  receive  from  the  Prince  Royal  the  King's  new 
ratification,"  etc.  The  ample  vice-regal  powers  conferred 
upon  the  Cardinal  by  the  King's  instructions  to  him  of 
January  25th  were  superseded  by  those  to  the  Crown  Prince 
and  Nelson,  of  whose  coming  and  its  object,  it  is  stated  in 
Article  2,  advices  were  despatched  to  him ;  for  his  commission 
was  to  be  ratified  anew  when  the  object  of  Nelson's  coming 
was  accomplished  by  the  subjugation  of  the  city  or  kingdom 
—  to  Avhichever  of  these  the  name  Naples  is  meant  to  apply. 
This  view  of  the  matter  is  confirmed  by  the  King's  subsequent 
full  approval  of  Nelson's  action.  Sacchinelli  states  that  Ruffo 
received  at  Avellino,  by  June  10,^  an  autograph  letter  from  the 
King,  notifying  him  of  the  intended  expedition,  and  forbidding 


I 


1.1 


^  Either  this  date  is  a  mistake,  or  the  King  wrote  to  Ruffo  some  days  lie- 
fore  the  instructions  to  tlie  Crown  Prince  were  issued,  which  is  possible. 
Nelson,  on  the  evening  of  June  6,  wrote  to  St.  Vincent,  "  It  is  not  yet  decided, 
but  it  is  j)rol)able  tliat  in  forty-eight  hours  we  may  sail  for  the  Bay  of  Naples, 
in  order  to  replace  His  Sicilian  Majesty  on  his  throne."    (Nicolas,  vii.  clxxxiv.) 


.      f:i 


NELSON'S  POWERS  AT  NAPLES 


887 


s  new 

nf erred 

iin   of 

Prince 

ited  in 

nission 

coming 

ngdom 

apply, 
equent 
t  lluffo 
lom  the 

idding 

Inlays  Vie- 

possiblo. 

fdeculeJ, 

Naples, 

llxxxiv.) 


hitn  to  advance  on  Naples  before  the  arrival  of  the  fleetc 
This  order  Ruffo  disobeyed ;  he  claimed,  necessarily. 

When  Nelson  came  to  Palermo  on  June  21st,  and  remained 
two  or  three  hours,  it  was  not  needful  to  invest  him  with  new 
or  ampler  powers.  The  absence  of  any  new  credentials  at 
that  time  is  more  than  overborne  by  the  absence  of  any  revo- 
cation of  the  former  instrument.  The  preponderance  he  had 
over  all  others,  even  to  the  Crown  Prince,  was  not  lessened  by 
the  absence  of  the  latter,  to  whatever  due.  But,  though 
nothing  formal  and  written  is  on  record,  Ave  have,  concerning 
his  powers  over  Ruffo,  incidental  confirmation  of  a  kind  usu- 
ally accepted  as  authoritative.  Sir  William  Hamilton,  in  an 
official  despatch  of  July  14  to  tlie  British  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  says:  *■' Their  Sicilian  Majesties  having  received 
alarming  accounts  from  Naples,  that  the  Calabrese  Army  upon 
their  entry  into  Naples  was  plundering  the  houses  of  that 
city,  and  setting  them  on  fire  under  the  pretence  of  their 
belonging  to  Jacobins,  and  that  Cardinal  Buffo,  elated  with 
his  unexpected  successes,  was  taking  upon  himself  a  power  far 
beyond  the  positive  instructions  of  his  Sovereign,  and  actually 
treating  with  His  Sicilian  Majesty's  subjects  in  arms,  and  in 
open  rebellion  against  him,  earnestly  entreated  Lord  Nelson 
that  he  would  go  immediately  with  his  Majesty's  whole 
squadron  to  Naples,  o7id ^jr event  if  2)ossihle  the  Cardinal  from 
taking  any  stej)s,  or  coming  to  any  terms  with  the  Rebels,  that 
might  be  dishonourable  to  their  Sicilian  Majesties,  and  hurtful 
to  their  future  government,"  etc.  As  towards  Buffo,  such  were 
clearly  full  powers ;  and  although  Hamilton's  despatch  cer- 
tainly contains  errors  of  fact,  in  important  details,  a  general 
statement  such  as  the  above  is  entitled  to  credence,  unless  his 
general  credibility  is  successfully  impeached.  The  probability 
of  the  statement  being  substantially  correct  is  increased  by  the 
fact  that,  in  writing  privately  to  his  nephew,  Charles  Greville, 
the  same  day  (July  14),  he  summarizes  the  conditions  by 
saying  shortly,  "  We  had  full  powers."  ^  These  four  words 
have  been  called  an  inaccurate  summary  ;  but  are  they  so,  of 
the  words  above  italicized  ? 

Hamilton's  words  are  here  offered  simply  as  corroborative  — 
if  no  greater  weight  of  proof  be  assigned  to  them  —  that  the 

*  The  Nelson-Hainiltoii  Letters,  Alfred  Aforrisou  Collection,  No.  405. 


^   i 


- 1 


\  :t 


ii 


388 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


SSi 


force  of  the  Instructions  given  to  the  Neapolitan  generals,  and 
communicated  to  Ruffo  and  Nelson,  was  not  diminished,  but 
rather  confirmed,  in  the  interview  of  the  21st.  Although 
formal  record  of  the  latter  has  not  been  preserved,  its'  char- 
acter may  be  inferred  from  letters  of  the  King  and  Queen  to 
Ruffo  in  the  same  week.  The  Queen,  writing  on  the  21st 
itself,  says :  "  I  realise  how  much  all  the  horrors,  which  Your 
Eminence  mentions  at  large  in  your  letter  of  the  17th  to  tlie 
King,  must  afflict  you.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  have  done  all 
we  can  in  the  matter  of  clemency  to  such  rebels,  and  that  to 
treat  with  them  further  would  be  useless,  and  would  lower  us. 
Negotiations  might  be  had  with  St.  Elmo,  which  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  French ;  but  the  other  two,  if  they  do  not  sur- 
render immediately  and  without  conditions,  to  the  summons 
of  Admiral  Nelson  "  (whose  coming  she  had  already  men- 
tioned), "are  to  be  taken  by  main  force  and  treated  as  they 
deserve."  ^  The  King,  writing  on  the  17th,  tells  the  Cardinal 
he  is  sure  it  is  needless  to  repeat  what  has  already  been  said 
with  reference  to  the  treatment  of  the  Jacobin  rebels,  espe- 
cially the  chiefs.  "Nevertheless,  I  recommend  you  strongly 
to  do  nothing  unbecoming  to  that  dignity,  which  it  is  so 
necessary  to  sustain,  or  to  your,  and  my,  honor  and  reputation. 
As  a  Christian,  I  forgive  all ;  but  in  the  station  in  which  God 
has  placed  me,  I  must  be  the  rigorous  avenger  of  offences  done 
to  Him,  and  of  the  injury  occasioned  to  the  state  and  to  so 
many  poor  unfortunates."  ^  The  views  of  the  Government  as 
to  the  course  which  Nelson  was  expected  and  requested  to 
pursue  are  clear  from  these  extracts  and  references,  thougli 
his  powers  were  not  thereby  created.  This  cumulative  evi- 
dence is  very  strong ;  to  the  present  writer  it  is  demonstra- 


Mi 


1  Arch.  Stor.  per  le  Prov.  Nap.,  1880,  p.  57C.  Dumas,  I  Borboni  di 
Napoli,  vol.  iv.  p.  77. 

■■*  Dumas,  I  Borboni  di  Napoli,  vol.  v.  p.  253.  The  King,  on  May  1,  1799 
(Dumas,  vol.  v.  p.  239),  had  written  Ruffo  a  letter,  classifying  the  Rebels  wlio 
were  excepted  from  a  policy  of  amnesty,  then  decidd.  Nelson  (Nicolas,  vol. 
iii.  p.  341)  alludes  to  this,  as  published.  Ruffo,  in  his  dispute  with  Nelson,  on 
board  the  "  Foudroyant,"  alleged  in  defence  of  the  Capitulation  an  order  from 
the  King,  to  do  the  best  he  could  for  his  Majesty's  service.  To  this  Actoii 
replied  that  such  a  verbal  order,  if  given,  was  countermanded  by  the  speciiil 
written  orders,  above  mentioned  (Egerton  MSS.  Br.  Mus.  ^/g"  ).  There  were 
very  many  of  the  excepted  in  the  Castles. 


!'    i 

!\i| 


•als,  and 
led,  but 
Ithougli 
ts"  chav- 
Jueeu  to 
she  21st 
3h  Youi 
1  to  the 
done  all 

that  to 
ower  us. 
3  in  the 
not  sur- 
ummous 
dy  nien- 

as  they 

Cardinal 

leen  said 

els,  espe- 

stvongly 

it  is   so 

putation. 

lich  God 

ces  done 

nd  to  so 

iment  as 

tested  to 

though 

live  evi- 

monstra- 

Joiboni  ili 

ay  1,171*9 
ebels  wlio 
colas,  vol. 
Nelson,  on 
order  tVoin 
this  Actdu 
the  spiM'iul 
here  were 


NELSON'S   POWERS   AT  NAPLES 


389 


tive.  To  its  positive  weight,  also,  is  opposed  only  the  negative 
argument  that  nothing  more  precise  —  more  like  a  formal 
commission — has  been  preserved. 

To  these  various  written  evidences,  which  remain  on  record, 
by  persons  entirely  foreign  to  Nelson's  particular  interest  in 
the  transactions  —  Avhich  have  been  so  colored  as  to  touch  his 
reputation  and  his  integrity  —  is  to  be  added  his  own  state- 
ment, written  less  than  a  year  later  to  his  friend  Davison,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  shown  to  members  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, or  evgn  to  be  published  in  the  papers,  if  advisable  :  ^ 
"As  the  whole  affairs  of  the  Kingdom  of  Naples  were  at  the 
time  alluded  to  absolutely  placed  in  my  hands,  it  is  f  who  am 
called  upon  to  explain  my  conduct,  and  therefore  send  you  my 
observations  on  the  infamous  Armistice  entered  into  by  the 
Cardinal,"  etc.  Concerning  the  substantial  exactness  of  this 
statement,  opinion  will  be  formed  upon  the  corroborative  evi- 
dence before  adduced,  and  upon  Nelson's  own  claim  to  be 
believed,  as  affected  by  his  record  for  truthfulness,  by  his  age 
and  intelligence,  and  generally  by  his  competency  to  remem- 
ber and  to  report  correctly  a  transaction  then  less  than  a  year 
old. 

It  was  in  virtue  of  the  same  unlimited  powers  as  represent- 
ative of  the  King,  that  Nelson,  three  days  after  the  surrender 
of  the  castles,  proceeded  to  take  peremptory  action  in  the  case 
of  Caracciolo.  In  the  mean  time,  in  pursuance  of  the  agree- 
ments with  Euffo,  additional  marines  were  landed  from  the 
fleet  under  the  command  of  Troubridge,  to  besiege  St.  Elmo, 
an  undertaking  in  which  the  five  hundred  Russians  and  some 
royalists  also  took  part. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  Commodore  Francesco  Caracciolo, 
lately  head  of  the  Republican  Navy,  was  brought  on  board 
the  "  Foudroyant,"  having  been  captured  in  the  country,  in 
disguise.  This  man  had  accompanied  the  royal  family  in 
their  flight  to  Palermo ;  but  after  arrival  there  had  obtained 
leave  to  return  to  Naples,  in  order  to  avert  the  confiscation 
of  his  property  by  the  Republican  government.  He  sub- 
sequently joined  the  Republicans,  or  Jacobins,  as  they  were 

^  (P.  S.)  "  Show  these  papers  to  Mr.  Rose,  or  some  other,  and,  if  thought 
riglit,  you  will  put  them  in  the  papers."  Nelson  to  Davison,  May,  1800. 
Nicolas,  vol.  iv.  p.  232. 


I:    <! 


il 


!!;■( 


i       i     : 


;i  i\ 


:    I 


•■; 


m 


i 


u 


\\ 


1. 1 1 


:  ; 

H 

) 

' 

^11 

300 


TIIK   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


called  by  Nelson  and  the  Court.  His  reasons  for  so  doing 
are  immaterial ;  tliey  were  doubtless  perfectly  sound  from 
the  point  of  view  of  apparent  self-interest ;  the  substantial 
fact  remains  that  he  commanded  the  insurgent  vessels  in 
action  with  the  British  and  Iloyal  Neapolitan  navies,  firing 
impartially  upon  both.  In  one  of  these  engagements  the  Nea- 
politan frigate  "  Minerva "  Avas  struck  several  times,  losing 
two  men  killed  and  four  wounded.  Caracciolo,  therefore, 
had  fully  committed  himself  to  armed  insurrection,  in  com- 
pany with  foreign  invaders,  against  what  had  hitherto  been, 
and  still  (;laimed  to  be,  the  lawful  government  of  the  country. 
He  had  afterwards,  as  the  Kepublican  cause  declined,  taken 
refuge  with  the  other  insurgents  in  the  castles.  When  he 
left  them  is  uncertain,  but  on  the  23d  of  June  he  is  known  to 
have  been  outside  of  Naples,  and  so  remained  till  captured. 

It  is  not  easy  to  understand  in  what  respect  his  case  dif- 
fered from  that  of  other  rebels  who  surrendered  uncondi- 
tionally, and  whom  Nelson  did  not  try  himself,  but  simply 
placed  in  safe  keeping  until  the  King's  instructions  should 
be  received,  except  that,  as  a  naval  officer,  he  was  liable  to 
trial  by  court-mai'tial,  even  though  martial  law  had  not  been 
proclaimed.  It  was  to  such  a  tribunal  that  Nelson  decided 
instantly  to  bring  him.  A  court-martial  of  Neapolitan  ofticers 
was  immediately  ordered  to  convene  on  board  the  "  Fou- 
droyant,"  the  precept  for  the  Court  being  sent  to  Count 
Thurn,  captain  of  the  "  Minerva,"  who,  because  senior  officer 
in  the  bay,  was  indicated  by  custom  as  the  proper  president. 
The  charges,  as  worded  by  Nelson,  were  two  in  number, 
tersely  and  clearly  stated.  "  Francisco  Caracciolo,  a  commo- 
dore in  the  service  of  His  Sicilian  Majesty,  stands  accused 
of  rebellion  against  his  lawful  sovereign,  and  for  firing  at  his 
colours  hoisted  on  board  his  Frigate,  the  Minerva."  The 
court  assembled  at  once,  sitting  from  10  a.  m.  to  noon.  The 
charges  being  found  proved,  sentence  of  death  was  pro- 
nounced ;  and  Caracciolo,  who  had  been  brought  on  board  at 
9  A.  M.,  was  at  5  p.m.,  by  Nelson's  orders,  hanged  at  the  fore- 
yard-arm  of  the  "  Minerva."  He  was  forty-seven  years  old 
at  the  time  of  his  death. 

The  proceedings  of  the  court-martial  were  open,  but  the 
record,  if  any  was  drawn  up,  has  not  been  preserved.     It  is 


losijig 


THE  EXECUTION  OF  CAliACCIOLO 


801 


impoRsible,  therefore,  now  to  say  whether  the  evidence  sus- 
tained the  charges ;  but  the  acts  alleged  wore  so  simple  and 
so  notorious,  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  Caracciolo  had 
fairly  incurred  his  fate.  Even  in  our  milder  age,  no  officer 
of  an  army  or  navy  would  expect  to  escape  the  like  punish- 
ment for  the  same  offence;  if  he  did,  it  would  be  because 
mercy  prevailed  over  justice.  As  regards  the  technicalities 
of  the  procedure,  it  would  seem  probable  that  Nelson's  full 
powers,  especially  when  committed  to  a  military  man,  included 
by  fair  inference,  if  not  expressly,  the  right  of  ordering 
courts-martial ;  whereas  he  had  not  at  hand  the  machinery  of 
judges  and  civil  courts,  for  proceeding  against  the  civilians 
who  had  joined  in  the  insurrection.  Despite  his  fearlessness 
of  responsibility,  he  was  always  careful  not  to  overpass  the 
legal  limits  of  his  authority,  except  when  able  to  justify  his 
action  by  what  at  least  appeared  to  himself  adequate  reasons. 
The  Portuguese  squadron,  for  instance,  was  absolutely  under 
his  orders,  so  far  as  its  movements  went ;  but,  when  a  case 
of  flagrant  misconduct  occurred,  he  confined  himself  to  re- 
gretting that  he  had  not  power  to  order  a  court.  Anomalous 
as  his  position  -was  in  the  Bay  of  Naples,  before  the  arrival 
of  the  King,  and  regrettably  uncertain  as  is  the  commission 
under  which  he  acted,  there  is  no  ground  for  doubting  that 
he  had  authority  to  order  a  court-martial,  and  to  carry 
its  sentence  into  execution,  nor  that  Caracciolo  came  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  a  court-martial  properly  constituted.  Hav- 
ing regard,  therefore,  to  the  unsettled  conditions  of  things 
prevailing,  no  fatal  irregularity  can  be  shown  either  in  the 
trial  or  execution  of  this  prisoner. 

But,  while  all  this  is  true,  the  instinctive  aversion  with 
which  this  act  of  Nelson's  has  been  regarded  generally  is 
well  founded.  It  was  not  decent,  for  it  was  not  necessary, 
that  capture  should  be  followed  so  rapidly  by  trial,  and  con- 
demnation by  execution.  Neither  time  nor  circumstances 
pressed.  The  insurrection  was  over.  Except  the  siege  of 
St.  Elmo,  hostilities  near  Naples  were  at  an  end.  That 
Caracciolo's  judges  were  naval  officers  who  had  recently  been 
in  action  with  him  would  be,  with  average  military  men, 
rather  in  the  prisoner's  favor  than  otherwise ;  but  it  was 
very  far  from  being  in  his  favor  that  <^hey  were  men  in  whom 


.-."'I 


ii  1.  ■' 


•;    V    !  i 


I  ■; 


1  \  * 


,  .1 


^lil 


!<■■  • 


!;"i 


II  I 


802 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


'  rd 


'/!  ■■ 


'I 


11) 


the  angry  passions  engendered  hy  civil  warfare,  and  licentious 
spoliation,  had  not  yet  had  time  to  cool.  Neither  the  judges 
nor  the  revising  power  allowed  themselves  space  for  reflec- 
tion. Nelson  himself  failed  to  sustain  the  dispassionate  and 
magnanimous  attitude  that  befitted  the  admiral  of  a  great 
squadron,  so  placed  as  to  have  the  happy  chance  to  moderate 
the  excesses  which  commonly  follow  the  triumph  of  parties 
in  intestine  strife.  But,  however  he  then  or  afterwards  may 
have  justified  his  course  to  his  own  conscience,  his  great 
offence  was  against  his  own  people.  To  his  secondary  and 
factitious  position  of  delegate  from  the  King  of  Naples,  he 
virtually  sacrificed  the  consideration  due  to  his  inalienable 
character  of  representative  of  the  King  and  State  of  Great 
Britain.  He  should  have  remembered  that  the  act  would 
appear  to  the  world,  not  as  that  of  the  Neapolitan  plenipoten- 
tiary, but  of  the  British  officer,  and  that  his  nation,  while 
liable  like  others  to  bursts  of  unreasoning  savagery,  in  its 
normal  moods  delights  to  see  justice  clothed  in  orderly  forms, 
unstained  by  precipitation  or  suspicion  of  perversion,  advanc- 
ing to  its  ends  with  the  majesty  of  law,  without  unseemly 
haste,  providing  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men.  That 
he  did  not  do  so,  when  he  could  have  done  so,  has  been  intui- 
tively felt ;  and  to  the  instinctive  resentment  thus  aroused 
among  his  countrymen  has  been  due  the  facility  with  which 
the  worst  has  been  too  easily  believed. 

Commander  Jeaffreson  Miles  of  the  British  Navy,  writing 
in  1843,  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  to  clear 
effectually  Nelson's  reputation  from  the  stigma  of  treachery, 
and  of  submission  to  unworthy  influences,  at  this  time.  He 
has  sought  also  to  vindicate  his  hasty  action  in  Caracciolo's 
case,  by  citing  the  swift  execiition  of  two  seamen  by  Lord  St. 
Vincent,  at  a  time  when  mutiny  was  threatening.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that,  for  deterrent  effect,  punishment  at  times  must 
be  sudden  as  well  as  sharp  ;  but  the  justification  in  each  case 
rests  upon  attendant  circumstances.  In  the  instances  here 
compared,  we  have  in  the  one  a  fleet  in  which  many  ships 
were  seething  Avith  mutiny,  and  the  preservation  of  order 
rested  solely  upon  the  firmness  of  one  man,  —  the  commander- 
in-chief, —  and  upon  the  awe  inspired  by  him.  In  the  other, 
we  see  rebellion  subdued,  the  chief  rebels  in  confinement,  the 


THE  EXECUTION  OF  CARACCIOLO 


303 


foreign  enemy,  except  three  small  isolated  garrisons,  expelled 
beyond  the  borders  of  the  kingdom  six  weeks  before,  and  a 
great  British  fleet  in  possession  of  the  anchorage.  Punish- 
ment in  such  case,  however  just,  is  not  deterrent,  but  aveng- 
ing. True,  Nelson  was  expecting  the  appearance  of  Bruix's 
fleet  ;  but  he  himself  characterized  as  "  infamous  "  the  capit- 
ulation granted  by  lluffo  and  Foote,  to  which  they  were 
largely  moved  by  the  same  expectation,  when  wielding  a 
much  smaller  force  than  he  did.  The  possible  approach  of 
the  French  fleet  did  not  necessitate  the  hasty  execution  of  a 
prisoner. 

That  Kelson  yielded  his  convictions  of  right  and  wrong, 
and  consciously  abused  his  power,  at  the  solicitation  of  Lady 
Hamilton,  as  has  been  so  freely  alleged,  is  not  probably  true, 
—  there  is  no  proof  of  it ;  on  the  contrary,  as  though  to  guard 
against  such  suspicion,  he  was  careful  to  see  none  but  his 
own  officers  during  Caracciolo's  confinement.  But  it  is  true 
that  he  was  saturated  with  the  prevalent  Court  feeling  against 
the  insurgents  and  the  French,  which  found  frequent  expres- 
sion in  his  letters.  After  living  in  the  llamiltons'  house  for 
four  months,  during  which,  to  use  his  own  expression,  "  I 
have  never  but  three  times  jxit  my  foot  to  the  ground,  since 
December,  1798,"  in  daily  close  contact  with  the  woman  who 
had  won  his  passionate  love,  who  was  the  ardent  personal 
friend  of  the  Queen,  sharing  her  antipathies,  and  expressing 
her  hatred  of  enemies  in  terms  which  showed  the  coarseness 
of  her  fibre,^  Nelson  was  steeped  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 

^  Mr.  Pryse  Locklmrt  Gordon,  who  was  in  PiiIpitho  in  January,  1799,  tells 
the  following  anecdote  of  Lady  Hamilton.  He  had  been  dining  at  the  ambas- 
sador's, and  after  dinner  a  Turkish  officer  was  introduced.  In  the  course  of 
the  evening  he  boasted  that  he  had  put  to  death  with  his  own  sword  a  number 
of  French  prisoners.  "  '  Look,  there  is  their  blood  remaining  on  it ! '  The 
speech  being  translated,  her  Ladyship's  eye  beamed  with  delight,  and  she 
said,  '  Oil,  let  me  see  the  sword  that  did  the  glorious  deed  ! '  It  was  j)re- 
sented  to  her  ;  she  took  it  into  her  fair  hands,  covered  with  rings,  and,  look- 
ing at  the  encrusted  Jacobin  blood,  kissed  it,  and  handed  it  to  the  hero  of 
the  Nile.  Had  I  not  been  an  eye-witness  to  this  disgraceful  act,  I  would  not 
have  ventured  to  relate  it."  (Gordon's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  210. )  The  author, 
also,  would  not  have  ventured  to  adduce  it,  without  first  satisfying  himself, 
by  inquiry,  as  to  the  probable  credibility  of  Mr.  Gordon,  .and  likewise  testing 
his  narrative.  It  bears  marks  of  the  inaccuracy  in  details  to  which  memory 
is  subject,  but  the  indications  of  general  correctness  are  satisfactory. 


VI  l.J 


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Court  of  Naples,  and  separ.itotl  from  that  of  the  lirilish  fleet, 
none  of  whose  strongest  captains  were  h)nj,'  with  him  duriiij,' 
that  period.  The  attitudo  more  nat\iral  to  men  of  his  blood 
is  shown  in  a  letter  signed  by  the  ofHoers  of  the  "  Leviathan," 
Duckworth's  Hagship.  Coming  from  iSIinorca,  they  were  out 
of  touch  with  Neapolitan  fury,  and  tliey  addressed  Lady 
Hamilton,  interceding  for  a  family  engaged  in  tin;  rebellion; 
a  fa(;t  which  shows  the  ])revailing  impression  —  whether  well 
founded  or  not  —  of  the  iuHuence  in  her  ])o\ver  to  exert. 
*' Wo  all  feel  ourselves  deeply  impressed  with  tlie  horrid 
crime  of  disaffe(;tion  to  one's  lawful  sovercngn,  .  .  .  but  when 
we  consider  the  frailty  of  human  nature,"  iS:c.  "  Advise  those 
Neajjolitans  not  to  be  too  sanguinary,"  wrote  Keith  to  Nelson, 
apparently  immediately  after  receiving  the  news  of  Caracci- 
olo's  lianging. 

The  abrupt  execution  of  (Jaracciolo  was  an  explosion  of 
fiereo  animosity  long  cherished,  pardonable  perhai)s  in  a  Nea- 
politan royalist,  but  not  in  a  foreign  officer  only  indirectly 
interested  in  the  issues  it  stake;  and  hence  it  is  tliat  the  fate 
of  that  one  sufferer  has  roused  more  attention  and  more  sym- 
pathy than  that  of  the  numerous  other  victims,  put  to  death 
by  the  King's  command  after  ordinary  processes  of  law.  It 
stands  conspicuous  as  the  act  of  an  English  officer  imbued 
"svith  the  spirit  of  a  Neapolitan  Bourbon  official.  "Could  it 
ever  happen,"  he  wrote  to  Acton,  some  months  after  this, 
"that  any  English  minister  wanted  to  make  me  an  instrument 
of  hurting  the  feelings  of  His  Sicilian  IMajesty,  1  would  give 
up  my  eoniniission  sooner  than  do  it.  .  .  .1  am  placed  in  such 
a  situation  —  a  subject  of  one  King  by  birth,  and,  as  far  as 
is  consistent  with  my  allegiance  to  that  King,  a  voluntary 
subject  of  His  Sicilian  JNLajesty  — that  if  any  man  attempted 
to  separate  my  two  Kings,  by  all  that  is  sacred,  I  should 
consider  even  putting  that  man  to  death  as  a  meritorious 
act."  ^  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  considered  that  Nelson, 
though  humane,  tended  even  in  his  calmest  moments  to  se- 
verity towards  military  offenders.  Writing  with  reference 
to  a  captain  convicted  of  misbehavior  before  the  enemy,  he 
said,  "  If  a  man  does  not  do  his  utmost  in  time  of  action, 
I  think  but  one  punishment  ought  to  be  inflicted  ; "  and  it 
1  Nelson  to  Acton,  November  18,  1799.     (Nicolas.) 


ACTIVITY      F  LADY   HAMILTON 


30R 


may  be  infi'rred  that  lie  would  have  ;ii)[)r()V('(l  Uyiij^^'s  exe- 
cution,  where  cowar(li(!e  was  not  pnjvetl,  bat  grave  military 
dereliction  was. 

On  the  loth  of  July  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies  arrived 
from  I'alermo  in  the  Way  of  Napl(>s,  and  went  on  board  the 
"  Foudroyant,"  which,  for  the  whole  time  he  remaincul, — 
about  four  weeks, — became  i)ractically  his  seat  of  govern- 
ment. There  the  royal  standard  was  hoisted,  tlna-o  the  King 
held  his  levees,  and  there  business  of  State  was  transacted. 
In  and  through  all  moved  the  figures  of  Sir  William  and  Lady 
l[amilton,  the  latter  considering  herself,  and  not  without 
cause,  the  representative  of  the  Queen.  The  latter  had  re- 
mained in  Palermo,  being  out  of  favor  with  the  Neapolitans, 
and  with  her  husband,  Avho  attributed  to  her  preci])itan(!y  the 
disasters  of  the  i)revious  December.  The  two  women  corre- 
sponded daily  ;  and,  if  the  minister's  wife  deceived  luM-self 
as  to  the  amount  and  importance  of  what  she  effected,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  she  was  very  busy,  that  she  was  commonly 
believed  to  exert  much  influence,  and  tliat  great  admiration 
for  one  another  was  expressed  by  herself,  Hamilton,  and  Nel- 
son, the  "  Tri(f  jimctt'  In  nno,^'  as  the  latter  was  jdeased  to 
style  them.  "  I  never  saw  such  zeal  and  activity  in  any  one 
as  in  this  wonderful  man  [Nelson],"  wrt)te  she  to  (Jreville. 
"]\[y  dearest  Sir  William,  thank  God!  is  well,  and  of  the 
greatest  use  now  to  the  King."  "Emma  has  been  of  infinite 
use  in  our  late  very  critical  business,"  said  iramilton  to  the 
same  correspondent.  "  Ld.  Nelson  and  I  cou'd  not  have  done 
without  her.  It  will  be  a  heart-breaking  to  the  Queen  of 
N.  when  we  go  "  —  back  to  England,  as  was  then  expected. 
'' Sir  William  and  Lady  Hamilton  are,  to  my  great  comfort, 
with  me,"  wrote  Nelson  to  Spencer;  "for  Avithout  them  it 
would  have  been  impossible  I  could  have  rendered  half  the 
service  to  his  Majesty  which  I  have  now  done :  their  heads 
and  their  hearts  are  equally  great  and  good." 

The  execution  of  Caracciolo  was  shortly  followed  by  an- 
other very  singular  incident,  which  showed  Jiow  biasocd  Nel- 
son had  become  towards  the  interests  of  the  Neapolitan  Court, 
and  how  exclusively  he  identified  them  —  confused  them, 
would  scarcely  be  too  strong  a  word  —  with  the  essential 
interests  of  the  Allied  cause  and  tlie  duties  of  the  ]?ritish 


.ii  ■  « 


Mm: 


;  I!  - 


390 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


».':   *1 


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f  il 


Navy.  On  the  Kith  of  July  the  castle  of  St.  Elmo  was  P'lr- 
reiulered  by  the  Frenoli,  the  whole  city  of  Naples  thus  re- 
turning under  the  royal  authority.  On  the  same  day,  or  the 
next,  Troubridge,  with  a  thousand  of  the  best  men  that  could 
be  sent  from  the  squadron,  marched  against  Capua,  accom- 
panied by  four  thousand  troops.  A  letter  had  already  been 
received  from  the  commander-in-chief,  Keith,  to  Nelson,  inti- 
mating that  it  might  be  necessary  to  draw  down  his  vessels 
from  Naples  to  the  defence  of  Minorca.  *'  Should  such  an 
order  come  at  this  moment,"  wrote  Nelson  to  the  First  Lord, 
forecasting  his  probable  disobedience,  "  it  would  be  a  cause 
for  some  consideration  whether  Minorca  is  to  be  risked,  or  the 
two  Kingdoms  of  Naples  and  Sicily  ?  I  rather  think  my  de- 
cision would  be  to  risk  the  former;  "  and  he  started  Troubridge 
off  with  a  detachment  that  seriously  crippled  the  squadron. 
Capua  is  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  inland  from  Naples. 

On  the  10th  — it  is  to  be  presumed  after  closing  his  letter 
to  Spencer  just  quoted  —  an  order  reached  him  from  Keith, 
in  these  words  :  "  Events  which  have  recently  occurred  render 
it  necessary  that  as  great  a  force  as  can  be  collected  should  be 
assembled  near  the  island  of  Minorca;  therefore,  if  your  Lord- 
ship has  no  detachment  of  the  French  squadron  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Sicily,  nor  information  of  their  having  sent  any 
force  towards  Egyi)t  or  Syria,  you  are  hereby  required  and 
directed  to  send  such  ships  as  you  can  possibly  spare  off  the 
island  of  Minorca  to  wait  my  orders."  The  wording  was  so 
elastic,  as  regards  the  numbers  to  be  sent,  as  to  leave  much  to 
Nelson's  judgment,  and  he  replied  guardedly  the  same  day  : 
"  As  soon  as  the  safety  of  His  Sicilian  Majesty's  Kingdoms 
is  secured,  I  shall  not  lose  one  moment  in  making  the  de- 
tachment you  are  pleased  to  order.  At  present,  under  God's 
Providence,  the  safety  of  His  Sicilian  Majesty,  and  his  speedy 
restoration  to  his  kingdom,  depends  on  this  fleet,  and  the  con- 
fidence inspired  even  by  the  appearance  of  our  ships  before 
the  city  is  beyond  all  belief;  and  I  have  no  scruple  in  declar- 
ing my  opinion  that  should  any  event  draw  us  from  the  king- 
dom, that  if  the  French  remain  in  any  part  of  it,  disturbances 
will  again  arise,  for  all  order  having  been  completely  over- 
turned, it  must  take  a  thorough  cleansing,  and  some  little 
time,  to  restore  tranquillity." 


^illl 


III  ; 


RKFrSES  TO  OBKY  KEITH'S  OHDKIl 


Wl 


Wl'eti  Keith  wroto  this  first  order,  .luiio  L'7,  lie  was  at  sea 
some.vlieie  between  Alinorca  ami  Toulon,  trying  to  find  l?ruix's 
fleet,  of  which  he  had  lost  touch  tlireo  weeks  before,  at  the 
time  ho  sent  to  Nelson  the  two  seventy-fours,  whose  arrival 
caused  the  latter's  second  cruise  of  jNIaritinio.  lie  had  lost 
touch  through  a  false  step,  the  discussion  of  which  has  no 
place  in  a  life  of  Nelson,  beyond  the  remark  that  it  was 
Keith's  own  error,  not  that  of  Lord  St.  Vincent,  as  Nelson 
afterwards  mistakenly  alleged;  querulously  justifying  his 
own  disobedience  on  the  ground  that  Keith,  by  obeying 
against  his  judgment,  had  lost  the  French  fleet.  What  is  to 
be  specially  noted  in  the  order  is  that  Keith  gave  no  account 
of  his  reasons,  nor  of  the  events  which  dictated  them,  nor  of 
his  own  intended  action.  No  room  is  afforded  by  his  words 
for  any  discretion,  except  as  to  the  number  of  ships  to  be  sent 
by  Nelson,  and,  though  the  language  of  the  latter  was  evasive, 
the  failure  to  move  even  a  single  vessel  was  an  ac^t  of  unjusti- 
fiable disobedience.  To  Keith  he  wrote  privately,  and  in  a 
conciliatory  spirit,  but  nothing  that  made  his  act  less  flagrant. 
"  To  all  your  wishes,  depend  on  it,  I  shall  pay  the  very 
strictest  attention." 

Conscious  of  the  dangerous  step  he  was  taking.  Nelson  wrote 
on  the  same  day,  by  private  letter,^  to  the  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty.  "  You  will  easily  conceive  my  feelings,"  he  said, 
"  but  my  mind,  your  Lordship  will  know,  was  perfectly  pre- 
pared for  this  order ;  and  more  than  ever  is  my  mind  made 

*  Much  confusion  has  been  introduced  into  the  times,  when  Keith's  several 
orders  were  received  by  Nelson,  by  the  fact  that  the  original  of  this  private 
letter  to  Earl  Spencer  is  dated  the  19th  (Nicolas,  vol.  vii.  p.  clxxxv) ;  while 
the  secretary,  copying  it  into  the  letter-book,  wrote  July  13tli.  (Nicolas,  vol. 
iii.  p.  408.)  Nicolas  considered  the  former  correct,  probably  because  it  camo 
last  into  his  hands.  The  author  considers  the  13th  correct,  because  the 
official  letter  to  Keith  bears  that  date,  and  reads,  "  I  have  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  your  Lordship's  letter  of  June  27."     (Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  408.) 

The  date  of  Troubridge's  marching  against  Capua  is  similarly  brought  into 
doubt  by  these  letters.  The  author  believes  it  to  have  been  July  13  or  14, 
from  another  official  letter  to  Keith  of  the  13th.  (Nicolas,  vol.  iii,  p.  404.) 
•'  Captains  Troubridge  and  Hallowell  .  .  .  march  against  Capua  to-morrow 
morning."  The  odd  Sea-Time  of  that  day,  by  which  July  13  began  at  noon, 
July  12,  of  Civil  Time,  also  causes  confusion  ;  writers  using  them  indiscrimi- 
natingly.  The  capitulation  of  St.  Elmo  was  certainly  signed  ou  July  12. 
(Clarke  and  M'Arthur,  vol.  ii.  p.  294.) 


I 


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'  1     '      1 


3<.»8 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


lip,  that,  at  this  moment,  I  will  not  part  Avith  a  single  ship, 
as  I  cannot  do  that  without  drawing  a  hundred  and  twenty 
men  from  each  ship  now  at  the  siege  of  Capua,  where  an  army 
is  gone  this  day.  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  act  I  have  com- 
mitted ;  but,  sensible  of  my  loyal  intentions,  I  am  prepared 
for  any  fate  which  may  await  my  disobedience,  Do  not  think 
that  my  opinion  is  formed  from  the  arrangements  of  any  one," 
an  expression  which  shows  tliat  he  was  aware  how  talk  was 
running.  "  JVo  ;  be  it  good,  or  be  it  bad,  it  is  all  my  own.  It 
is  natural  I  should  wish  the  decision  of  the  Admiralty  and  my 
Commander-in-chief  as  speedily  as  possible.  To  obtain  the 
former,  I  beg  your  Lordship's  interest  with  the  Board.  You 
know  me  enough,  my  dear  Lord,  to  be  convinced  I  want  no 
screen  to  my  conduct." 

On  the  9th  of  July,  Keith  wrote  again,  from  Port  IVfahon,  a 
letter  which  Nelson  received  on  the  19th.  He  said  that  he 
was  satisfied  that  the  enemy's  intentions  Avere  directed  neither 
against  the  Two  Sicilies,  nor  to  the  reinforcement  of  their 
army  in  Egypt;  that,  on  the  contrary,  there  was  reason  to 
believe  they  were  bound  out  of  the  Straits.  "  I  judge  it 
necessary  that  all,  or  tlie  greatest  p.irt  of  the  force  under  your 
Lordship's  orders,  should  quit  the  Island  of  Sicily,  and  repair 
to  Minorca,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  that  Island  during 
the  necessary  absence  of  His  Majesty's  sq\iadron  under  my 
command,  or  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  with  me  against 
the  combined  force  of  the  enemy,  wherever  it  may  be  neces- 
sary." The  commander-in-chief,  in  short,  wished  to  mass  his 
forces,  for  the  necessities  of  the  general  campaign,  as  he  con- 
sidered them.  Nelson  now  flatly  refused  obedience,  on  the 
ground  of  the  local  requirements  in  his  part  of  the  field. 
*'  Your  Lordship,  at  the  time  of  sending  me  the  order,  was 
not  informed  of  the  change  of  affairs  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Naples,  and  that  all  our  marines  u,nd  a  body  of  seamen  are 
landed,  in  order  to  drive  the  French  scoundrels  out  of  the 
Kingdom,  which,  with  God's  blessing  will  very  soon  be 
effected,  when  a  part  of  this  squadron  shall  be  immediately 
sent  Co  Minorca ;  but  unless  the  French  are  at  least  drove 
from  Capua,  I  think  it  right  not  to  obey  your  Lordship's  order 
for  sending  down  any  part  of  the  squadron  under  my  orders. 
I  am  perfectly  aware  of  the  consequences  of  disobeying  the 


REFUSES  TO 


KEITH'S  ORDER 


399 


orders  of  my  commander-in-chief."  It  cannot  be  said  that  the 
offensiveness  of  the  act  of  disobedience  is  tempered  by  any 
very  conciliatory  tone  in  the  words  used.  The  reason  for 
disobedience  makes  matters  rather  worse.  "  As  I  believe  the 
safety  of  the  Kingdom  of  Naples  depends  at  tlie  present 
moment  on  my  detaining  the  squadron,  I  have  no  scruple  in 
deciding  that  it  is  better  to  save  the  Kingdom  of  Naples  and 
risk  Minorca,  than  to  risk  the  Kingdom  of  Naples  to  save 
]\[inorca."  When  he  tlius  wrote,  Nelson  knew  that  Bruix  had 
joined  the  Spanish  fleet  in  Cartagena,  making  a  combined 
force  of  forty  ships,  to  which  Keith,  after  stripping  Minorca, 
could  oppose  thirty-one. 

None  of  Nelson's  letters  reached  Keith  until  long  after  he 
had  left  the  Mediterranean,  whicl»  probably  prevented  the 
matter  being  brought  to  a  direct  issue  between  tlie  two,  such 
as  would  have  compelled  the  Admiralty  to  take  some  deci- 
sive action.  On  the  10th  of  July  the  commander-in-chief 
sailed  from  Port  Mahon  for  Cartagena,  following  on  the  tracks 
of  the  allied  fleets,  which  he  pursued  into  the  Atlantic  and 
to  Brest,  where  they  succeeded  in  entering  on  the  13th  of 
August,  just  twenty-four  hours  before  the  British  came  up. 
The  narrow  margin  of  this  escape  inevitably  suggests  the 
thought,  of  how  much  consequence  might  have  been  the  co- 
operation of  the  dozen  ships  Nelson  could  have  brought.  It 
is  true,  certainly,  as  matters  turned  out,  that  even  had  he 
obe;/ed,  they  could  not  have  accompanied  Keith,  nor  in  the 
eve)  .t  did  any  harm  come  to  IMinorca ;  but  there  was  no 
knr  ledge  in  Nelson's  possession  that  made  an  encounter 
be'  .'  een  the  two  great  fleets  impossible,  nor  was  it  till  three 
days  after  his  former  refusal  to  obey,  that  he  knew  certainly 
that  Keith  had  given  up  all  expectation  of  a  junction  with 
himself.  Then,  on  the  22d  of  July,  he  received  two  letters 
dated  the  14th,  and  couched  in  tones  so  peremptory  as  to  sug- 
gest a  suspicion  that  no  milder  words  Avould  enforce  obedi- 
ence —  that  his  commander-in-chief  feared  that  nothing  short 
of  cast-iron  orders  woul-1  drag  him  away  from  the  Neapolitan 
Court.  **  Your  Lordship  is  hereby  required  and  directed  to 
repair  to  Minorca,  with  the  whole,  or  the  greater  part,  of  the 
force  under  your  Lordship's  command,  for  the  protection  of 
that  island,  as  I  shall,  in  all  probability,  have  left  the  Mediter- 


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Lifc»- 


400 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


^•r 


•■ii' 


■ 


ranean  before  your  Lordship  will  receive  this.  Keith."  The 
second  letter  of  the  same  date  ended  with  the  words :  "  I 
therefore  trust  the  defence  of  Minorca  to  your  Lor  Jship,  and 
repeat  my  directions  that  the  ships  be  sent  for  its  protection." 
On  the  receipt  of  these,  though  Capua  had  not  yet  surren- 
dered, Nelson  at  once  sent  Duckworth  with  four  ships-of-the- 
line  to  Minorca,  detaining  only  their  marines  for  the  land 
operations. 

It  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that,  while  an  officer  in 
subordinate  command  should  have  the  moral  courage  to  tran- 
scend or  override  his  orders  in  particular  instances  —  each  of 
which  rests  upon  its  own  merits,  and  not  upon  any  general 
rule  that  can  be  formulated  —  it  would  be  impossible  for  mili- 
tary operations  to  be  carried  on  at  all,  if  the  commander-in- 
chief  were  liable  to  be  deliberately  defied  and  thwarted  in  his 
combinations,  as  Keith  was  in  this  case.  It  does  not  appear 
that  Nelson  Jcnew  the  circumstances  which  Keith  was  con- 
sidering ;  he  only  knew  what  the  conditions  were  about  Naples, 
and  he  thought  that  the  settlement  of  the  kingdom  might  be 
prevented  by  the  departure  of  several  of  his  ships.  In  this 
opinion,  in  the  author's  judgment,  his  views  were  exaggerated, 
and  colored  by  the  absorbing  interest  he  had  come  to  take  in 
the  royal  family  and  their  fortunes,  linked  as  these  were  witli 
the  affections  of  a  particular  woman ;  but,  even  granting  that 
his  apprehensions  were  well  founded,  he  was  taking  upon  him- 
self to  determine,  not  merely  what  was  best  for  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Two  Sicilies,  but  what  was  best  for  the  whole  Mediterranean 
command.  It  was  not  within  his  province  to  decide  whether 
Minorca  or  Naples  was  the  more  important.  That  was  the 
function  of  the  commander-in-chief.  Had  the  latter,  while 
leaving  Nelson's  force  unchanged,  directed  him  to  follow  a 
particular  line  of  operations  in  the  district  committed  to  him, 
it  is  conceivable  that  circumstances,  unknown  to  his  superior, 
might  have  justified  him  in  choosing  another;  but  there  was 
nothing  in  the  conditions  that  authorized  his  assumption  that 
he  could  decide  for  the  whole  command.  And  this  is  not  the 
less  true,  because  Nelson  was  in  the  general  a  man  of  far 
sounder  judgment  and  keener  insight  than  Keith,  or  because 
his  intuitions  in  the  particular  instance  were  more  accurate, 
as  they  possibly  were.    He  defended  his  course  on  the  ground, 


REFUSES  TO  OBEY  KEITH'S  ORDER 


401 


SO  frequently  and  so  erroneously  taken,  that  his  intentions 
were  right.  "  I  am  so  confident,"  he  wrote  to  the  Admiralty, 
"  of  the  uprightness  of  my  intentions  for  his  Majesty's  service, 
and  for  that  of  his  Sicilian  Majesty,  which  I  consider  as  t"  , 
same,  that,  with  all  respect,  I  submit  myself  to  the  judgment 
of  my  superiors."  Four  years  later,  in  1803,  he  used  tlie  fol- 
lowing singular  expressions  concerning  his  conduct  at  this 
period :  "  I  paid  more  attentiot:  to  another  sovereign  than  my 
own  ;  therefore  the  King  of  Napes'  gift  of  Bronte  to  me,  if  it 
is  not  now  settled  to  my  advantage,  and  to  be  permanent,  has 
cost  me  a  fortune,  and  a  great  deal  of  favour  which  I  might 
have  enjoyed,  and  jealousy  which  I  should  have  avoided.  I 
repine  not  on  those  accounts.  I  did  my  duty,  to  the  Sicilify- 
ing  my  own  conscience,  and  I  am  easy."^  "As  I  have  often 
before  risked  my  life  for  the  good  cause,"  he  told  his  old  friend 
the  Duke  of  Clarence,  "  so  I  with  cheerfulness  did  my  com- 
mission: for  although  a  military  tribunal  may  think  me 
criminal,  the  world  will  approve  my  conduct."  With  such 
convictions,  he  might,  if  condemned,  as  he  almost  inevitably 
must  have  been,  have  met  his  fate  with  the  cheerfulness  of  a 
clear  conscience;  but  no  military  tribunal  can  possibly  accept 
a  man's  conscience  as  the  test  of  obedience. 

The  Admiralty,  who  had  sent  Keith  out  knowing  that  St. 
Vincent,  after  three  arduous  years,  meant  soon  to  retire,  could 
not  of  course  acquiesce  in  Nelson's  thus  overriding  the  man 
they  had  chosen  to  be  his  commander-in-chief.  "  Their  Lord- 
ships do  not,  from  any  information  now  before  them,  see  suffi- 
cient reason  to  justify  your  having  disobeyed  the  orders  you 
had  received  from  your  Commanding  Officer,  or  having  left 
Minorca  exposed  to  the  risk  of  being  attacked,  without  having 
any  naval  force  to  protect  it."  To  this  measured  rebuke  was 
added  some  common-sense  counsel  upon  the  pernicious  practice 
of  jeopardizing  the  liersonnel  of  a  fleet,  the  peculiar  trained 
force  so  vitally  necessary,  and  so  hard  to  replace,  in  petty 
operations  on  shore.  "  Although  in  operations  on  the  sea- 
coast,  it  may  frequently  be  highly  expedient  to  land  a  part  of 
the  seamen  of  the  squadron,  to  co-operate  with  and  to  assist 
the  army,  when  the  situation  will  admit  of  their  being  imme- 
diately re-embarked,  if  the  sq\iadron  should  be  called  away  to 

1  Nicolas,  vol.  V.  p.  160. 
26 


•1     ^ 


'ill 


•"■ : 


402 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


•> 


I 


act  elsewhere  [as  Keith  had  called  it],  or  if  information  of 
the  approach  of  an  enemy's  fleet  should  be  received,  —  yet 
their  Lordships  by  no  means  approve  of  the  seamen  being 
landed  to  form  a  part  of  an  army  to  be  employed  in  operations 
at  a  distance  from  the  coast,  where,  if  they  should  have  the 
misfortune  to  be  defeated,  they  might  be  prevented  from 
returning  to  the  ships,  and  the  squadron  be  thereby  rendered 
so  defective,  as  to  be  no  longer  capable  of  performing  the 
services  required  of  it ;  and  I  have  their  Lordships'  commands 
to  signify  their  directions  to  your  Lordship  not  to  employ  the 
seamen  in  like  manner  in  future." 

It  was  evident  that  the  Admiralty  did  not  fully  share  Nel- 
son's attachment  to  the  royal  house  of  Naples,  nor  consider 
the  service  of  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies  the  same  as 
that  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain.  Earl  Spencer's  private 
letter,  while  careful  of  Nelson's  feelings,  left  no  room  to 
doubt  that  he  was  entirely  at  one  with  his  colleagues  in  their 
official  opinion.  Nelson  winctd  and  chafed  under  the  double 
rebuke,  but  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  see  clearly  any 
beams  in  his  own  eye.  "  I  observe  with  great  pain  that  their 
Lordships  see  no  cause  which  could  justify  my  disobeying 
the  orders  of  my  commanding  officer.  Lord  Keith;"  but  the 
motives  he  again  alleges  are  but  the  repetition  of  those 
already  quoted.  He  fails  wholly  to  realize  that  convictions 
which  would  justify  a  man  in  going  to  a  martyr's  fate  may  be 
wholly  inadequate  to  sap  the  fundamental  military  obligation 
of  obedience.  *'  My  conduct  is  measured  by  the  Admiralty, 
by  the  narrow  rule  of  law,  when  I  think  it  should  have  been 
done  by  that  of  common  sense.  I  restored  a  faithful  ally  by 
breach  of  orders  ;  Lord  Keith  lost  a  fleet  by  obedience  against 
his  own  sense.  Yet  as  one  is  censured  the  other  must  be 
apprt)ved.  Such  things  are."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  as  before 
said,  it  was  by  departing  from  St.  Vincent's  orders  that  Keith 
lost  the  French  fleet.  Nor  did  Nelson's  mind  work  clearly  on 
the  subject.  Thwarted  and  fretted  as  he  continually  was  by 
the  too  common,  almost  universal,  weakness,  which  deters  men 
from  a  bold  initiative,  from  assuming  responsibility,  from  em- 
bracing opportunity,  he  could  not  draw  the  line  between  that 
and  an  independence  of  action  which  would  convert  unity  of 
command  into  anarchy.     *'Mucli  as  I  approve  of  strict  obedi- 


DKPUKWSION    OF   SI'IIUTS 


4o;] 


ence  to  orders,  yet  to  say  that  an  officer  is  never,  for  any 
object,  to  alter  liis  orders,  is  what  1  cainiot  conipnilicnd." 
liut  what  rational  man  ever  said  such  a  thing?  *'I  lind  few 
think  as  I  do,  —  but  to  obey  orders  is  all  perl'ection!  What 
would  my  superiors  direct,  did  they  know  what  is  i)assing 
under  my  nose  ?  To  serve  my  King  and  to  destroy  the  French  i 
consider  as  the  great  order  of  all,  from  which  little  ones  spring, 
and  if  one  of  these  little  ones  militate  against  it,  I  go  back 
to  obey  the  great  order."  There  is  so  much  that  is  sound  in 
these  words,  and  yet  so  much  confusion  might  arise  in  apply- 
ing them,  that  scarcely  any  stronger  evidence  could  be  given 
that  each  case  must  rest  on  its  own  merits;  and  that  no  gen- 
eral rule  can  supplant  the  one  general  principle  of  obedieiuic, 
by  which  alone  unity  and  concentration  of  effort,  the  great 
goal  of  all  military  movement,  can  be  obtained. 

During  this  period  of  agitation  and  excitement,  Nelson's 
health  did  not  show  the  favorable  symptoms  that  usually 
attended  a  call  to  exertion.  IMucli  may  be  attributed  to  a 
Mediterranean  summer,  especially  after  the  many  seasons  he 
had  passed  in  that  sea ;  but  it  can  readily  be  believed  that 
such  excei)tional  responsibilities  as  he  had  just  assumed  could 
not  but  tell,  even  upon  his  resolute  and  fearless  temper.  "  I 
am  really  sorry,"  wrote  Troubridge  to  him,  from  the  siege 
of  St.  Elmo,  "to  see  your  Lordship  so  low-spirited,  all  will 
go  well ; "  and  a  few  days  later,  "  Your  Lordship  must  en- 
deavour to  fret  as  little  as  possible  —  we  shall  succeed.  His 
Majesty's  arrival  will  relieve  your  Lordship;  and  if  he 
punishes  the  guilty,  the  people  will  be  happy."  The  day 
after  he  had  refused  to  obey  Keith's  order,  he  wrote  to  him, 
''I  am  truly  so  very  unwell  that  I  have  not  the  power  of 
writing  so  much  as  I  could  wish;  "  and  the  next  day,  to  the 
Admiralty,  he  makes  the  same  excuse,  adding,  "I  am  writing 
in  a  fever,  and  barely  possible  to  keep  out  of  bed."  "jMy 
dear  friend,"  he  tells  Locker,  "  I  am  so  ill  that  I  can  scarcely 
sit  up;  yet  I  will  not  let  the  courier  go  off  without  assur- 
ing you  that  all  your  kindnesses  to  me  are  fresh  in  my 
memory.  .  .  .  May  God  Almighty  grant  you,  my  revered 
friend,  that  health  and  happiness  which  has  never  yet  been 
attained  by  your  affectionate,  grateful  friend,  Xelson."  It 
cannot  but  be  surmised  that  he  did  not  feel  that  profound 


I 


M      Li 


ill  I 


,  1 


^  villi 


I   ■ 


! 


,i;i 


A 


404 


THE  lifp:  of  nelson 


conviction  of  right,  which  had  sustained  him  on  previous 
occasions.  The  disquiet  indicated  resembles  rather  that 
attending  the  uncertainties  of  the  Nile  campaign.  As  Colonel 
Stewart  noticed,  two  years  later,  "With  him  mind  and  health 
invariably  sympathized." 


It 


::|it. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Nelson  temi'orakily  Commanueu-ix-Chikf  in  the  Mediteuranean.  — 
Kemevei)  by  Loud  Kkitu.  —  Ai'I'LIKs  to  return  to  England  on 
Account  of  III  Health. 


August,  1799-June,  1800.     Aoe,  41. 

UPO^J"  Keith's  departure,  the  command  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean devolved  upon  Nelson,  who  for  some  time  re- 
mained in  doubt  of  the  fact,  but  with  his  usual  promptitude 
acted  as  if  all  depended  upon  himself.  "I  am  venturing 
certainly  out  of  my  line  of  duty,  but  as  the  commander-in- 
chief  may  not  even  be  on  the  station,  I  must  do  the  best 
which  my  judgment  points  out  during  his  temporary  ab- 
sence." Six  sail-of-tlie-line,  under  Admiral  Duckworth,  were 
sufficient  for  service  at  Gibraltar  and  Cadiz,  if  the  latter  port 
Avas  deserted.  Four  of  the  line  were  about  Minorca,  con- 
stantly, though  inefficiently,  threatened  from  the  adjacent 
coasts  of  Spain.  Three  were  blockading  Malta,  conjointly 
Avith  the  Portuguese  vessels.  Sidney  Smith  with  his  division 
remained  in  the  Levant.  Troubridge  was  operating  with 
a  few  ships  on  the  coast  of  Italy,  against  Civita  Yecchia, 
still  in  the  hands  of  the  French.  A  small  squadron  was 
maintained  on  the  Riviera  of  Genoa,  disturbing  the  com- 
munications of  the  French,  and  keeping  touch  with  the 
advance  of  the  Austro-Russians ;  but  it  was  expected  that 
the  Russian  fleet,  as  was  natural  and  proper,  would  soon 
assume  the  duty  of  co-operating  with  their  general,  Suwarrow. 
The  smaller  British  cruisers  were  distributed  among  these 
various  duties.  The  flagship  "  Foudroyant  "  was  at  Palermo, 
whither  the  King  returned  from  Naples  on  the  8th  of  August, 
and  there  the  headquarters  of  the  squadron  remained  during 
Nelson's  connnand.  Soon  after  this  arrival  in  Palermo  the 
King  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Duke  of  Bronte,  with 
an  estate  of  the  same  name  in  Sicily,  valued  at  £3,000  per 


40rt 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


M  i 


I.! 


(I 


a , 


annum.  After  this  the  admiral  for  a  time  signed  his  papers 
as  Bronte  Nelson,*  changed  subsequently  to  Bronte  Nelson 
of  the  Nile,  and  linally  settled  down  to  Nelson  and  Bronte, 
which  was  his  form  of  signature  for  the  last  four  years  of 
his  life.  He  placed  upon  his  new  estate  an  annual  charge  of 
£500  in  favor  of  his  father  for  the  term  of  the  latter's  life. 

lleceive  this  small  tribute,  my  honoured  father,"  he  wrote, 

as  a  mark  of  gratitude  to  the  best  of  parents  from  his  most 
dutiful  son." 

On  the  20th  of  September  he  received  letters  from  the 
Admiralty,  investing  him  with  the  chief  command,  "  till  tlie 
return  of  Lord  Keith  or  some  other  your  superior  officer." 
He  was  jiot,  however,  allowed  the  appointments  of  a  com- 
mander-in-chief, and  often  complained  of  the  inadequacy 
of  his  staff  to  the  extent  of  his  duties.  Nelson  naturally 
hoped  that  his  long  and  eminent  services  in  that  particular 
field,  and  the  conspicuous  ability  he  had  ishown  on  so  many 
occasions,  would  lead  to  the  station  remaining  permanently 
in  his  hands,  and  that  Lord  Keith,  wlio  was  now  in  England, 
would  succeed  in  due  course  to  the  Channel  Fleet,  whose 
commander.  Lord  Bridport,  soon  after  retired.  The  Mediter- 
ranean was  naturally  attributed  to  a  vice-admiral,  and  one  of 
some  seniority;  but  Nelson  was  now  a  rear-admiral  of  the 
Red,  the  highest  color,  not  far,  therefore,  from  promotion, 
and  it  would  not  be  an  unreasonable  conclusion  that  the  same 
ministry  which  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  choose  him  for 
the  campaign  of  the  Nile,  might  now  prefer  to  entrust  to 
such  able  and  enterprising  hands  the  great  interests  of  the 
Mediterranean  at  large. 

It  was  not,  however,  to  be  so.  Whether  moved  only  by 
routine  considerations  of  rank,  as  afterwards  at  Copenhagen, 
or  wliether  his  relations  with  the  Sicilian  Court,  his  conduct 
of  affairs  at  Naples,  and  his  collisions  with  Keitli,  had  excited 
doubt  of  tlie  normal  balance  of  his  mind,  the  Admiralty  de- 
cided to  send  Keith  back,  and  Nelson,  greatly  to  his  mortifica- 
tion, was  kept  in  charge  only  till  the  end  of  the  year.  As  St. 
Vincent  liad  always  left  him  practically  independent,  he  had 
known  no  superior  since  he  entered  the  Straits,  except  during 

^  The  title  of  Bronte  was  assumed  in  Sicily  only,  initil  he  received  the 
consent  of  George  IIL  to  accept  it. 


tei 


\ 


TEMPORARILY  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 


407 


Keith's  brief  period  of  succession,  when  leagues  of  sheltering 
distance  left  him  free,  as  has  been  seen,  to  defy  orders  when 
not  in  accordance  with  his  views ;  and  he  found  it  impossible 
now  to  bow  his  will  to  the  second  place  on  the  very  field  of 
his  glory.  To  this  feeling,  natural  in  any  man,  and  doubly  so 
to  one  of  Nelson's  quick  susceptibilities,  at  once  stimulated 
and  soothed  by  the  lavish  adulation  of  the  past  year,  was 
added  personal  dislike  to  his  new  superior,  aggravated,  if  not 
originated,  by  the  clash  of  judgment  over  the  relative  imiwr- 
tance  of  Naples  and  Minorca.  "I  have  serious  thoughts  of 
giving  up  active  service,"  he  wrote  to  ^Minto;  "Greenwich 
Hospital  seems  a  fit  retreat  f  •  me  after  being  evldentlij 
thought  unfit  to  command  in  the  jMediterranean."  Complaints 
of  Keith's  lack  of  consideration  then  abound,  nor  does  he 
seem  to  be  conscious  that  there  was  anything  in  his  mode  of 
life,  in  current  rumor,  or  in  his  past  relations  witii  his  new 
commander-in-chief,  which  might  make  the  latter  unwilling  to 
give  him  the  loose  rein  St.  Vincent  had  done. 

From  the  time  that  Keith  left  the  Mediterranean  in  July, 
1799,  to  Nelson's  own  departure  a  year  later,  there  was  little 
to  be  done  in  the  naval  way  except  to  maintain  and  press 
existii.g  advantages,  and  wait  until  the  fruit  was  ready  to 
drop.  The  absolute  supremacy  of  the  1  British  squadrons, 
challenged  for  a  moment  by  the  incursion  of  Admiral  Bruix, 
had  reverted,  in  even  greater  degree  than  before,  by  the 
absence  of  the  Spanish  ships  which  had  accompanied  him  to 
Brest.  Impeded  by  their  own  numbers,  and  paralyzed  by  the 
insufiiciency  of  ths  resources  of  the  port,  they  remained  there 
a  huge,  inert  mass,  whose  impotence  was  only  partially  under- 
stood by  the  British;  a  fact  which  conduced  to  prolong 
Keith's  presence  in  the  Channel.  The  year  under  considera- 
tion was  therefore  devoid  of  stirring  events  at  sea. 

In  the  Mediterranean,  it  is  true.  Nelson's  unwearying  men- 
tal energy,  and  keen  sense  of  the  necessity  of  seizing  oppor- 
tunity, did  not  allow  things  to  lapse  into  indolence.  Whether 
or  not  he  was  well  advised  to  settle  himself  at  Palermo,  aware 
as  he  must  have  been  of  the  actual  temptation,  and  of  the 
serious  injury  that  scandal  was  doing  to  his  reputation,  both 
professional  and  personal,  may  admit  of  doubt.  With  numer- 
ous  detached   and   minor   services  carrying  on   at  the  same 


U 


t     ru 


i 


i 


si 


■l-v:: 


-I' 


408 


THE   LIFE  OF   NELSON 


j!'' 


moment,  thore  was  much  to  be  said  for  the  commander-in- 
chief  remaining  in  a  fixed  position,  near  the  centre  of  affairs; 
and  n  his  apprehension  everything  then  revolved  about  the 
Kingdom  of  Naples.  There  can  be  no  question,  however, 
tliat  all  his  faculties  were  coiistantly  on  the  alert;  and  that 
his  administration  of  the  station  until  Keitli's  return  was 
characterized  by  the  same  zeal,  sagacity,  and  politic  tact  that 
he  had  shown  in  earlier  days.  It  is  admirable  to  note  the 
patience,  courtesy,  and  adroit  compliment,  he  brings  into 
play,  to  kindle,  in  those  over  whom  he  has  no  direct  control, 
the  ardor  for  tlio  general  good,  and  the  fearlessness  of  respon- 
sibility, which  actuate  himself;  and  at  the  same  time  to 
observe  how  severe  the  strain  was  upon  his  nervous  and  irri- 
table temper,  as  betrayed  in  comments  upon  tliese  very  persons, 
made  in  private  letters  which  he  never  expected  would  see  the 
light. 

The  points  of  principal  importance  were  the  consolidation 
of  the  royal  power  in  the  continental  territory  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  the  reduction  of  Malta,  and  the  retention  of  the 
French  army  in  Egypt  in  entire  isolation  from  France.  For 
the  first,  Nelson  entirely  failed  in  his  eiforts  to  induce  the 
King  to  trust  himself  again  in  Naples,  as  the  Hamiltons  and 
he  had  expected  when  they  came  back  to  Palermo.  "  My 
situation  here  is  indeed  an  uncomfortable  one,"  he  said  to 
Earl  Spencer ;  "  for  plain  common  sense  points  out  that  the 
King  shouhl  return  to  Naples,  but  nothing  can  move  him." 
"Our  joint  exertions  have  been  used  to  get  the  King  to  go  to 
Naples,"  he  wrote  tc  Troubridge,  "  but  of  no  avail ;  the  Aus- 
trians  Will  be  there  before  him."  Although  the  French  had 
been  expelled  from  all  the  Neapolitan  dominions,  the  presence 
of  fifteen  hundred  in  Home  and  Civita  Vecchia  served  then  as 
an  excuse.  Nelson  implored  the  commander  of  the  British 
troops  at  Minorca  to  spare  twelve  hurulred  of  his  men,  to  aid 
Troubridge  on  the  Roman  coast.  "Sir  Charles  Stuart,"  he 
tells  him  flatteringly,  "  by  his  timely  exertion  ^aved  this 
Kingdom  [Sicily]  from  anarchy  and  confusion,  and  perhaps 
from  rebellion.  So  it  is  now,  my  dear  Sir,  I  trust,  in  your 
power  (and  I  have  assured  the  good  King  and  Queen  of  your 
readiness  to  serve  them  and  the  good  cause  as  much  as  Sir 
Charles)  to  send  for  the  taking  possession  of  Civita  Vecchia 


\il^ 


AFFAIRS  OF  NAPLES 


400 


and  lioinc;  this  doiip,  find  with  my  lifo,  I  will  answer  for  th(? 
success  of  theexpt'dition.  All  wouhl  bo  quiet  and  happy  ;  and 
their  Sicilian  Majesties  might  return  to  their  throne  without 
any  alarm  from  mobs.  ...  I  am  sure!  I  need  not  venture  to 
say  more  on  the  subject.  Your  ExcelliMiey's  judj^nient  and 
heart  will  ])oint  out  the  necessity  of  the  measure  if  it  can  be 
accomplished."  '*Our  King  would  be  much  gratilied  that 
Jii'italu,  nt)t  Aiisfria  should  reinstate  the  l*ope." 

Sir  James  Erskine,  thus  importuned,  did  not  see  his  way  to 
sending  the  troops.  Naturally,  as  a  soldier,  he  did  not  rely 
as  much  upon  the  navy  preventing  a  landing  in  his  island,  as 
upon  his  own  powers  of  resistance  after  it  was  effected,  and 
was  therefore  unwilling  to  s})are  from  the  latter.  The  point 
of  view  of  a  seaman  was,  and  is,  different.  Ho  coinidainc.'d, 
too,  that  ])u(!kworth  had  taken  a  great  many  ships  to  Gibral- 
tar. Nelson  admiia  the  mistake,  and  expresses  his  regret,  but 
no  word  of  dissatisfaction  with  Erskine  transpires  through  his 
evident  disappointment,  lie  only  says,  "I'ardonwhat  lam 
going  to  repeat,  that  either  in  IMalta  or  on  the  (>)ntin(!nt,  a 
field  of  glory  is  open."  "  Minorca,"  he  wrote  to  Spencer,  "  I 
have  never  yet  considered  in  the  smallest  danger,  but  it  has 
been  a  misfortune  that  others  have  thought  differently  from 
me  on  that  point."  ^I'*^''  ,rds  the  end  of  September,  Trou- 
bridge,  without  the  aid  of  British  troops,  but  supported  by 
the  arrival  of  a  division  sent  l)y  Suwarrow,  reported  the 
evacuation  of  Rome  and  Civita  Vecchia.  *'IIow  happy  you 
have  made  us!"  wrote  Nelson  to  him.  **j\[y  pen  will  not 
say  what  1  feel."  The  King,  however,  would  not  return  to 
Naples,  now  that  this  obstacle  was  withdrawn.  *'  The  Queen 
lias  a  noble,  generous  disposition,"  said  Nelson  two  months 
later.  "Unfortunately  the  King  and  her  Majesty  do  not  at 
this  moment  draw  exactly  the  same  way ;  therefore,  his 
Majesty  will  not  go  at  this  moment  to  Naples,  where  his 
presence  is  much  wanted."  "We  do  but  waste  our  breath," 
he  avowed  afterwards. 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  a  visit  which  he  had  intended 
making  to  Minorca  was  hastened  by  a  report  that  thirteen 
hostile  ships-of-the-line  had  been  seen  off  Cape  Finisterre,  and 
it  was  thought  they  might  be  destined  for  the  Mediterranean. 
Nelson  hoped  to  assemble  ten  to  meet  them ;  but  the  news 


J 

m 

t  1, 

(    • 

r 


ii ; '  i 


>> 


410 


TIIK   J.IFK   OF  NKLSON 


I:     I 


proved  to  bo  false.  JIo  left  rulermo  for  this  trip  on  the  Tith 
of  Oituber,  and  returned  again  on  the  22d,  luivin},'  nnnaini'd 
five  days  in  Port  ]\Iahon/  The  arrangements  for  the  nav;d 
foree,  dt'i)en(ling  entirely  upon  himself,  wcm'o  soon  settled; 
but  he  was  disapijointed  in  obtaining,  as  he  had  hoped  to  do 
from  a  personal  interview  with  Krskme,  a  detaehment  of  two 
thousand  troops  for  Malta.  About  that  island  lie  was,  to  use 
liis  own  words,  almost  in  despair.  For  over  a  year  La  Valetta 
had  been  blockaded  by  land  and  sea.  For  the  latter  ho  could 
with  diiUculty  find  ships;  for  the  former  he  could  obtain  no 
men  to  aid  the  islanders,  who,  half  starving,  dependent  for 
food  chiefly  upon  Sicily,  were  sustained  in  their  resistance 
mainly  by  hatred  of  the  invaders,  and  by  the  tactful  appeals 
and  encouragement  of  Captain  Uall,  who  lived  ashore  anu)iig 
them.  The  J>arbary  pirates,  by  virtue  of  their  war  with 
Naples,  cai)tured  many  of  the  vessels, laden  with  supplies, 
despite  Nelson's  jjassports;  while  the  Sicilian  Court,  though 
well  disposed,  lacked  the  energy  and  the  propelling  force 
necessary  to  com})el  the  collection  and  despatch  of  the  needrd 
grain.  On  one  occasion  Troubridge  or  Uall,  desperate  at  tlie 
sight  of  the  famine  around  them,  sent  a  ship  of  war  into 
Girgenti,  a  Sicilian  port,  seized,  and  brought  away  two  corn- 
laden  vessels.  "The  measure  was  strong,"  said  Nelson,  but 
he  refrained  from  censuring;  and,  while  apologizing  to  tlie 
Government,  added  he  hoped  it  *'  would  not  again  force  officers 
to  so  unpleasant  an  alternative."  lie  feared  that  in  their 
misery  the  Maltese  would  abandon  the  struggle,  particularly 
if  they  got  wind  of  the  purpose  of  Great  Britain  to  restore 
the  hated  Order  of  Knights,  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Czar.  ''The  moment  the  French  fiag  is  struck,"  he  had  been 
obliged  to  write  to  Uall,  "  the  colours  of  the  Order  must  be 
hoisted  and  no  other;  when  it  was  settled  otherwise,  the 
orders  from  ]*]ngland  were  not  so  strong." 

About  this  time  came  information  that  several  ships  were 
fitting  out  at  Toulon,  with  supplies  for  the  besieged.  This 
increased  Nelson's  anxieties,  and  at  the  same  time  emphasized 
the  necessity  which  he  had  always  urged  of  using  speedier 
and  sui-er  means  to  reduce  the  place,  while  the  undisputed 
mastery  of  the  sea  gave  the  opportunity.  "  What  might  not 
Bruix  have  done,  had  he  done  his  duty  ?  "  was  his  own  com- 


'  i  ■ 


AFFAIRS   OF   MALTA 


til 


were 
This 
asized 
eedier 
puted 
it  not 
com- 


ment upon  that  rooont  incursion ;  and  wlio  could  toll  how 
soon  as  groat  a  I'oroo  might  appear  again  undi-r  an  abler  man  ? 
He  turned  in  every  direction,  and  was  instant  in  his  appeals 
for  aid.  lie  wrote  to  Acton  that  ho  had  positive  inlormation 
that  seven  ships  wore  loaded  in  Toulon.  *'  1  thorol'oro  beg 
leave  to  propose  to  your  Excellency,  whether  under  our  pres- 
ent ciroumstanccs,  it  would  not  be  right  for  his  Sicilian  Maj- 
esty to  desiro  that  the  English  garrison  at  Messina  siionld 
instantly  go  to  Malta,  for  I  am  clear,  that  if  Malta  is  relieved, 
that  our  forces  got  together  could  not  take  it,  and  the  com- 
mencement of  a  new  blockade  would  be  useless.  All  the 
Uarbary  cruisers  would  there  have  their  rendezvous,  and  not 
a  vessel  of  his  Sicilian  Majesty's  could  ])ut  to  sea."  II(^  ex- 
horts the  minister  also  to  apply  to  the  llussians  for  immediate 
help  at  ]\Ialta. 

At  the  same  time,  to  augment  his  embarrassments,  orders 
came  from  Lisbon  recalling  the  Portuguese  squadron,  which 
formed  the  larger  part  of  the  sea  blockade.  Nelson  forgot 
how  often  he  had  abused  them  as  useless,  and  grappled  with 
that  part  of  the  difficulty  with  characteristic  boldness.  He 
peremptorily  forbade  the  admiral  to  obey  his  orders.  "  As 
the  reduction  of  the  Island  of  Malta  is  of  the  greatest  con- 
sequence *:o  the  interests  of  the  allied  I'owers  at  war  with 
France,  and  the  withdrawing  of  the  sc^uadron  under  your 
comnuind,  at  this  time,  from  the  blockade  of  that  island,  will 
be  of  the  most  ruinous  consequences  to  their  interests  .  .  . 
you  are  hereby  required  and  directed,  in  (ionsideration  (jf  the 
above  circumstances,  and  notwithstanding  the  orders  you  may 
have  received  from  your  Court  to  return  to  Lisbon,  not  on 
any  consideration  whatsoever  to  withdraw  one  man  from  that 
island,  which  may  have  been  landed  from  the  squadron  under 
your  Excellency's  command,  or  detach  one  ship  down  the 
Mediterranean,  until  further  orders  from  me  for  that  pur- 
pose." Your  orders,  he  tells  Niza  in  a  private  letter,  were 
founded  upon  the  belief  that  your  presence  was  no  longer 
necessary  ;  "  but  the  contrary  is  the  fact  —  for  your  services 
were  never  more  wanted  than  at  this  moment,  when  every 
exertion  is  wanting  to  get  more  troops  of  English  and  Russians 
to  Malta."  He  is  evidentlv  thinking  of  his  difference  Avith 
Keith ;  but  now  he  is  within  the  limits  of  his  commission  as 


i. 


.  I  I ; 


I 


; 


5!: 


412 


THE   LIFK  OF  NELSON 


ii  i 


Coininaiuler-in-chief.  Doubting,  however,  whether  his  official 
authority  will  prevail  with  Niza  to  disobey  his  recall,  he  plios 
him  skilfully  with  appeals  to  those  sentiments  of  honor  which 
had  received  such  illustration  in  his  own  noble  career.  "If 
you  quit  your  most  important  station  till  I  can  get "  reliefs 
for  you,  "depend  upon  it,  your  illustrious  Prince  will  dis- 
approve of  (in  this  histance)  your  punctilious  execution  of 
orders."  "  We  shall  soon  get  more  troops  from  Messina  and 
Minorca ;  and  I  am  not  a  little  anxious  for  the  honour  of 
I'ortugal  and  your  Excellency,  that  you  should  be  present  at 
the  surrender.  I  hold  myself  responsible,"  "  You  was  the 
first  at  the  blockade.  Your  Excellency's  conduct  has  gained 
you  the  love  and  esteem  of  Governor  l^all,  all  the  British 
officers  and  men,  and  the  whole  Maltese  people ;  and  give  mo 
leave  to  add  the  name  of  Nelson,  as  one  of  your  warmest 
admirers,  as  an  officer  and  a  friend." 

As  he  dealt  with  the  Portuguese  admiral,  so,  in  due  meas- 
ure, he  conducted  his  intercourse  with  all  others  who  came 
within  the  scope  of  his  widely  ranging  activities.  Already 
more  Neapolitan  than  the  King,  to  the  Russian  he  became  as 
a  Russian,  to  the  Turk  as  a  Turk,  all  things  to  all  men,  if  ho 
could  by  any  means  promote  the  interest  of  the  Allied  cause 
and  save  Malta.  Amid  the  diverse  and  conflicting  motives 
of  a  coalition,  Nelson  played  a  steady  hand,  his  attention  uni- 
fied, and  his  sight  cleared,  by  an  unwavering  regard  to  tho 
single  object  which  he  compressed  into  the  words,  "Down, 
down,  with  the  French !  "  In  that  sense,  he  asserts  truthfully 
enough  to  each  and  all  of  his  correspondents  that  the  ad- 
vantage of  their  country  and  their  monarch  is  as  dear  to  hiiu 
as  that  of  Great  Britain.  He  touches  with  artful  skill  upon 
the  evident  interests  of  each  nation,  appeals  to  the  officer's 
sense  of  the  cherished  desires  of  his  sovereign,  and,  while 
frankly  setting  forth  the  truths  necessary  to  be  spoken,  as  to 
the  comparative  claims  upon  himself  of  the  various  portions 
of  the  field,  he  insinuates,  rather  than  suggests,  what  the 
person  immediately  addressed  ought  to  be  doing  in  further- 
ance of  the  one  great  aim.  Withal,  despite  the  uneasiness 
to  which  he  is  constantly  a  prey  on  account  of  the  failures  of 
others,  no  lack  of  confidence  in  the  one  to  whom  he  is  writing 
is  suffered  to  appear.     Each  is  not  only  exhorted  and  cheered. 


¥\ 


w 


DIPLOMATIC  MANAGEMENT 


413 


but  patted  on  the  back  with  an  iuipliecl  approbation,  which 
in  his  own  service  constituted  niucli  ot"  his  well-deserved  in- 
fluence. He  is  as  hearty  and  generous  in  his  praises  to  Sir 
Sidney  Smith,  whom  he  never  fully  trusted,  for  his  services 
at  Acre,  as  he  is  to  the  valued  friend,  and  pattern  of  all  naval 
efficiency,  Troubridge.  To  the  Emperor  of  llussia  he  paid 
the  politic  attention  of  sending  a  detailed  report  of  all  that 
had  been  done  about  Malta,  made  to  him  as  Grand  Master  of 
the  Order,  —  a  delicate  and  adroit  flattery  at  the  moment,  for 
the  Czar  then  valued  himself  more  as  the  restorer  of  an  an- 
cient order  of  chivalry  than  as  the  inheritor  of  a  great  Sov- 
ereignty ;  and  his  position  Avas  further  recognized  by  asking 
of  him  the  insignia  of  the  Order  for  Captain  Ball  and  Lady 
Hamilton. 

This  immense  load  of  correspondence  and  anxiety  was  ad- 
ditional to  the  1  'iinerous  unrecorded  cares  and  interviews, 
relating  to  the  routine  work  and  maintenance  of  a  great  squad- 
ron, often  left  bare  of  resources  from  home,  and  to  the  su}> 
port  of  the  destitute  population  of  Malta,  —  sixty  thousand 
souls ;  and  all  was  carried  on  amid  the  constant  going  and 
coming  of  the  ambassador's  house,  kept  open  to  naval  ofHcers 
and  others.  This  public  sort  of  life  and  excitement  involved 
considerable  expense,  and  was  little  to  the  taste  of  either 
Nelson  or  Hamilton,  the  latter  of  whom  was  now  approaching 
his  seventieth  year ;  but  in  it  Lady  Hamilton  was  in  all  her 
glory,  overwhelmed  with  compliments,  the  victor  of  the  Nile 
at  her  feet,  and  "  making  a  great  figure  in  our  political  line," 
to  use  her  husband's  words.  "  Except  to  the  Court,"  wi-ote 
Nelson,  replying  to  a  censure  from  the  Admiralty  for  failing 
to  send  a  letter  by  a  certain  channel,  when  he  had  sent  dupli- 
cates by  two  other  conveyances,  —  "except  to  the  Court,  till 
after  eight  o'clock  at  night  I  never  relax  from  business.  I 
have  had  hitherto,  the  Board  knows,  no  one  emolument — no 
one  advantage  of  a  Commander-in-chief."  It  was  in  reference 
to  this  captious  rebuff,  received  when  immersed  in  cares,  that 
he  wrote  to  Spencer :  "  Do  not,  my  dear  Lord,  let  the  Ad- 
miralty write  harshly  to  me  —  my  generous  soul  cannot  bear 
it,  being  conscious  it  is  entirely  unmerited." 

While  he  was  striving  to  gain  assistance  for  the  Maltese, 
he  does  not  forget  to  sustain  them  with  hopes,  not  always  too 


Ml"  I! 


m 


■, 


I ' 


^i 


i'  I 


:'1 


1 


0^ 

f 

1 

!'il 

1 

'   i 

1 

(■  ' 

>  ' 

' 

,' 

ll 

414 


TIIK   \AVV.  OK   NKLSON 


woll  I'oiindod.  Il(!  iiUls  Hall  ho  trusts  tho  INloasiua  troops  will 
soon  1)0  with  him.  **  Vou  may  doiuMul,  in  (hitobor,  1  will  jjfct 
2.000  men  on  shoro  at  IMalta..  Ni/a.  is  ordonul  to  Lisbon,  but. 
1  have  diroctod  !iis  stay  oiT'  ^^alta."  Ho  appoals  i)orsojially  (d 
tlio  liritish  oonnnandor  at  ]\l(>ssina,  and  to  tin?  Hussiat\  minis- 
tor  at  Palormo,  romindinjj;  tho  laitor  how  doar  Malta  and  its 
Ordor  woro  to  his  sovoroii^n.  "  Malta,  my  doar  Sir.  is  in  my 
thoughts  slooping  or  waking.''  Tln^  Portugnoso,  ho  tolls  him, 
aro  ordor(>(l  homo;  but,  wishing  Russian  assistanoo,  ho  does 
not  say  that  ho  has  stopped  thorn, — as  to  which,  indeed,  lu! 
oould  not  iVol  sure. 

The  same  obji^ot  pressed  upon  him  while  in  Tort  Malion, 
and  ho  snoocodod,  by  his  personal  enthusiasm,  in  arousing 
Krskine's  interest  in  tho  matter;  but  tho  la,tt(!r  was  loaded  to 
tho  mu/./.lo  with  objeetions.  "Sir  .lames,"  said  Nelson  to 
Troubridgo,  with  the  amusing  j)rot'essional  jjrejtulioo  they 
both  entertained,  "enters  ui)on  tho  ditlieulty  of  tho  undertak- 
ing in  a  true  soldier  way."'  "  1  am  just  oome  from  Sir  .Fames," 
lie  wn^to  to  llaniilton  on  tho  l.Sth  of  October.  ''Ho  sees  all 
the  dillieulty  of  taking  Malta  in  tho  clearest  jioint  of  views, 
and  tluM'oforo  it  became  an  arduous  task  to  maivo  him  think 
that  with  (Jod's  blessing  tho  thing  was  possible."  JFe  has, 
luiwever,  consented  to  prepare  fifteen  luindred  men  with  stores 
and  o(piipmonts,  but  only  on  condition  that  the  llussians  will 
also  give  a  thousand,  —  a  further  draft  on  Nelson's  diplomacy, 
—  and  a  thousand  bo  lauded  from  the  S([uadron,  etc.  liesides, 
there  is  tho  further  dillieulty  that  a  superior  olHcor  is  expected 
from  England,  and  what  will  he  say  ?  And  will  Erskiue  bo 
justified  in  sending  nu'u  before  his  entirely  uncertain  arrival  ? 
It  may  be  imagined  what  such  proceedings  wore  to  Nelson's 
nervous,  ardent,  unhesitating  temperament,  and  they  elicited 
the  characteristic  comment,  "This  has  been  my  lirst  confer- 
ence. It  has  cost  mo  four  hours  hard  labour,  and  may  be  up- 
set by  a  fool."  "  jNF}'  heart  is,  T  assure  you,  almost  broke  with 
this  and  other  things,"  he  wrote  to  Spencer.  "  If  the  enemy 
gets  supplies  in,  we  may  bid  adieu  to  Malta.  This  would 
complete  my  misery;  for  I  am  afraid  I  take  all  services  too 
much  to  heart.  The  accomplishing  of  them  is  my  study, 
night  and  day." 

"  AFy  dear  Sir  James,"  he  writes  to  Erskine  after  returning 


DIl'LOMATIC  MANAOICMKNT 


415 


to  I'iiUM'iiu),  "  r  am  ill  (lca[)oriiti()n  about  Malta  —  wo  sliall  loso 
it,  1  am  alraid,  past  redemption.  I  .send  you  copies  ol'  Ni/.a's 
and  liall's  hitters,  also  (leneral  Aeton's,  so  you  will  sve  I  have 
not  been  idle."  As  it  is,  l>all  can  hardly  k(!(!p  the  iidiabitants 
in  ho|)e  of  relii'f ;  what  then  will  it  ho  if  the  I'ortuguesc  with- 
ilraw  ?  "  If  the  islanders  are  fon;ed  a{,'ain  to  join  the  Kreiuih, 
we  may  not  lind  even  landing  a  very  easy  task,  much  less  to 
get  ngain'  our  ])resent  advantageous  position.  J  therefore  en- 
treat for  the  honour  of  our  King,  that  whetluu*  (IcMUiral  Vox  is 
arriv(>d  or  not,  at  hsist  tin;  garrison  of  M«!ssina  may  b(!  onhu-ed 
to  hold  post  in  Malta  until  a  sulHeient  force  can  bo  collected 
to  attacik  it.  ...  I  know  well  enough  of  what  ofHcers  in  your 
sitiiation  e;in  do;  the  delica(!y  of  your  feelings  on  the  near 
ai)proiieh  of  General  Fox  I  can  readily  con(!eive  ;  but  the  timc! 
you  know  nothing  about;  this  is  a  great  ;i.nd  important  mo- 
ment, and  the  only  thing  to  bo  (considered,  Is  his  Mnjrsfi/s 
service  to  .sftnid  sti'lf  ft>r  on.  his/ffti//  .  .  .  Was  the  call  for 
these  troo[)S  known  at  home,  would  tluiy  not  order  them  to 
jjroeeed  when  the  service  near  at  hand  hjudly  calls  for  them  ? 
this  is  the  (nili/  thuKj  in  vii/  o/iiiiion.  for  consiilcrntion.  Jf  we 
loso  this  opi)ortunity  it  will  be  imjtossiblo  to  re(!all  it."  I*'rom 
this  desperate  appeal  he  turns  to  Uall,  with  words  of  encour- 
agement for  his  islanders.  "  AVo  shall  soon  hear  to  a  cer- 
tainty of  at  least  HjOOO  llussian  troojis  for  the  scsrvice  of  Malta. 
Within  a  month  1  hope  Lo  see  1(),()()0  men  in  arms  against  La 
Valotta.  I  have  sent  for  Troubridge  and  Martin,  that  I  may 
get  a  force  to  relieve  Niza.  1  trust  lie  will  not  go  till  I  can 
get  not  only  a  proper  for(!o  to  relieve  his  shijis,  but  those  of 
his  peoph;  who  are  on  shore."  "The  great  order  of  all,"  he 
writes  Erskine  three  weeks  later,  "is  to  destroy  the  power  of 
the  French.  Two  regiments  for  two  months  would  probably, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  Russians,  give  us  Midta,  liberate  us 
from  an  enemy  close  to  our  doors,  gratify  the  Emperor  of 
Kussia,  protect  our  Levant  trader,  relieve  a  largo  squadron  of 
ships  from  this  service,  and  enable  me  the  better  to  afford 
naval  protection  to  the  island  of  Minorca,  and  assist  our  allies 
on  the  northern  coast  of  Italy,  and  to  annoy  the  enemy  on  the 
coast  of  France." 

Nelson's  entreaties  aiul  efforts  met  with  succes.^,  suflicient  at 
least  to  stay  the  ebbing  tide.    (}eneral  Fox  arrived  in  Minorca, 


\l 


■  H  ■  ! 


ih 


( ■  • 


iir' 


ri    ' 


416 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


gave  permission  for  the  garrison  of  Messina  to  go  to  Malta, 
and  on  the  25th  of  November  Troubridge,  bringing  this  news, 
arrived  off  Palermo.  Nelson's  haste  did  not  permit  the 
"  Culloden  "  to  anchor.  Shifting  his  flag  to  a  transport,  he 
sent  out  the  "  Foudroyant  "  to  meet  lier,  with  orders  for  both 
to  go  to  Messina,  embark  the  garrison,  and  get  off  Malta  as 
soon  as  possible.  The  ''  Nortluimberland,"  seventy-four,  was 
also  to  join  off  Malta,  forming  a  division  to  replace  tiia  Portu- 
guese squadron.  The  latter  quitted  the  blockade  in  December, 
Nelson  notifying  Niza  on  the  18th  of  the  month  that  he  no 
longer  considered  him  under  his  command.  The  Messina 
troops  landed  at  jSIaita  on  the  10th.  The  British  then  had 
fifteen  hundred  men  on  the  island,  supported  by  two  thousand 
jVIaltese,  well  disciplined  and  armed,  besides  a  number  of 
native  irregulars  upon  whom  only  partial  dependence  could 
be  placed.  The  Russians  never  came  to  take  part.  They  got 
as  far  as  Messina,  but  there  received  orders  to  go  to  Corfu, 
both  siiips  and  men.  This  was  in  pursuance  of  a  change  of 
policy  in  the  Czar,  who,  being  enraged  at  the  conduct  of  his 
allies,  particularly  of  the  Austrians,  in  the  late  campaign, 
intended  withdrawing  from  the  Coalition,  and  was  concen- 
trating troops  at  Corfu.  This  revived  Nelson's  fears  for 
]\Ialta.  "  I  trust  Graham  will  not  think  of  giving  the  island 
to  the  French  by  withdrawing,  till  he  receives  orders  from 
General  Fox."  The  troops  remained,  but  in  numbers  too 
small  to  admit  active  operations.  The  result  was  left  perforce 
to  the  slow  pressure  of  blockade ;  and  final  success,  insured 
mainly  by  Nelson's  untiring  efforts,  was  not  attained  until 
after  he  had  left  the  IMediterranean. 

The  six  months  of  his  independent  command,  though  un- 
marked by  striking  incidents  at  sea,  were  crowded  with  events, 
important  in  themselves,  but  far  more  important  as  pregnant 
of  great  and  portentous  changes  in  the  political  and  military 
conditions  of  Europe.  When  Keith  passed  the  Straits  in  pur- 
suit of  the  Franco-Spanish  fleet,  on  the  30th  of  July,  the 
forces  of  the  Coalition  in  Upper  Italy  were  in  the  full  tide  of 
repeated  victories  and  unchecked  success.  On  that  same  day 
the  fortress  of  IVIantua,  the  siege  of  which  in  1796  had  stayed 
for  nine  months  the  triumphal  progress  of  Bonaparte,  was 
surrendered  by  the  French,  whose  armies  in  the  field,  driven 


driven 


IMILITAKY  EVENTS  ON  THE   CONTINENT 


417 


far  to  the  westward,  were  maintaining  a  difficult  position  on 
the  crests  of  the  Apennines.  Seeking  to  descend  from  there 
into  the  fields  of  Piedmont,  they  were  met  by  Suwarrow,  and 
on  the  15th  of  August,  at  Novi,  received  once  more  a  ruinous 
defeat,  in  which  their  commander-in-chief  was  slain. 

At  this  moment  of  success,  instead  of  pressing  onward  to 
drive  the  enemy  out  of  Italy,  and  possibly  to  pursue  him  into 
France,  it  was  decided  that- the  Russians  should  be  sent 
across  the  Alps  into  Switzerland,  to  take  the  place  of  a 
number  of  Austrians.  The  latter,  in  turn,  were  to  move 
farther  north,  on  the  lower  Rhine,  to  favor  by  a  diveision 
an  intended  invasion  of  Holland  by  •  a  combined  force  of 
Russians  and  r)riti:^h.  Tliis  gigantic  flank  movement  and 
<'liange  of  plan  resulted  most  disastrously.  In  the  midst  of 
it  the  French  general  Massena,  commanding  in  Switzerland, 
the  centre  of  the  great  hostile  front  which  extended  from 
the  Mediterranean  to  the  North  Sea,  made  a  vehement  and 
sustained  attack  upon  the  Austro-Russians  at  Zurich,  on  the 
25th  of  September.  Gaining  a  complete  victory,  he  drove 
the  enemy  back  beyond  the  point  where  Suwarrow  expected 
to  make  his  junction.  The  veteran  marshal,  who  had  left 
[taly  on  the  11th  of  September,  arrived  two  days  after  the 
Battle  of  Zurich  was  fought.  Isolated  in  insufficient  numbers 
from  the  friends  he  expected  to  meet,  it  yas  only  after  severe 
hardships  and  superhuman  efforts,  extending  over  ten  days, 
that  he  at  length,  on  the  9th  of  October,  reached  a  place  of 
safety  at  Ilanz.  Declining  further  co-operation  with  the 
Austrians,  and  alleging  the  need  of  rest  for  his  troops  after 
their  frightful  exposure  in  the  mountains,  he  withdrew  into 
winter  quarters  in  Bavaria  at  the  end  of  the  month.  Thus 
Switzerland  remained  in  possession  of  the  French,  inactivity 
continued  in  Italy,  and  the  Czar,  furious  at  the  turn  events 
liad  taken,  was  rapidly  passing  into  hatred  of  both  Austria 
and  Great  Britain. 

On  the  9th  of  October,  also,  Bonaparte  landed  in  France, 
after  a  six  weeks'  voyage  from  Alexandria.  The  immense 
consequences  involved  in  this  single  event  could  not  then 
be  foreseen  ;  but  it  none  the  less  caused  mortification  and 
regret  to  Nelson.  It  was  a  cardinal  principle  with  him, 
vehemently  and  frequently  uttered,  that  not  a  single  French- 

27 


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418 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I  I 


man  sliould  he  allowed  to  retinii  from  Egypt ;  and  here  their 
con)man(ler-in-ehief  had  passed  successfully  from  end  to  end 
of  the  station,  unseen  by  any  British  cruiser.  He  did  not, 
however,  consider  himself  at  fault,  and  his  judgment  may  be 
allowed,  although  in  his  own  case.  "  If  I  could  have  had  any 
cruisers,  as  was  my  plan,  off  Cape  Bon,  in  Africa,  and  between 
Corsica  and  Toulon,  Mr.  Buonaparte  could  not  probably  have 
got  to  France."  This  he  said  to  Earl  Spencer.  Elsewhere 
he  wrote:  "I  have  regretted  sincerely  the  escape  of  Buona- 
parte; but  those  ships  which  were  destined  by  me  for  the 
two  places  where  he  would  certainly  have  been  intercepted, 
were,  from  the  Admiralty  thinking,  doubtless,  that  the 
Russians  would  do  something  at  sea,  obliged  to  be  at  Malta, 
and  other  services  which  I  thought  the  Russian  Admiral 
would  have  assisted  me  in  —  thei-efore,  no  blame  lies  at  my 
door."  He  took  some  comfort  in  contrasting  the  stealthy 
return  of  the  French  general,  with  the  great  armada  that 
accompanied  his  departure.  "No  Crusader  ever  returned 
with  more  humility  —  contrast  his  going  in  L'Orient,  &c.  &c." 
A  report  that  Bonaparte  had  passed  Corsica  reached  Nelson 
on  October  24th.  The  same  day  came  despatches  from  Sir 
Sidney  Smith,  narrating  a  disastrous  defeat  sustained  by  the 
Tur!;s  on  the  shores  of  Aboukir  Bay.  Smith's  period  of  com- 
mand in  the  Levant  had  been  chiefly,  and  brilliantly,  distin- 
guished by  the  successful  defence  of  Acre  against  Bonaparte. 
The  latter,  threatened  by  simultaneous  attacks  by  the  Turks 
from  Syria  and  from  the  sea,  had  determined  to  anticipate 
such  a  combination  by  going  himself  against  the  enemy  on 
the  land  side,  before  the  weather  conditions  made  it  possible 
to  disembark  any  formidable  body  of  men  on  the  shores  of 
Egypt.  Starting  with  this  purpose  in  February,  he  had  pro- 
ceeded with  slight  resistance  until  the  18th  of  March,  wIumi 
his  army  appeared  before  Acre.  Smith  was  then  lying  in 
the  roads  with  two  ships-of-the-line.  The  siege  which  ensued 
lasted  for  sixty-two  days,  so  great  was  Bonaparte's  per- 
tinacity, and  anxiety  to  possess  the  place ;  and  in  its  course 
Smith  displayed,  not  only  courage  and  activity,  which  had 
never  been  doubted,  but  a  degree  of  conduct  and  sound  judi;- 
ment  that  few  expected  of  him.  His  division  was  fortunate 
enough  to  capture  the  French  siege  train,  which  had  to  be 


AFFAIRS  OF  EGYPF 


410 


sent  by  water,  and  he  very  much  disturbed  the  enemy's  coast- 
wise communicfitions,  besides  contributing  materially  to  the 
direction  of  the  defence,  to  which  the  Turks,  though  brave 
enough,  were  not  adequate.  After  several  desperate  assaults 
the  siege  was  raised  on  the  20th  of  May,  and  Uonaparte 
retreated  to  Egypt,  regaining  Cairo  on  the  14th  of  June. 

Following  up  the  success  at  Acre,  a  Turkish  fleet  of  thirteen 
ships-of-the-line  anchored  in  Aboukir  Bay  on  the  11th  of  July, 
attended  by  a  body  of  transports  carrying  troops,  variously 
estimated  at  from  ten  to  thirty  thousand.  Smith  with  his 
ships  accompanied  the  expedition.  The  Turks  landed,  and 
stormed  the  castle  of  Aboukir;  but  on  the  25th  Bonaparte, 
having  concentrated  his  forces  rapidly,  fell  upon  them  and 
totally  defeated  them.  All  who  had  landed  were  either 
killed,  driven  into  the  sea  and  drowned,  or  taken  prisoners ; 
the  commander-in-chief  being  among  the  latter.  Four  weeks 
later,  as  is  already  known,  Bonaparte  embarked  for  France. 

It  was  thus  conclusively  demonstrated  that  for  the  present 
at  least,  and  until  the  French  numbers  were  further  diminished 
by  the  inevitable  losses  of  disease  and  battle,  the  Turks  could 
not  regain  control  of  Egypt.  On  the  other  hand,  it  Avas 
equally  evident,  and  was  admitted  by  both  Bonaparte  and 
his  able  successor,  Kleber,  that  without  reinforcements,  which 
could  not  be  sent  while  the  British  controlled  the  sea,  the 
end  of  the  French  occupation  was  only  a  question  of  time. 
After  Bonaparte's  departure,  Kleber  wrote  home  strongly  to 
this  effect.  His  letters,  being  addressed  to  the  Government, 
fell  upon  arrival  into  Bonaparte's  hands ;  but,  with  these 
convictions,  he  was  ready  to  enter  into  an  arrangement  for 
the  evacuation  of  the  country,  upon  condition  of  being  allowed 
to  return  freely  to  Europe. 

Such  also  appears  to  have  been  the  disposition  of  the 
British  representatives  in  the  East.  Immediately  after  tak- 
ing over  the  command  in  the  Levant  from  Troubridge,  Smith 
gave  him,  among-  other  papers,  a  form  of  passport  which  he 
intended  to  use,  permitting  individual  Frenchmen  to  go  to 
Europe  by  sea.  This  Troubridge  handed  to  Nelson,  telling 
him  also  that  it  Avas  Smith's  intention  to  send  word  into 
Alexandria,  that  all  French  ships  might  pass  to  France. 
This  passport,  adopted  after  Smith  had  been  to  Constanti- 


I  i: 


U 


I    'i'. 


)       I 


■^ 

* 


1    •       1 


420 


THR  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


noplo,  liad  doubtless  tho  saiiotion  of  tho  joint  minister,  liis 
brother,  and  was  sijj^nod  by  liiniscilf  both  as  i)lonipotentiary 
and  naval  otKeer.  Nelson  had  by  this  time  boon  instructed 
that  Smith  was  under  his  command,  and  he  at  once  sent  Jiini 
an  order,  couched  in  the  most  exjdicit,  positive,  and  peremp- 
tory terms,  which  merit  especial  attention  because  Smith  dis- 
obeyed them.  '^  yls  t/ils  Is  in  dhrrt  opposition  to  vnj  opinion, 
which  is,  nerrr  to  siiff'er  any  one  iuffirldiial  Ft'enchmnn  to  quit 
Eyypt — I  must  therefore  strict! ij  eh oryc  ond  command  yoii,^ 
never  td  give  any  French  ship  or  man  leave  to  quit  Egypt. 
And  I  must  also  desire  tiiat  i/on  iclll  oppose  hy  crcry  moans  in 
yoKf  poicer,  any  2^0 r miss hni  ir/ilrh  may  he  isttcmptvd  to  he  given 
hy  any  foreigner,  Admiral,  General,  or  other  person;  and  you 
will  acquaint  those  persons,  that  1  shall  not  pay  the  smallest 
attention  to  any  such  passport  after  your  notification ;  and 
you  are  to  put  my  orders  In  force,  not  on  any  pretence  to  piermlt 
a  single  Frenchman  to  fence  Fgypt."  It  seems  clear  from 
these  expressions  that  Nelson  had  gathered,  through  Trou- 
bridge,  that  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Sultan  and  of  the  liritish 
representatives  to  get  the  French  out  of  Egypt  at  any  cost,  — 
to  look,  in  short,  to  local  interests  rather  than  to  the  general 
policy  of  the  Allies.  This  he  wms  determined  to  prevent  by 
instructions  so  comprehensive,  yet  so  precise,  as  to  leave  no 
loophole  for  evasion. 

Here  matters  seem  to  have  rested  for  a  time.  Smith 
could  scarcely  dare  to  disregard  such  orders  at  once,  and 
Bonaparte  was  not  yet  disposed  openly  to  confess  failure  by 
seeking  terms.  In  the  autumn  of  1799,  however,  the  Earl  of 
Elgin  went  to  Constantinople  as  ambassador,  Spencer  Smith 
dropping  to  secretary  of  embassy,  and  his  brother  remaining- 
on  the  Egyptian  coast.  Elgin  was  far  from  being  in  accord 
with  Smith's  general  line  of  conduct,  which  Avas  marked  witli 
presumption  and  self-sufficiency,  and  in  the  end  le  greatly 
deplored  the  terms  "  granted  to  the  French,  so  far  beyond  our 
expectation ; "  but  he  shared  the  belief  that  to  rid  Egypt  of 
the  French  was  an  end  for  which  considerable  sacrifices  should 
be  made,  and  his  corresponden(^e  with  Smith  expressed  this 
conviction.  When  prepossessions  such  as  this  exist  among  a 
number  of  men  associated  with  one  another,  they  are  apt,  as 

1  The  italics  to  this  point  are  Nelson's ;  afterwards  the  anther's. 


CONVENTION  OF   EL  ARISII 


421 


iu  the  case  of  Admiral  Man  consulting  with  his  captains,  to 
result  in  some  ill-advised  step,  bearing  commonly  the  stamp 
of  concern  for  local  interests,  and  forgetfulness  of  general 
considerations.  The  upshot  in  this  i)articular  instance  was 
the  conclusion  of  a  Convention,  known  as  that  of  Ei  Arish, 
between  the  Tuiks  and  the  Frendi,  signed  on  board  Smith's 
sliip  on  the  24th  of  Janmiry,  18U0,  by  which  this  army  of  vet- 
erans was  to  be  permitted  to  return  to  France  unmolested,  and 
free  at  once  to  take  the  field  against  the  allies  of  Turkey  and 
Great  Britain,  at  the  monient  wlien  Uonaparte's  unrivalled 
powers  of  administration  wi-re  straining  every  nerve,  to  restore 
the  French  forces  from  the  disorganization  into  which  they 
]iad  fallen,  and  to  prepare  ft)r  the  spring  camjjaign. 

Smith,  though  present,  did  not  sign  this  precious  paper, 
which,  in  a  letter  to  Hamilton,  he  called  "the  gratifying  ter- 
mination of  his  labours ;  "  but  he  had  in  his  hand  the  orders 
of  his  immediate  superior,  and  temporary  commander-in- 
chief,  to  notify  any  "foreigner,  general,  or  admiral,"  that 
the  execution  of  such  an  agreement  would  not  be  permitted 
by  the  British  Navy,  and  it  would  have  been  his  own  duty  to 
stop  any  ships  attempting  to  carry  it  out,  until  other  orders 
were  received.  His  powers  as  joint  plenipotentiary  having 
ceased,  he  was  now  simply  the  naval  officer.  As  it  happened, 
Keith,  who  by  this  time  had  relieved  Nelson,  brought  out 
from  England  dear  directions  from  the  Government  not  to 
allow  any  tr;\nsaction  of  this  kind ;  and  although  he  person- 
ally favored  the  policy  of  evacuation,  feeling  perhaps  the 
inconvenience  of  detaching  ships  so  far  from  his  centre  of 
operations,  he  was  not  a  man  to  trifle  with  orders.  Rumors 
of  what  was  going  on  had  evidently  reached  him,  for  on  the 
8th  of  January,  a  fortnight  before  the  convention  was  signed, 
he  wrote  to  Kleber  a  letter,  which  he  directed  Smith  to  de- 
liver, thus  placing  it  out  of  the  power  of  that  very  independent 
officer  to  leave  any  mistake  as  to  actual  conditions  iu  the  mind 
of  the  French  general.  To  the  latter  he  said :  "  I  have  posi- 
tive orders  not  to  consent  to  any  capitulation  with  the  French 
troops,  at  least  unless  they  lay  down  their  arms,  surrender 
themselves  prisoners  of  war,  and  deliver  up  all  the  ships  and 
stores  of  the  port  of  Alexandria  to  the  Allied  Powers."  Even 
in  such  case  they  would  not  be  allowed  to  leave  Egypt  until 


'  I 


»    i 


1  ,- 


r 


422 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


V 


exchanged.  Any  persons  that  attempted  to  return,  pursuant 
to  an  arrangement  with  one  of  the  Allies,  exelusivo  of  tlio 
others,  as  the  Kl-Arish  Oonvention  was,  would  be  made 
prisoners  of  war. 

Nelson's  o[)inions  in  this  matter  had  never  wavered.  As 
rumors  of  what  was  brewing  got  about,  h»!  wrote  to  the  Karl 
of  Klgin,  on  the  LMst  of  December,  JSOO:  "  I  own  my  lu)pe  yet 
is,  that  the  Sublime  Porte  will  never  permit  a  single  French- 
man to  (|uit  Egypt;  and  I  own  myself  wicked  enough  to  wish 
them  all  to  die  in  that  country  they  chose  to  invade.  We 
have  scoundrels  of  French  enough  in  Europe  without  them." 
"  I  never  would  consent  to  one  of  them  returning  to  the  Con- 
tinent of  Europe  during  the  war,"  he  tells  S]»en»'cv  Smith. 
"I  wish  them  to  /x-ris/i  in  Egypt,  and  give  a  great  lesson  to 
the  world  of  the  justice  of  the  .Mmight}'."  ^VhlMl  J'^lgin,  think- 
ing him  still  commander-in-chief,  sent  him  the  Convention,  he 
replied  i'ornudly:  "I  shall  forward  the  papers  to  Jjord  Keith, 
who  will  answer  your  Exeelleney.  jiut  I  cannot  help  most 
sincerely  regretting  that  ever  any  countenance  was  given  to 
the  Turks  to  enter  into  su(^h  a  treaty  with  the  French  ;  for  I 
ever  held  it  to  bo  impossil)le  to  permit  that  army  to  icturn  to 
Europe,  but  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  in  that  case,  not  to 
France.  And  was  1  commander-in-chief,  even  when  the  thing 
was  done,  I  slK)uld  have  reli.sed  to  ratify  any  consent  or 
approbation  of  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  and  have  wrote  to  both  the 
(Jranu  Vizir  and  the  French  (General,  the  impossibility  of  per- 
mitting a  vantpiished  army  to  be  placed  by  one  Ally  in  a  posi- 
tion to  attack  another  Ally."  The  last  phrase  put  the  facts 
in  a  nut-shell,  and  illustrates  well  Nelson's  power  of  going 
straight  to  the  root  of  a  matter,  disregardful  of  confusing  side- 
issues,  of  policy  or  timidity.  To  Hamilton  he  wrote  passion- 
ately concerning  the  manifold  ditticulties  (caused  to  all,  except 
the  Turks  and  the  Smiths.  ''Jf  all  the  wise  heads  had  left 
them  to  (»od  Almighty,  after  the  bri<.lge  wxi  broke,  all  would 
have  ended  well.  For  I  diifer  entirely  with  luy  commander-in- 
chief,  in  Avishing  they  were  permitted  to  return  to  France; 
and,  likewise,  with  Lord  Elgin  on  the  great  importance  of 
removing  them  from  Egypt." 

"I  have  wrote  to  Jjord.  Keith,  and  home,"  said  Nelson  to 
^ir  Sidney  Smith  on  the   15th  of  January,  "that  I  did  not 


t'l 


going 
X  siclc- 


iiis  uicr.ArioNs  with  kkith 


give  credit  tluit  it  wsih  po.ssihlo  for  you  to  give  iiiiy  jcisspoi-t 
for  a  single  KreiKiliiiwiii,  inii(;li  less  the  Aniiy,  utter  my  posi- 
tive order  of  March  l8th,  17".M).''  The  words  show  what  reports 
had  already  got  ahuut  of  the  general  triMid  ot  ixdiey,  on  the 
part  of  the  I'orto  and  the  British  represt-ntatives ;  hut  tliG 
irony  of  the  matter  as  regards  Nels(»n  is,  that  Smith  disoheyed 
his  orders,  as  he  himself,  six  months  hefore,  had  disoln^yed 
Keith's;  and  for  the  same  reason,  that  he  on  the  spot  was  a 
Ixitter  judge  of  loeal  conditions  and  recent  developnnMits  than 
one  at  a  distance.  To  one,  Naples  was  more  important  than 
^Minorca,  more  important  tlian  a  half-dozen  ships  in  a  jMJssible 
fleet  action  ;  to  the  other,  Egypt  was  more  imi)ortant  than  the 
presence  of  sixteen  thousand  veterans,  more  or  less,  on  a 
European  battle-lield,  Jt  is  impossible  and  bootless,  to  weigh 
the  comi)arative  degree  of  culpability  involved  in  breaches  of 
orders  which  cannot  be  justified. 

On  the  KJth  of  January,  l.SOO,  Nelson,  who  some  days  before 
had  been  notified  by  Keith  of  his  ajjproaidi,  and  directed  to 
place  himself  under  his  command,  left  I'alermo  for  Legliorn, 
arriving  on  the  20th.  The  commander-in-chief  was  already 
there  in  the  "Queen  Charlotte."  On  the  25th  they  sailed  to- 
gether for  Palermo,  and  after  nine  days'  stay  in  that  port  went 
on  again  for  Malta,  which  they  reached  on  the  loth  of  February. 
No  incident  of  particular  interest  oc(!urred  during  these  three 
weeks,  but  Nelson's  letters  to  the  liamiltons  show  that  he  was 
chafing  under  any  act  in  his  superior  which  could  be  construed 
into  a  slight.  ''I  feel  all,  and  notwithstantling  my  desire  to 
be  as  humble  as  the  lowest  midshipman,  perhaps,  I  (-annot 
submit  to  be  much  lower,  I  am  used  to  have  attention  paid  mo 
iroui  his  superiors."  "  To  say  how  I  miss  your  ho)jse  and 
company  would  be  saying  little;  but  in  truth  you  and  Sir 
William  have  so  spoiled  me,  that  1  am  not  ha[)i)y  anywhere 
else  but  with  you,  nor  have  I  an  idea  that  T  ever  can  be." 
Keith's  comment  —  the  other  point  of  view  —  is  worth  (pioting. 
"  Anything  absurd  coming  from  the  quarter  you  mention  does 
not  surprise  me,"  he  wrote  to  Paget,  who  succeeded  Hamilton 
as  minister.  *'  The  whole  was  a  scene  of  fulsome  vanity  and 
absurdity  all  the  Ion;/  eight  days  T  was  at  Palermo."  ^ 

When  Keith  returned,  the  capture  of  Malta,  and  of  the  two 


?,; 


» 


J  The  Paget  Papers,  London,  1896,  vol.  i.  p.  200. 


•     I 
■ 


4lM 


TIIK    MFK  OF   NELSON 


,^1 


shii)S-of-tlu!-lino  whii-li  had  escaped  fiuiu  the  Battle  of    tlic 
Nile,  were,  by  coiumoii  consent,  all  that  roiuained  to  do,  in 
oi'der  to  round  oft'  and  bring  to  a  triiunpli;i.nt  conclusion  Nelson's 
Mediterranean  career.     Fortune  strove  hard  against  his  own 
weakness  to  add  all  these  jewels  to  his  crown,  but  she  strove 
in  vain.     "  NVo   may  truly  call  him  a  fn'inu'ii-honi  Admiral, 
upon  wlioni  fortune  smiles  wherever  he  goes."     So  \/rote  l>al[ 
to  Lady  Hamilton,  alluding  to  the  tirst  of  the  favors  Hung  at 
his  head.     "  We  have  been  carrying  on  the  blockade  of  Malta 
sixteen  months,  during  which  time  the  enemy  never  altempteil 
to  throw  ill  great  succours.     His  Lordship  arrived  oft'   here 
the  day  they  were  within  a  few  leagues  of  the  island,  captured 
the  principal  ships,  and  dispersed  the  rest,  so  that  not  one  has 
reached  the  port."     It  was  indeed  a  marvellous  piece  of  what 
men  call   luck.     N»dsou    had   never   gone   near   Malta   since 
October,  1708,  till  Keith  took  him  there  on  the  15th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1800.     The  division  had  no  sooner  arrived  at  the  island, 
than  a  frigate  brought  word  of  a  French  squadron  having  been 
seen  off  the  west  end  of  Sicily.     It  was  then  blowing  strong 
from  southeast,  and  raining.     Keith  took  his  own  station  oft' 
the  mouth  of  the  liarbor,  placed  other  ships  where  lie  thought 
best,  and  signalled  Nelson  to  chase  to  windward  with  three 
ships-of-the-line,  ■which  were  afterwards  joined  by  a  fourth, 
then  cruising  on  the  southeast  of  the  island.     The  ne.\t  d:iy 
the  wind  shifted  to  nortiiwest,  but  it  was  not  until  the  morti- 
iug  of  the  18th  that  the  enemy  were  discovered.     Guns  were 
then  heard  to  the   northward,  by  those  on  board  the  "  Fou- 
droyant,"  which  made  all  sail  in  pursuit,  and  soon  sighted  the 
'•Alexander  "  chasing  four  French  sail.     *•  I'ray  God  we  may 
get  alongside  of  them,"  wrote  Nelson  in  his  journal ;    ''the 
event  I  leave  to  rrovidenco.     I  think  if  I  can  take  one  74  by 
myself,  I  would  retire,  and  give  the  staff  to  more  able  hands." 
"I  feel  anxious  to  get  up  with  these  ships,"  he  wrote  to  Lady 
Hamilton,  "and  shall  be  unhappy  not  to  take  them  myself, 
for  first  my  greatest  happiness  is  to  serve  my  gracious  King 
and  Country,  and  I  am  envious  only  of  glory;  for  if  it  be  a 
sin  to  covet  glory,  I  am  the  most  offending  soul  alive.     liiif 
here  I  am  in  a  heavy  sea  and  thick  fog  —  Oh,  CJod!  the  wind 
subsided  —  but  I  trust  to  Providence  I  shall  have  them.     18t  li 
in  the  evening,  I  have  got  her — Le  Genereux  —  thank  God! 


1] 
tlj 

S(| 

\\ 

h 

ej 
nl 


IP 


CArrruK  ov  "i<k  (ifiNfeuEux 


42.1 


12  out  of  l.'i,  oiH'ly  tlin  GuillaiiUK!  Telle  rotnainin^  ;  1  am  after 
the  others."  I'lio  euemy's  division  hud  cctnsisted  of  this 
seventy-four,  a  larf?o  transport,  also  capttired,  and  three  cor- 
vettes whicii  escaped. 

An  a(!C.)unt  ol  Ncdson  on  the  qnarter-deck  on  tliis  occasion 
has  been  transiiiitte<l  by  an  eye-witness,  whose  recollections, 
conunitted  to  paper  nearly  forty  years  luter,  are  in  n)any  points 
(!vid(Mitly  faulty,  but  in  the  present  instance  rcHec-t  a  frame  of 
mind  in  the  };reat  admiral  in  ptu'fect  keeping,'  with  tlu«  words 
last  ([uoted  from  his  own  h'tter.  The  writer  Wiis  then  a  mid- 
shipman of  th.e  "  F(mdroyant ; "  and  the  scene  as  described 
opens  with  a  hail  froin  a  lieutenant  at  the  masthead,  with  his 
telescope  on  the  chase. 

"'Deck  there!  the  stranger  is  evidently  a  man  of  war  — 
she  is  a  line-of-battle-sliip,  my  lord,  and  going  large  on  the 
starboard  tack.' 

"*Ah!  an  enemy,  IMr.  Stains.  I  pray  (lod  it  maybe  Le 
Genereux.  The  signal  for  a  general  chase,  Sir  Ed'ard,  (the 
NelsoniiJ.n  pronunciation  of  Edward,)  make  the  Foudroyant 
ttyl' 

"  Thus  spoke  the  heroic!  Nelson ;  and  every  exertion  that 
emulation  could  inspire  was  used  to  crowd  the  squadron  with 
canvas,  the  Northumberland  taking  the  lead,  with  the  flag- 
ship close  on  her  quarter. 

"  'This  will  not  do.  Sir  Ed'ard  ;  it  is  certainly  Le  Genereux, 
and  to  my  flag-ship  she  can  alone  surrender.  Sir  Ed'ard,  we 
must  and  shall  beat  the  Northumberland.' 

"'I  will  do  the  utmost,  my  lord;  get  the  engine  to  work  on 
the  sails  —  hang  butts  of  water  to  the  stays  —  pipe  the  ham- 
mocks down,  and  each  man  place  shot  in  theni  -  •  slack  the  stays, 
knock  up  the  wedges,  and  give  the  masts  play  —  start  off  the 
water,  Mr.  James,  and  pump  the  ship.'  The  Foudroyant  is 
drawing  a-head,  and  at  last  takes  the  lead  in  the  chase.  '  The 
admiral  is  working  his  fin,  (the  stump  of  his  right  arm,)  do 
not  cross  his  hawse,  I  advise  you.' 

"  The  advice  was  good,  for  at  that  moment  Nelson  opened 
furiously  on  the  quarter-master  at  the  conn.  *  I  '11  knock 
you  off  your  perch,  you  rascal,  if  you  fire  so  inattentive. 
—  Sir  Ed'ard,  send  your  best  quarter-master  to  the  weather- 
wheel.' 


',  i 


ji 


fl' 


\ 


Vi 


42tJ 


THE   LIFK   OF   NELSON 


•11 


i!^ 


I.I 


" '  A.  .strang(!  sail  a-heacl  of  the  (ihase ! '  called  the  look-out 
man. 

" '  Voiingster,    to    the    mast-head.     What !    going    without 

your  glass,  and  be  d d  to  you  ?     Lt't  me  know  what  she 

is  immediately.' 

'' '  A.  sloop  of  war,  or  frigate,  my  lord,'  shouted  the  young 
signal-midshipman. 

*' '  Demand  her  number.' 

"  *  The  Success,  my  lord.' 

** '  Captain  Peard  ;  signal  to  cut  off  the  flying  enemy  — 
great  odds,  though  —  thirty-two  small  guns  to  eight}'^  large 
ones.' 

"'The  Success  has  hove-to  athwart-hawse  of  the  Genereux, 
ar.l  is  firing  her  larboard  broadside.  The  Frenchman  has 
hoisted  his  tri-colour,  with  a  rear-admiral's  flag.' 

"  ' Bravo  —  Success,  at  her  again! ' 

" '  She  has  wore  round,  my  lord,  and  firing  her  starboard 
broadside.  It  has  winged  her,  my  lord  —  her  flying  kites  are 
flying  away  all  together.'  The  enemy  is  close  on  the  Success, 
who  must  receive  her  tremendous  broadside.  The  Genereux 
opens  her  fire  on  her  little  enemy,  and  every  person  stands 
aghast,  afraid  of  the  consequences.  The  smoke  clears  away, 
and  there  is  the  Success,  crippled,  it  is  true,  but,  bull-dog  like, 
bearing  up  after  the  enemy. 

"'The  signal  for  the  Success  to  discontinue  the  action,  and 
come  under  my  stern,'  said  Lord  Nelson :  *  she  has  done  well, 
for  her  size.  Try  a  shot  from  the  lower-deck  at  her,  Sir 
E.l'ard.' 

" '  It  goes  over  her.' 

"'Heat  to  quarters,  and  fire  coolly  and  deliberately  at  her 
masts  and  yards.' 

"  Le  Genereux  at  this  moment  opened  her  fire  on  us ;  and,  as 
a  shot  passed  through  the  mizen  stay-sail.  Lord  Nelson,  pat- 
ting one  of  the  youngsters  on  the  head,  asked  him  jocularly  how 
he  relished  the  music  ;  and  observing  something  like  alarm 
depicted  on  his  countenance,  consoled  him  with  the  informa- 
tion, that  Charles  XII.  ran  away  from  the  first  shot  he  heard, 
though  afterwards  he  was  called  '  The  Great,'  and  deservedly, 
from  his  bravery.  *I,  therefore,'  said  Lord  Nelson,  'hope 
much  from  you  in  future.' 


<    ! 


CAl'TUKK   OF   "LE   GltNi^'.IlICUX  " 


427 


"Here  the  Novthuiiiborlaiid  oi)eiu'.(l  lior  fire,  and  down 
viiuio  tho  <,ri-colored  ensign,  a)nidst  the  thunder  of  our  united 
cannon."  * 

Aoeording  to  Keith,  Nelson  "on  this  occasion,  as  on  all 
otliers,  conducted  himself  with  skill,  and  great  address,  in 
comprehending  my  signals,  which  tius  state  of  the  weather  led 
me  greatly  to  suspect."  Nelson's  account  to  Hamilton  was, 
"  r»y  leaving  my  admiral  without  signal,  for  which  1  maij  he, 
broke,  I  took  these  French  villains."'  "I  have  Avrote  to  Lord 
Spencer,"  he  tells  his  eldest  brother,  "and  have  sent  him  my 
journal,  to  show  that  the  Genereux  was  taken  by  me,  and  my 
plan  —  that  my  quitting  Lord  Keith  was  at  my  own  risk,  and 
tor  which,  if  I  had  not  succeeded,  I  might  have  been  broke. 
The  way  he  went,  the  Genereux  never  could  have  been 
taken."  In  a  letter  to  Lord  Minto  he  attributed  his  success 
to  his  knowledge  of  all  the  local  conditions,  accpiired  by  seven 
years'  exi)erience.  In  his  anxiety  to  make  this  instance  prove 
his  case,  in  the  previous  disobedience  to  Keith,  for  which  tiie 
Admiralty  had  censured  him.  Nelson  overreached  himself  and 
certainly  fell  into  an  ungenerous  action.  His  vaunt  of  suc- 
cess by  the  road  of  disobedience  rested  only  on  the  fact  that  he 
had  failed  to  see  Keith's  signal.  This  the  latter  did  not  know, 
and  evidently  considered  he  liad  complied  with  its  spirit. 
The  signal  to  chase  to  windward  was  not  strained  to  disobedi- 
ence in  being  construed  to  search  a  fairly  wide  area  for  the 
enemy,  keeping  the  rendezvous,  which  was  also  the  enemy's 
destination,  to  leeward,  so  as  to  be  readily  regained.  The 
** Queen  Charlotte,"  Keith's  flagship,  covered  the  inner  line, 
and,  being  a  first-r,ate,  was  competent  to  handle  any  force 
that  could  come  out  of  Toulon.  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
human  nature  in  this  captious  unofficial  attack  on  a  supe- 
rior, whose  chief  fault,  as  towards  himself,  was  that  he  had 
been  the  victim  of  disobedience  ;  but  it  is  not  pleasant  to  see 
in  a  man  so  truly  great. 

The  "Genereux"  carried  the  flag  of  a  rear-admiral,  who  was 

*  Nelsoniiui  Reiuiniscences,  by  liicntcnaiit  G.  S.  Parsons.  Tho  iinthor  liiis 
lieen  able  to  test  Parsons'  stories  sutliciontly  to  assim?  liinisoll'  tliat  they  mi- 
iiot  be  (juoted  to  establisli  historieal  faet ;  but  siieh  seenes  as  liere  given,  ui- 
how  many  glasses  of  wine  Nelson  drank  at  dinner,  or  that  tlie  writer  hiniselt' 
was  out  of  eleau  shirts,  when  askeil  to  dine  at  the  atbnirars  table,  are  trivi- 
alities wliieh  memory  retains. 


^m 


'I  ;.  '  i 


s 


428 


THE  I.IFK  OF  NELSON 


«! 


killod  in  the  action.  Nelson  seized  tlie  opportnnity  of  further 
conciliatiiig  the  Czar,  by  sending  the  sword  of  this  officer  to 
him,  as  Grand  Master  of  the  Order  of  Malta.  Upon  rejoining 
Keith,  he  reported  in  person,  as  custom  demands.  "Lord 
Keith  received  my  account  and  myself  like  a  philosopher  (but 
very  unlike  you),"  he  wrote  to  Hamilton;  "it  did  not,  that  I 
could  perceive,  cause  a  pleasing  muscle  in  his  face."  "Had 
you  seen  the  Peer  receive  me,"  he  wrote  to  Lady  Hamilton 
the  same  day,  "  I  know  not  what  you  would  have  done ;  but  1 
can  guess.  r>ut  never  mind.  I  told  him  that  I  had  made  a 
vow,  if  I  took  the  Genereux  by  myself,  it  was  my  intention  to 
strike  my  flag.  To  which  he  made  no  answer."  What  could 
he  very  well  say,  if  a  man  chose  to  throw  away  his  chances, 
especially  when  that  man  was  a  subordinate  who  a  short  time 
before  had  flatly  refused  to  obey  his  orders.  Soreness  and 
testiness  had  full  swing  in  Nelson  at  this  time;  at  some  fnn- 
cied  neglect,  he  wrote  Troubridge  a  letter  which  reduced  that 
gallant  officer  to  tears. 

IJetween  Palermo  and  ]\[alta  Keith  had  received  letters 
from  General  IMelas,  commanding  the  Austrian  army  in 
Piedmont,  giving  the  plan  of  tiic  approaching  cam]>aign,  in 
which,  as  the  Austrians  were  to  besiege  Genoa,  and  advance 
to  the  Kiviera,  much  depended  upon  naval  co-operation. 
Rightly  judging  that  to  be  the  quarter  calling  for  the  naval 
commander-in-chief,  he  was  anxious  to  get  awa}'.  On  the  24tli 
of  February  he  ordered  Nelson  to  take  charge  ot  the  block- 
ade, and  "to  adopt  and  prosecute  the  necessary  measures  for 
contributing  to  the  complete  reduction  of  Malta."  Short  of 
the  chief  command,  which  he  coveted  and  grudged,  Nelson 
himself  could  not  have  contrived  a  position  better  fitted  to 
crown  his  work  in  the  Mediterranean.  AVithin  the  harbor  of 
La  Valetta,  concentrating  there  the  two  objects  yet  to  be  at- 
tained, —  Valetta  itself  being  one,  —  was  the  "  Guillaume 
Tell,'  the  thirteenth  ship,  which  alone  was  lacking  now  to 
complete  the  tale  of  the  trophies  of  the  Nile.  Yet  the  fair 
prospect  of  success,  inevitable  since  the  capture  of  the  "Gene- 
reux "  had  destroyed  the  French  hopes  of  relief,  brought  to 
Nelson  nothing  but  dismay.  "iMy  Lord,"  he  replied  the  same 
day,  "my  state  of  health  is  such,  that  it  is  impossible  I  can 
much  longer  remain  here.     AVithout  some  rest,  I  am  gone.     1 


mu 


I'  f  'il 


HIS   RELATIONS   WITH   KEITH 


429 


must  therefore,  whenever  I  find  the  service  will  admit  of  it; 
request  your  permission  to  go  to  my  friends,  at  Palermo,  for  a 
few  weeks,  and  leave  the  command  hero  to  Commodore 
Troubridge.  Nothing  but  absolute  necessity  obliges  me  to 
write  this  letter."  "  I  could  no  more  stay  fourteen  days 
longer  here,  than  fourteen  years,"  he  said  in  a  private  let- 
ter to  Keith  of  the  same  date. 

By  the  next  day  he  had  recognized  that  even  he  could  not 
leave  at  once  the  task  appointed  him,  without  discredit. 
"  My  situation,"  he  then  wrote  to  Hamilton,  "  is  to  me  very 
irksome,  but  hov/  at  this  moment  to  get  rid  of  it  is  a  great 
difficulty.  The  French  ships  here  ["Guillaume  Tell"  and 
others]  are  preparing  for  sea ;  the  Brest  tleet,  Lord  Keith 
says,  may  be  daily  expected,  and  witli  all  this  I  am  ve:-y 
unwell.  .  .  .  The  first  Moment  which  offers  wi*^!!  credit  to 
myself  1  shall  assuredly  give  you  my  company.  .  .  .  Lord 
Keith  is  commander-in-chief,  and  I  have  not  been  kindly 
treated."  His  tried  friends,  Troubridge  and  Ball,  realized 
the  false  step  he  was  about  to  take,  but  they  could  not  change 
his  purpose.  "  Remember,  my  Lord,"  wrote  the  former,  ''  the 
prospects  are  rather  good  at  present  of  reducing  this  place, 
and  that  William  Tell,  Diane, ^  and  Justice,'  are  the  only  three 
ships  left  from  the  Nile  fieet.  I  beseech  you  hear  the  en- 
treaties of  a  sincere  friend,  and  do  not  go  to  Sicily  for  the 
present.  Cruizing  may  be  unpleasant.  Leave  the  Foudroy- 
ant  outside,  and  hoist  your  tlag  in  the  Culloden,  to  carry  on 
operations  with  the  General.  Everything  shall  be  done  to 
make  it  comfortable  and  pleasing  to  you :  a  month  v/ill  do 
all.  If  you  comply  with  my  request,  I  shall  be  happy,  as  I 
shall  then  be  convinced  I  have  not  forfeited  your  friendship." 
Ten  clays  later,  March  5th,  lie  wrote  again :  *'  One  part  of 
your  Lordship's  letter  distresses  me  much,  your  determina- 
tion to  quit  us,  and  of  course  the  service,  for  I  can  draw  no 
line  between  the  one  and  the  other.  There  is  nothing  I  would 
not  do  to  prevent  it.  ...  I  beseech  your  Lordship  hear  the 
entreaties  of  a  sincere  friend,  and  stay  until  the  fall  of  this 
place."  "  I  dined  with  his  Lordship  yesterday,  who  is  appar- 
ently in  good  health,"  wrote  llall  to  Lady  Hamilton,  "but  he 
complains  of  indisposition  and  the  necessity  of  repose.     I  do 


'1 


,  I. 


'.        i 


*  Frmiites. 


430 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


1^ 


n 


not  think  a  short  stay  here  will  hurt  his  health,  particularly 
as  his  ship  is  at  anchor,  and  his  mind  not  harassed.  Trou- 
bridge  and  I  are  extremely  anxious  that  the  French  ships, 
and  the  French  garrison  of  La  Valetta,  shall  surrender  to  him. 
1  would  not  urge  it  if  I  were  not  convinced  that  it  will  ulti- 
mately add  both  to  his  honour  and  happiness." 

The  fear  of  his  friends  that  he  would  lose  honor,  by  not 
resisting  inclination,  is  evident  —  undisguised ;  but  they  could 
not  prevail.  On  the  4th  of  March  he  wrote  to  Lady  Hamil- 
ton :  "  My  health  is  in  such  a  state,  and  to  say  the  truth,  an 
uneasy  mind  at  being  taught  my  lesson  like  a  school  boy, 
that  my  determination  is  made  to  leave  Malta  on  the  15th 
morning  of  this  month,  on  the  first  moment  after  the  wind 
comes  favourable;  unless  I  am  suke  that  I  shall  get  hold  of 
the  French  ships."  Keith's  directions  had  been  full  and  ex- 
plicit on  details,  and  this  Nelson  seems  to  have  resented. 
Among  the  particular  orders  was  one  that  Palermo,  being  so 
distant  from  Malta,  should  be  discontinued  as  the  rendezvous, 
and  Syracuse  substituted  for  it ;  Nelson  was,  however,  at 
liberty  to  use  Messina  or  Augusta,  both  also  on  the  east  coast 
of  Sicily,  if  he  preferred.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Nelson 
himself,  before  he  fell  under  the  influence  of  Naples,  had  ex- 
pressed his  intention  to  make  Syracuse  the  base  of  his  opera- 
tions. Coming  as  this  change  did,  as  one  of  the  first  acts  of 
a  new  commandej'-in-chief,  coinciding  with  hi3  own  former 
judgment,  it  readily  took  the  color  o^  an  implied  censure  upon 
his  prolonged  stay  at  Palermo — an  echo  of  the  increasing 
scandal  that  attended  it. 

On  the  10th  of  March  he  left  Malta  for  Palermo  in  the 
"  Foudroyant,"  sending  the  ship  back,  however,  to  take  her 
place  in  the  blockade,  and  hoisting  his  own  flag  on  board  a 
transport.  His  mind  was  now  rapidly  turning  towards  a  final 
retirement  from  the  station,  a  decision  accelerated  by  the  cap- 
ture of  the  "  Guillaume  Tell."  This  eighty-gun  ship  started 
on  the  night  of  INFarch  29th  to  run  out  from  La  Valetta,  to 
relieve  the  famished  garrison  from  feeding  the  twelve  hundred 
men  she  carried.  It  was  a  singular  'llustration  of  the  good 
fortune  of  the  *' lieaven-born  "  admira.,  to  repeat  Ball's  expres- 
sion, that  the  "  Fou.lroyant"  arri^'ed  barely  in  time,  only  a 
few  hours  before  the  event,  her  absence  from  which  migl:t 


i,  1 


.If  "i 


u  — 


CAPTUUE   OF   THE   "GUILLAUMK   TKLL  " 


4iil 


have  resulted  in  the  escape  of  the  enemy,  and  a  just  censure 
upon  Nelson.  "If  the  Foudroyant  had  not  arrived/'  wrote 
Troubridge  to  him,  "nothing  we  have  could  have  looked  at 
her."  The  French  ship  was  sighted  first  by  a  frigate,  the 
"Penelope,"  Captain  Blackwood,  which  hung  gallantly  upon 
her  quarters,  as  Nelson  in  former  days  had  dogged  the  "  Ca 
Ira"  with  the  "Agamemnon,"  until  the  heavier  ships  could 
gather  round  the  quarry.  The  "  Guillaume  Tell,"  necessarily 
intent  only  on  escape  from  overpowering  numbers,  could  not 
turn  aside  to  crush  the  small  antagonist,  which  one  of  her 
broadsides  might  have  swept  out  of  existence ;  yet  even  so, 
the  frigate  decided  the  issue,  for  she  shot  away  the  main 
and  mizzen  topmasts  of  the  French  vessel,  permitting  the 
remainder  of  the  British  to  come  up.  No  ship  was  ever  more 
gallantly  fought  than  the  "Guillaume  Tell;"  the  scene  would 
have  been  well  worthy  even  of  Nelson's  presence.  More 
could  not  be  said,  but  Nelson  was  not  there.  She  had  shaken 
off  the  "Penelope"  and  the  "Lion,"  sixty-four,  when  the 
"  Foudroyant "  drew  up  at  six  in  the  morning.  "  At  half-past 
six,"  says  the  latter's  log,  "shot  away  the  [French]  main 
and  mizen-masts :  saw  a  man  nail  the  French  ensign  to  the 
stump  of  the  mizen-mast.  Five  minutes  past  eight,  shot  away 
the  enemy's  foremast.  Ten  minutes  past  eight,  all  her  masts 
being  gone  by  the  board,  the  enemy  struck  his  colours,  and 
ceased  tiring."  The  last  of  the  fleet  in  Aboukir  Bay  had 
surrendered  to  Nelson's  ship,  but  not  to  Nelson's  flag. 

Troubridge  took  this  occasion  again  to  entreat  his  presence 
at  Malta.  "  I  would  have  given  one  thousand  guineas  your 
health  had  permitted  your  being  in  the  Foudroyant;"  and 
on  the  same  day,  April  1st,  in  a  letter  marked  "  piivate,"  he 
repeats,  "Will  your  Lordship  come  and  hoist  your  flag  in  the 
Culloden  ?  Rely  on  everything  I  can  do  to  make  it  pleas- 
ant." On  the  13th  ho  is  yet  more  pressing :  "  Your  friends 
absolutely,  as  far  as  they  dare,  insist  on  your  staying  to  sign 
the  capitulation.  Be  on  your  guard,  I  see  a  change  in  language 
since  Lord  Keith  was  here."  Himself  suffering  from  frequent 
severe  illness,  and  harassed  by  officers  of  his  own  gi-ade  dis- 
regarding his  orders,  Troubridge  still  stuck  to  Malta,  and  he 
clearly  believed  Nelson  could  do  the  same  under  the  conditions 
suggested.    If  so,  the  efficiency  of  the  service,  as  well  as  his 


Hi 


M 


,t  1 


O 


\  !    J 


■  I 


;i! 


'I 


ii 


432 


TlIK   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


own  reputation,  clemanded  of  tlio  admiral  to  be  there  instead 
of  at  ralernio. 

"I  am  sensible,"  wrote  Nelson  to  8ir  Edward  iJerry,  tlio 
captain  of  the  '•  Foudroyant,"  *'of  your  kindness  in  wishing 
my  presence  at  the  linisli  of  tlie  Egyptian  fleet,  but  I  have 
no  cause  for  sorrow.  The  thing  could  not  be  better  done, 
and  I  would  not  for  all  the  world  rob  you  of  one  particle  of 
your  well-earned  laurels.''  In  the  matter  of  glory  Nelson 
might  well  yield  much  to  another,  nor  miss  what  lu  gave  ;  but 
there  is  a  fitness  in  things,  and  it  was  not  fitting  that  the  com- 
mander of  the  division  should  have  been  absent  when  such 
an  event  was  likely  to  happen.  "  JNIy  task  is  (hjue,  my  health 
is  lost,  and  the  orders  of  the  great  Earl  St.  Vincent  are  com- 
pletely fidfilled."  '•  I  have  wrote  to  Lord  Keith,"  he  tells 
Spencer,  ''  for  permission  to  return  to  England,  when  you 
will  see  a  broken-hearted  man.  My  sjjirit  cannot  submit  pa- 
tiently." But  by  this  time,  if  the  First  Lord's  forbearance 
was  not  exhausted,  his  patience  very  nearly  was,  and  already 
a  letter  had  been  sent,  which,  while  couched  in  terms  of 
delicate  consideration,  nevertheless  betrayed  the  deep  dis- 
appointment that  had  succeeded  to  admiration  for  services 
so  eminent,  and  for  a  spirit  once  so  indomitable :  *'  To  your 
letter  of  tlie  20th  of  March,  all  I  shall  say  is,  to  express  my 
extreme  regret  that  your  health  should  bo  such  as  to  oblige 
you  to  quit  your  station  off  Malta,  at  a  time  when  I  should 
suppose  there  must  be  i.he  finest  prospect  of  its  reduction.  I 
should  be  very  sori-y  that  you  did  not  accomplish  that  business 
in  person,  as  the  Guillaume  Tell  is  your  due,  and  that  ship 
ought  not  to  strike  to  any  other.  If  the  enemy  should  come 
into  the  Mediterranean,  and  whenever  they  do,  it  will  be  sud- 
denl}',  I  should  be  much  concerned  to  hear  that  you  learnt  of 
their  arrival  in  that  sea,  either  on  shore  or  in  a  transport  at 
]*alermo." 

A  nearer  approach  to  cens\ire  soon  followed.  On  the  9th 
of  May,  orders  were  sent  to  Keith,  that  if  Nelson's  health 
rendered  him  unfit  for  duty,  he  was  to  be  permitted  to  return 
home  by  sea  when  opportimity  offered,  or  by  land  if  he  pre- 
ferred. Earl  Spencer  wrote  him  at  the  same  time  a  private 
letter,  in  which  disa])probation  was  too  thinly  masked  by  care- 
fully chosen  words  to  escape  attention:  '*Tt  is  by  no  means 


DlSAri'KOHATION   OF   THE   ADMIRALTY. 


433 


my  wish  or  intentiou  to  call  youawiiy  from  service,  but  having 
observed  that  you  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  quitting 
your  station  off  Malta,  on  account  of  your  health,  which  I 
am  persuaded  you  could  not  have  thought  of  doing  without 
such  necessity,  it  appeared  to  me  much  uiore  advisable  for 
you  to  come  home  at  once,  tliau  to  be  obliged  to  remain  in- 
active at  Palermo,  while  active  service  was  going  on  in  other 
parts  of  the  station.  1  should  still  much  prefer  your  remain- 
ing to  complete  the  reduction  of  Malta,  which  I  flatter  myself 
cannot  be  very  far  distant,  and  I  still  look  with  anxious  ex- 
pectation to  the  Guillaume  Tell  striking  to  your  flag.  But 
if,  unfortunately,  these  agreeable  events  are  to  be  prevented, 
by  your  having  too  much  exhausted  yourself  in  the  service  to 
be  equal  to  follow  them  up,  I  am  quite  clear,  and  I  bf  .leve 
I  am  joined  in  opinion  by  all  your  friends  here,  that  you  will 
be  more  likely  to  recover  your  health  and  strength  in  Eng- 
land than  in  an  inactive  situation  at  a  Foreign  Court,  how- 
ever pleasing  the  respect  and  gratitude  sIaowu  to  you  for  your 
services  may  be,  and  no  testimonies  of  respect  and  gratitude 
from  that  Court  to  you  can  be,  I  an)  convinced,  too  great  for 
the  very  essential  services  you  have  rendered  it.  I  trust  that 
you  will  take  in  good  part  what  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to 
write  to  you  as  a  friend." 

Both  these  letters  reached  Nelson  in  rTune,  at  Leghorn,  on 
his  way  home.  The  underlying  censure  did  not  escape  him, — 
"your  two  letters  gave  me  much  pain,"  he  rei)lied,  — but  he 
showed  no  traces  of  self-condemnation,  or  of  regret  for  the 
past.  Lord  Minto,  who  was  now  ambassador  at  Vienna,  wrote 
thence  in  March  of  this  year,  before  the  question  of  going 
home  was  decided :  "  I  have  letters  from  Xelson  and  Lady 
Hamilton.  It  does  not  seem  clear  whether  he  will  go  home. 
I  hope  he  will  not  for  his  own  sake,  and  he  will  at  least,  I 
hope,  take  Malta  first.  He  does  not  seem  at  all  conscious  of 
the  sort  of  discredit  he  has  fallen  into,  or  the  cause  of  it,  for 
he  still  Avvitf^s.  not  wisely,  about  Lady  IL  and  all  that.  But 
it  is  hard  lo  condemn  and  use  ill  a  hero,  as  he  is  in  his  own 
element,  for  being  foolish  about  a  woman  who  has  art  enough 
to  make  fools  of  many  wiser  than  an  admiral."  Many  years 
later,  immediately  after  the  parting  which  he  did  not  then 
know  was  the  last,  Minto  said  of  him,  "  He  is  in  many  points 

28 


{ 


1  {    i  l! 


V  "A    '1 

f  ■  'Ml 


'it' 


1^' 


V  • 


.'ill'' 


434 


Till-:    LII'K  OF  NKLSON 


a  roally  j;reat  man,  in  oMicrs  a  baity.''  Nelson  hiinss-U",  (con- 
scious of  tho  diIijL,M>nc(!  which  ho  had  used  in  tho  administra- 
tion of  his  wide  eoinmand  and  its  vjiricd  intevosts,  put  out  of 
court  all  other  considerationw  of  propriety.  "  1  trust  you  and 
all  my  friends  will  helieve,"  he  told  Spencer,  "that  mine 
cannot  be  an  inactive  life,  although  it  may  not  carry  all  the 
outward  paradi^  of  iinirh  (f</<>  (i/xnU  notliiiHjy 

Had  the  Ilaniiltons  remained  in  I'alermo,  Nelson  wt)uld 
have  been  forced  to  a  choice  between  leaving  lier  and  the 
]\rediterranean,  or  yielding  a  submission  to  orders  whiidi  to 
the  last  he  never  gave,  when  fairly  out  of  signal  distanc(\ 
But  the  Foreign  Otlice  had  det'ided  that  Sir  William  shoiild 
not  return  after  the  leave  for  which  lie  had  ai>plied  ;  and  in 
the  beginning  of  March  it  was  known  at  Talerujo  that  his 
successor  had  been  appointed.  'I'his  Nelson  also  learned,  at 
the  latest,  wlu'u  he  came  bick  there  on  the  lOth.  To  one 
correspondent  he  wrote,  on  the  2St]i,  "  Most  probably  my 
health  will  force  me  to  retire  in  A^tril,  for  I  am  worn  out  with 
fatigue  of  body  ami  mind,"  and  his  application  was  sent  in  on 
the  Gtli  of  the  latter  nionth,  after  news  of  the  "Guillaumo 
Tell's ''  capture.  On  the  22d  Hamilton  presented  his  letters 
of  recall,  and  on  the  24th  he  and  Jjady  Hamilton,  with  a  party, 
embarked  with  Nelson  on  board  the  "  Fond roy ant  "  for  a  tri[) 
to  Syracuse  and  Malta,  from  whitdi  they  all  returned  to 
I'alermo  on  the  first  of  June. 


'lev 


CirAPTKR  XV. 

Nki.son     i,i;avks    tiik     Mkiui  kukankan.  -  -  Tiik.     Juijknky     Ovfm.anh 

TIlKOUIill      (iKIlMASV.  —  AuitlVAl,      IN       KNdl.ANIl.  —  iSi;i'AI!ATH)N       KIttt.M 

Lady   Nklson.    -  Hoists  iiih    Ki.ao  in    tiiI';  Ciiannki,  Ki.kkt,  unumi 
Liiiii)  St.  Vincf.nt. 

Ji'NE,  ISOO-.Iam'Auv,  ISOI.     A(ii.;,  42. 


A 


T  tlio  time  Nelson  and  tlio  Haniiltons  returned  to 
l*al(!rnio,  the  Queen  of  Na[»les  was  wisliinj^',  for  [(oliti- 
cal  reasons,  to  visit  Vienna.  To  iiu'et  tliis  wisli  Nelson  took 
the  "  Foudroyant "  and  ''Ak^xander"  oi'f  the  bhtekado  of 
Malta,  that  they  might  carry  herself  and  suite  to  Leghorn, 
together  with  the  Jlamiltons.  He  elnng  also  to  the  hope  that 
Keith  would  give  him  his  powerful  flagship  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, in  Avhieh  case  the  Hamiltons  would  go  with  him.  "  I 
go  with  our  dear  friends  Sir  Willia,in  and  Lady  Hamilton," 
he  wrote  to  Lord  JMinto;  ''but  whether  liy  water  or  land 
depends  on  the  will  of  Lord  Keith.  May  all  orders  be  as 
punctually  obeyed,"  alluding  to  tli(!  completion  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Nih;  fleet  by  the  capture  of  the  "  (luillaume  Tell," 
"  but  never  a-'ain  an  officer  at  the  close  of  what  I  must,  with- 


being  though 


'hi 


id  by 


n  represeutei 
call  a  glorious  car^  ■'  be  so  treated  ! " 

Keith's  oi)inion  -  Nelson's  oljedience  was  probably  some- 
what different.  Tiie  latter  had  written  him  on  the  12th  of 
May,  that,  being  uiuler  au  old  promise  to  carry  the  Queen  to 
the  Continent,  he  proposed  to  take  the  two  ships-of-the-line 
for  that  puri)ose,  and  Keith  sent  him  a  letter  forl)idding  him 
to  do  so,  and  directing  then  to  be  sent  back  at  once  to  Malta. 
Nelson,  it  is  true,  did  not  re(!eive  this ;  but  it  is  impossible 
to  reconcile  with  attentiou  to  orders  tin's  diversi(ju  of  two 
ships  of  their  force  from  the  singularly  im|iortant  station 
appointed  them  by  the  commander-in-chief,  without  reference 
to  him,  and  using  them  to  carry  about  foreign  sovereigns. 
Un  arriving  in   Leghorn,   on   the  llth  of   June,  Nelson  an- 


iiff:    n 


i:' 

I'  , 


^U 


i 


\\ 


430 


THE   LIFK   OF  NELSON 


m 


nounced  the  fact  to  Keitli,  with  appim;nt  i)ert'ect  uncon- 
sciousness that  the  latter  couhl  be  other  than  charmed.  '•  1 
was  obliged  to  bring  the  Alexander,  or  the  party  never  could 
have  been  accommodated :  I  therefore  trust  you  will  u]»- 
prove  of  it."  "I  was  so  displeased  by  the  withdrawing  ot  the 
ships  from  before  Malta,"  wrote  Keith  to  I'aget,  "and  with 
other  proceedings,  that  lier  Majesty  did  not  take  any  notice 
of  me  latterly."  It  would  seem  also  that  some  harm  had 
come  of  it.  "What  a  clamour,  too,  letting  in  the  ships  to 
Malta  will  occasion.  I  assure  you  nothing  has  given  m»3 
more  real  concern,  it  was  so  near  exhausted."  "J lad  not 
Nelson  quitted  the  blockade,"  he  wrote  a  week  later,  "and 
taken  the  ships  oft'  tl  'i  station,  it  might  have  fallen  about 
this  time."  * 

Lord  Keith  had  been  engaged  for  six  weeks  past  in  the 
famous  blockade  and  siege  of  Genoa,  the  garrison  of  which, 
spent  with  famine  and  disease,  marched  out  on  the  5th  of 
June,  1800.  On  the  14th  —  the  day  Nelson  reached  Leghorn 
—  was  fought  the  iJattle  of  IMarengo,  in  wiiich  the  Austrians 
were  totally  defeated,  the  French  army  under  Bonaparte  r^'- 
maihing  victorious  across  their  line  of  retreiit  to  Mantua. 
The  next  day  Melas  signed  a  convention,  abandoning  Northern 
Italy,  as  far  as  the  ]\Iincio,  to  the  French,  to  Avhom  were 
given  up  all  the  fortified  places,  Genoa  included.  At  mid- 
night of  June  18,  Nelson  received  an  order  from  Iveith  to 
take  all  the  ships  at  Leghorn  to  Spezia,  for  certain  minor 
military  purposes.  Nelson  sent  the  "Alexander"  and  a 
frigate,  but  remained  himself  in  Leghorn  with  the  "Fou- 
droyant,"  ready,  he  wrote  the  admiral,  "to  receive  the  queen 
and  royal  family,  should  such  an  event  be  necessary."  Keith 
rejoined  Avith  a  peremptory  order  that  no  ships-of-the-line 
should  be  used  for  such  purpose ;  the  Queen,  he  said,  had 
better  get  to  Vienna  as  fast  as  she  could;  and  not  think  of 
going  back  to  Talermo.  "If  the  French  fleet  gets  the  start 
of  ours  a  day,  Sicily  cannot  hold  out  even  that  one  day." 
"Lord  Keith,"  commented  Nelson,  "believes  reports  of  the 
Brest  fleet,  which  I  give  not  the  smallest  credit  to."  "I 
own  I  do  not  believe  the  Brest  fleet  will  return  to  sea,"  he 
told  Keith  ;  "  and  if  they  do  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  them, 
1  The  Paget  Puik-is,  vol,  i.  pp.  253,  257. 


RETITUN  TO   VATJLANl),  ^SOO 


4:J7 


for  our  flpot  will  not,  \  uin  sure."  It  was  iiou  tlio  loast  of  his 
consjiiouons  iiKM-its  that  ho  was  hlitid  to  imai,'iiiativn  or  ex- 
agj^'o rated  alarms.  K(;ith  saw  too  vividly  all  that  might 
liiiljpcn  in  f!onso(iiU'nco  of  rofoiit  reverses — much  more  than 
coidd  happen. 

On  the  24th  of  June  the  latter  reaehed  Leghorn  in  person. 
"I  must  go  to  Leghorn,''  he  complained,  "to  land  the  fugi- 
tives, and  to  he  bored  by  Lord  Nelson  for  permission  to  take 
the  Queen  to  ralernio,  and  princes  and  princesses  to  all  parts 
of  the  globe.''  The  Queen  was  in  a  panic,  and  besought  him 
with  tears  to  give*  her  the  '*  Foudroyant,"  but  Keith  was 
obdurate.  "  jNFr.  Wyndham  '  arrived  here  yesterday  from 
Florence,''  wrote  Lady  IMinto  on  the  6th  of  July  to  her  sister. 
"He  lefu  the  Queen  of  Naples,  Sir  "William  and  Lady  Hamil- 
ton, and  N.dson,  at  Leghorn.  The  Queen  has  given  up  all 
thoughts  Oi  coming  here.  She  asked  Lord  Keith  in  her  own 
proper  person  for  the  Foudroyant  to  take  her  back.  He 
refused  positively  giving  her  such  a  ship.  The  Queen  wept, 
concluding  that  royal  tears  were  irresistible;  but  he  remained 
unmoved,  and  would  grant  nothing  but  a  frigate  to  convoy 
her  own  frigates  -  to  Trieste,  He  told  her  Lady  Hamilton 
had  had  command  of  the  fleet  long  enough.  The  Queen  is 
very  ill  with  a  sort  of  eonvtdsive  fit,  and  Nelson  is  staying 
there  to  nurse  her  ;  he  does  not  intend  going  home  till  he 
has  escorted  her  back  to  Palermo.  His  zeal  for  the  public 
service  seems  entirely  lost  in  his  love  and  vanity,  and  they 
all  sit  and  flatter  each  other  all  day  long."  It  is  only  fair  to 
say  that  there  are  indications,  in  the  correspondence,  of  bad 
terms  between  the  Hamiltons  and  AVyndham,  who,  therefore, 
was  probably  not  a  sympathetic  observer.  He  had  also  before 
this  written  unpleasantly  to  Nelson,  insinuating,  apparently, 
a  lack  of  attention  to  duty ;  for  the  latter  in  a  letter  to  Trou- 
bridgo  says,  "  I  send  you  an  extract  of  jSIr.  Wyndham's 
unhandsome  mode  of  expressing  himself  towards  me." 
Towards  Keith  her  Majesty  manifested  her  displeasure 
by  omitting  him  in  the  public  leave  she  took  of  all  the 
ofHcials. 

1  Rrilisli  iniiii.stor  to  Tnsraiiy. 

-  Tlicic  wcro  solium  Xpii])olitim  fiigntcs  in  Li'sliovii,  but  the  royal  family 
were  never  willing  to  trnst  thcni. 


k 


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il 


488 


TIIK   LIl'K  OF   NKL80N 


Ifi 


Tlio  Qiu'cn  linully  rcsolvi'd  to  roiitimu^  hci-  joiinuiy,  but  tlio 
vicl.oiit'H  of  the  Krciirli  introdiu't'd  into  the  political  fiituro 
Jill  oloiiunit  of  iniccrtiiiiity,  which  ciiiiscd  h(>r  to  delay  a  iiiontli 
ill  Lojjhorn,  undecided  wlicthcr  to  yjo  by  sea  or  land ;  and 
!Nelson  had  vowed  not  tf)  lorsaki;  her.  Keitli,  jiftcr  some  dnys, 
relented  so  far  as  to  authorize  the  '•Alexander"  taking  the 
royal  family  to  Trieste,  but  many  of  the  party  were  averse 
to  the  sea  voyage.  Tiiero  had  been  for  some  time  living  with 
the  Hamiltons  a  JNIiss  Knight,  an  English  lady  already  in 
miildle  life,  Avhos(*  journal  gives  tho  chief  ])articulars  that 
have  been  |)res<!rved  of  this  period.  "  The  Queeu,"  she  wrote, 
•  "wishes,  if  ]>ossil)le,  to  prosecute  her  journe}-.  Lady  Hamil- 
ton cannot  bear  the  thought  of  going  by  sea;  and  therefore 
nothing  but  impracticability  will  ])reveiit  our  going  to 
Vienna."  When  it  was  at  last  fixed,  after  many  vacilhi- 
tions,  that  they  should  go  to  Aneona,  and  there  take  snail 
Austrian  vessels  for  Trieste,  she  exclaims,  "to  avoid  the 
danger  of  being  on  board  an  English  man-of-war,  where 
everything  is  commodious,  and  equally  well  arranged  for 
defence  and  comfort!  ])Ut  the  die  is  cast,  and  go  we  must." 
She  mentions  that  Lord  Nelson  was  well,  and  kept  up  his 
spirits  amazingly,  but  Sir  William  appeared  broken,  dis- 
tressed, and  harassed. 

On  the  11th  the  travellers  started  for  Florence,  passing 
within  two  miles  of  the  French  advanced  posts.  At  Aneona 
they  embarked  on  board  some  Russian  frigates,  and  in  them 
reached  Trieste  safely  on  the  2d  of  August.  Nelson  was 
received  with  acclamations  in  all  the  towns  of  the  Pope's 
states.  A  party  in  which  were  not  only  the  queen  of  a  reign- 
ing sovereign,  but  an  English  minister  and  his  wife,  was  sure 
of  receiving  attention  wherever  it  passed  or  stopped  ;  but  in 
the  present  case  it  was  the  naval  officer  who  carried  off  the 
lion's  share  of  homage,  so  widely  had  his  fame  spread 
throughout  tho  Continent.  At  Trieste,  says  Miss  Knight, 
"  he  is  followed  by  thousands  when  he  goes  out,  and  for  the 
illumination  which  is  to  take  place  this  evening,  there  are 
many    77^v/  Nclsori'ii  prepared." 

The  same  enthusiasm  was  shown  at  Vienna,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  2lst  or  22d  of  August.  "  You  can  have  no 
notion  of  the  anxiety  and  curiosity  to  see  him,"  wrote  Lady 


JnllimKV    IIIUnrcMI   (IKUMANY 


4M 


Miiito.'  "'I  i.<'  door  f»f  Ills  liotiso  is  rilwiiys  crowded  with 
JM><)[)1<',  and  even  tlio  street  when  liis  earriaife  is  at  tlindoor; 
and  when  he  went  to  tlic  jilay  h»!  was  applauded,  a  thing 
wideli  rarely  liapjxMis  here."  "  When<!ver  he  appeared  in 
public,"  records  Miss  Kni;-!:lit,  "a  (U'owd  was  collected,  and 
his  portrait  was  Imim!^-  up  as  a  sitjn  over  many  shops  —  even 
the  milliners  ^ivin;^'  his  name  to  jiartieidar  dresses,  hut  it  did 
not  appear  t<)  me  that  tlie  Eu|:[lish  nation  was  at  all  popular." 
At  a  dinner  at  rriuee  Esterhazy's,  where  he  spent  sonn»  days, 
his  health  was  drunk  with  a  flourish  of  trumpets  and  firing 
ol'  cannon.  *'  T  don't  think  him  altered  in  the  least,"  con- 
tinued Lady  INIinto,  who  rcinendiered  him  from  the  old  days 
in  Corsica.  '•  Ife  has  the  same  shock  head  and  the  same 
honest  sim])le  manners  ;  but  he  is  devoted  to  Eninin,  he  thinks 
hev  quite  an  mirjil,  and  talks  of  her  as  such  to  her  face  and 
behind  l)er  back,  and  slu;  leads  him  about  like  a  keeper  with 
a  bear.  She  must  sit  by  him  at  dinner  to  cut  his  meat,  and 
he  carries  her  pocket-handkerchief.  He  is  a  gig  from  ribands, 
oi'ders  and  stars,  but  ho  is  just  the  same  •with  us  as  ever  he 
was ; "  and  she  mentions  his  outspoken  gratitude  to  Minto 
for  the  substantial  service  he  Lad  done  him,  and  the  guidance 
lie  had  imparted  to  his  political  thought,  —  an  acknowledg- 
ment he  frequently  renewed  up  to  the  last  days  of  his 
life. 

Lady  ]\[into's  ne])hew.  Lord  Fitzharris,  the  sou  of  the 
Earl  of  Malmesbury,  was  then  in  Vienna,  apparently  as  au 
attache.  }{e  speaks  in  the  same  way  of  Nelson  himself,  but 
with  less  forbearance  i'ov  Lady  Hamilton ;  and  he  confirms 
the  impression  that  Nelson  at  this  time  had  lost  interest  in 
the  service.  Writing  to  his  father,  he  says  :  *'  Nelson  per- 
sonally is  not  changed  ;  open  and  honest,  not  the  least  vanity 
about  him.  He  looks  very  well,  hut  seems  to  be  in  no  hurry 
to  sail  again.  He  told  me  he  had  no  thoughts  of  serving 
again."  "Lord  Nelson  and  the  Hamiltons  dined  here  the 
other  day  ;  it  is  really  disgusting  to  see  her  with  him."  A 
few  days  later  there  was  a  ball  at  Prince  Esterhazy's,  where 
Fitzharris  was  present.  "  Lady  Hamilton  is  without  excep- 
tion the  most  coarse,  ill-mannered,  disagree.'ible  woman  I  ever 
met  with.  The  Princess  had  with  great  kindness  got  a  number 
1  Life  of  Loril  Minto,  vol.  iii.  pp.  HT-li'tO. 


<   :    !fl 


ir 

» 


440 


THE   LIFE  OF    NELSON 


of  nnisiciaiis,  and  t.he  famous  Haydn,  who  is  in  their  sevvice, 
to  play,  knowing  Lady  Hamilton  was  fond  of  music.  Instead 
of  attending  to  them  she  sat  down  to  the  Faro  table,  played 
Nelson's  cards  for  him,  and  won  between  £300  and  £400. 
In  short,  I  could  not  disguise  my  feeling,  and  joined  in  the 
general  abuse  of  her.''  ^  The  impression  that  Nelson  would 
decline  further  service  had  been  conveyed  to  other  friends. 
Tit  abridge,  who  had  meanwhile  returned  to  England,  wrote 
two  months  later  to  a  young  lieutenant  who  wished  to  get  on 
board  the  aJiniral's  next  ship:  "Lord  Nelson  is  not  yet 
arrived  in  ICnghind,  and  between  ourselves  I  do  not  think  he 
will  serve  again." 

Both  Lady  ^Minto  an  1  Fitzharris  have  recorded  an  account 
giveii  them  by  Nelson,  of  his  motives  for  action  at  the  Battle 
of  the  Nile.  "  He  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  a,ll  the 
captains  he  had  with  him  off  the  coast  of  Egypt,"  writes  the 
former,  ''adding  that  without  knowing  the  men  he  had  to  trust 
to,  he  wouid  not  have  hazarded  the  attack,  that  there  was 
little  room,  bat  he  was  sure  each  would  find  a  hole  to  cree[) 
in  at."  In  place  of  this  summary,  her  nephew  gives  words 
evidently  quite  f.esh  from  the  speaker's  lips.  *' He  says, 
'When  I  saw  them,  I  could  not  help  popping  my  head  every 

now  and  then  out  of  the  window,  (although  I  had  a  d d 

toothache),  and  once  as  I  was  observing  their  position  1 
heard  two  seamen  quartered  at  a  gun  near  me,  talking,  and 

one  said  to  the  other,  '  I) n  them,  look  at  them,  there  they 

are,  Jack,  it  we  don't  beat  them,  they  will  beat  us.'  He  says, 
'I  knew  what  stuff  I  had  under  me,  so  I  went  into  the  attack 
with  only  a  few  ships,  perfectly  sure  the  others  would  tollow 
me,  although  it  was  nearly  dark  and  they  might  have  had 
every  excuse  for  not  doing  it,  yet  they  all  in  the  course  of 
two  hours  found  a  hole  to  poke  in  at.  If,'  he  added,  '  I  had 
taken  a  fleet  of  the  same  force  from  Spithead,  I  would  sooncM' 
have  thought  of  flying  than  attacking  the  French  in  their 
position,  but  I  knew  my  captains,  nor  could  I  say  which  dis- 
tinguished himself  most.'"  Yet  to  Lady  Minto  he  revealed 
the  spirit  he  was  of.  "  I  told  him  T  wished  he  had  the  com- 
mand of  the  Emperor's  army.     He  said,  •  I  'Jl  tell  you  what. 


*  MaliiH'sbury's  Mmiioirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  24. 


JOURNEY  TIIROrGII  GERMANY 


441 


If  I  had,  I  would  only  use  one  word  —  advance,  and  never  say 
retreMt:  " 

After  a  month's  stop  at  Vienna,  during  which  Sir  William 
Hamilton's  health  continued  to  cause  anxiety,  the  party  started 
north  for  Prague,  Dresden,  and  Hamburg,  following  the  course 
of  the  Elbe.  On  the  28th  of  September,  Prague  was  reached, 
and  there  Nelson  was  met  by  arrangement  by  the  Archduke 
Charles,  the  first  in  ability  of  the  Austrian  generals.  The 
next  '.lay,  September  29th,  was  Nelson's  birthday,  and  the 
Archduke  gave  a  grand  entertainment  in  his  honor.  Continu- 
ing thence,  the  travellers  on  October  2d  reached  Dresden,  to 
which  Court  the  British  minister  was  Hugh  Elliot,  the  brother 
of  Lord  Minto.  Here  they  came  unJer  the  eye  of  Mrs.  St. 
George,  a  young  Irish  widow,  who  by  a  second  marriage  became 
Mrs.  Trencli,  and  the  mother  of  the  late  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 
Her  description  und  comments  have  been  considered  severe, 
and  even  prejudiced;  but  they  do  not  differ  essentially  from 
those  of  the  Mintos  and  Fitzharris,  except  in  sa^  ing  that  on 
one  occasion,  after  dinner,  Nelson  took  too  much  cliampagne, 
and  showed  the  effects.  However  much  to  be  deplored,  such 
an  occurrence  is  not  so  impossible  as  to  invalidate  the  testimony 
of  an  eye-witness,  even  in  a  man  of  Nelson's  well-established 
habitual  abstemiousness,  which  indeed  his  health  necessitated. 
That  the  relater's  impression,  if  unfavorable  in  some  respects, 
did  not  prejudice  her  in  important  nuitters,  is  shown  by  hev 
comment  upon  the  admiral's  letters  to  Lady  Hamilton,  when 
published  in  1.S14.  ''  Though  disgraceful  to  his  principles  of 
morality  on  one  subject,  they  do  not  appear  to  mo,  as  they  do 
to  niost  others,  degrading  to  his  understanding.  They  are 
])retty  much  what  every  nuin,  deeply  entangled,  will  express, 
when  he  supposes  but  one  pair  of  fine  eyes  will  read  his  letters  ; 
and  his  sentiments  on  subjects  unconnected  with  his  fatal 
attachment  are  elevated  — looking  to  his  hearth  and  his  home 
for  future  happiness  ;  liberal,  charitable,  candid,  affectionate, 
indifferent  to  the  comnu)n  objects  of  pursuit,  and  clear-sighted 
in  his  general  view  of  politics  and  life."  * 

Mrs.  St.  George's  journal  was  not  written  for  publication, 
and  did  not  see  the  light  till  thirty-odd  years  after  her  death. 
•*  October  '{d.  Dined  at  IVlr.  Elliot's  with  only  the  Nelson 
1  ftiMimiiis  of  Mrs.  Tifiicli,  p.  21)3. 


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442 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


party.  It  is  plain  that  Lord  Nelson  thinks  of  nothing  but 
Luvly  Hamilton,^  wl.o  is  totally  occupitHl  by  the  same  object. 
Lorci  Nelson  is  a  little  man,  without  any  dignity;  who,  I 
suppose,  must  resemble  what  Suwarrow  was  iu  his  youth,  as 
he  is  like  all  the  pictures  I  have  seen  of  that  General.  Lady 
Hamilton  takes  possession  of  him,  and  he  is  a  willing  captive, 
the  most  submissive  and  devoted  1  have  ever  seen.  Sir 
William  is  old,  infirm,  all  admiration  of  his  wife,  and  never 
spoke  to-day  but  to  applaud  her.  Miss  Cornelia  Knight  seems 
the  decided  flatterer  of  the  two,  and  never  opens  her  mouth 
but  to  show  forth  their  praise ;  and  Mrs.  Cadogan,  Lady 
Hamilton's  mother,  is  —  what  one  might  expect.  After  dinner 
we  had  several  songs  in  honour  of  Lord  Nelson,  written  by 
Miss.  Knight,  and  sung  by  Lady  namilton.'-^  She  puffs  the 
incense  full  in  his  face;  but  he  receives  it  with  pleasure,  and 
snuffs  it  up  very  cordially.''  Lord  Minto,  whose  friendship 
for  Nelson  was  of  proof,  wrote  eighteen  months  after  this  to 
his  wife  :  "  She  goes  on  crajnniing  Nelson  with  trowelfuls  of 
flattery,  which  he  goes  on  taking  as  quietly  as  a  child  does 
pap.'' " 

"Lady  Hamilton,"  wrote  Mrs.  St.  George  on  succeeding 
days,  "paid  me  those  kinds  of  compliments  which  prove  she 
thinks  mere  exterior  alone  of  any  consequence.  .  .  .  She  loads 
me  with  all  marks  of  friendship  at  first  si i, lit,  which  I  always 
think  more  extraordinary  than  love  of  the  same  kind,  pays  me 
many  compliments  both  when  T  am  absent  and  present,  and 
said  many  fine  things  about  my  accompanying  her  at  sight. 
Still  she  does  not  gain  upon  me.  .  .  .  Mv.  Elliot  says,  'She 
will  captivate  the  Prince  of  Wales,  whosc^  mind  is  as  vulgar  as 
her  own,  and  play  a  great  part  in  England,'  "  — a  remark  which 
showed  shrewd  judgnumt  of  (character,  as  Nelson  afterwards 
found  to  his  intense  disturbance.  At  Vienna  the  whole  party 
had  been  presented  at  Court,  but  at  Dresden  the  Electress 
refused  to  receive  Lady  Hamilton,  on  aticount  of  her  former 
dissolute  life.  "  She  wished  to  go  to  Court,"  says  Mrs. 
St.  George,  "on  which  a  pretext  was  made  to  avoid  receiving 

1  Mrs.  St.  (it'oige's  (lescrii»tiou  of  Lady  lluiniltou  has  ahvady  l)ueii  {{ivtii, 
aiife,  p.  3*25. 

2  Miss  Knight  inentions  the  same  v.eronioiiy  occuriiiig  in  Vit'iina, 
8  L'*'«  of  Tionl  Miiito,  vol.  iii.  pp.  242-'J  13. 


ARRIVAL  IN  ENGLAND 


443 


piving 


company  last  Sunday,  and  I  understand  there  will  be  no  Court 
while  she  stays."  Nelson  felt  resentment  at  this  exclusion, 
though  powerless,  of  course,  to  express  it ;  but  he  declined  an 
invitation  to  a  private  house  which  had  not  been  extended  to 
her.  This  incident  naturally  raised  the  question,  what  pros- 
pect there  was  of  the  lady  being  accepted  at  the  Court  of  her 
own  sovereign.  "  She  talked  to  me  a  great  deal  of  her  doubts 
whether  the  Queen  would  receive  her,  adding,  *  I  care  little 
about  it.  I  had  much  rather  she  would  stittle  half  Sir 
William's  pension  on  me,' "  —  a  ren.ark  which  showed  more 
philosophy  than  self-esteem. 

A  week's  visit  in  Dresden  ended  by  the  party  taking  boats 
for  Hamburg,  which  they  reached  on  the  2ist  of  October,  the 
journey  being  prolonged  by  stopping  every  night.  Tliey  there 
remained  ten  days,  of  which  no  very  noteworthy  incidents 
have  been  recorded,  although  the  general  interest  of  all  classes 
of  people  in  the  renowned  warrior,  of  whom  they  had  heard 
so  much,  continued  to  be  manifested,  sometimes  in  quaint  and 
touching  expression.  On  the  31st  of  October  they  embarked 
on  board  the  mail-packet  for  England,  and  after  a  stormy 
passage  landed  at  Yarmouth  on  the  Oth  of  November,  1800. 
Two  years  and  eight  months  had  jtassed  since  Nelson  sailed 
from  Spithead,  on  a  cruise  destined  to  have  so  marked  an 
influence  on  his  professional  reputation  and  private  happiness. 
He  was  received  on  his  landing  with  every  evidence  of  popular 
enthusiasm,  and  of  official  respect  from  all  authorities,  civil 
and  military.  With  the  unvarying  devout  spirit  which  char- 
acterized him  in  all  the  greater  events  of  his  life,  he  asked 
that  public  service  might  be  held,  to  enable  him  to  give  thanks 
in  church  for  his  safe  return  to  his  native  country,  and  for  the 
many  blessings  which  he  had  experienced. 

Until  quite  recently  the  fact  of  Lady  Nelson  not  being  at 
Yarmouth  to  meet  her  husband  has  been  thought  to  indicate 
coldness,  if  aot  displeasure,  on  her  part.  When  the  first 
edition  of  this  book  was  published,  the  present  writer  certainly 
shared  that  impression,  which,  wiiatever  its  origin,  had  a 
certain  plausibility  from  the  feelings  of  uneasiiicss  in  her, 
mentioned  to  Nelson  by  Davison,'  writing  in  Deciomber,  1798. 
Although  his  language  was  veiled,  the  implication  even  then 
1  Nicolas,  vol.  iii.  p.  138  (note). 


'.    I 


K.     .1 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


was  evident,  and  the  scandalous  reports  afterwards  current  in 
England,  concerning  the  life  at  Palermo,  scarcely  tended  to 
soothe  her  anxieties.  Nevertheless,  however  affected  by  the 
rumors  that  reached  her  ears.  Lady  Nelson  remained  mistress 
of  herself  and  of  her  words,  until  the  seeing  of  her  eyes  be- 
came more  than  she  could  bear.  In  1898  were  published  foi- 
the  first  time  some  long-missing  letters  of  Nelson  to  her  ;  parts 
of  a  correspondence  for  which  the  indefatigable  Sir  Harris 
Nicolas  made  "  numerous  inquiries  without  success."  ^  From 
these  it  appears  that  he  had  written  her  he  would  go  at  once 
to  London,  when  released  from  quarantine  at  Portsmoutli, 
where  he  then  expected  to  arrive ;  "  therefore  I  would  not 
have  you  come  to  Portsmouth  on  my  account."  As  the  same 
reasons  applied  to  any  seaport,  Lady  Nelson  observed  hei 
husband's  wishes  by  awaiting  him  in  London.  Not  only  so, 
however,  she  carried  complaisance  so  fa^-  as  to  ask  Sir  William 
and  Lady  Hamilton  to  Nelson's  country  home.  Round  Wooil, 
near  Ipswich.  The  letter  conveying  this  invitation  was  among 
those  awaiting  him  at  Yarmouth,  and  in  his  reply  of  Novem- 
ber 6th  he  accepts  in  their  name.-^  Meantime,  however,  Lady 
Nelson  and  his  father  had  gone  to  London,  so  that  their  first 
meeting,  after  the  famous  Nile  campaign,  was  there,  at  Nerot's 
Hotel,  on  Saturday,  November  8,  1800. 

Thus,  Lady  Nelson's  course,  at  the  beginning  of  that  briof 
and  critical  period  which  ended  in  their  permanent  separation, 
was,  in  forbearance  and  self-control,  perfectly  consistent  witli 
the  tone  of  her  letters  to  him  during  his  stay  at  the  Neapolitan 
Court.  In  these,  the  conditions  at  Palermo  are  ignored,  and 
the  correspondence  is  confined  to  the  talk  of  the  day,  mingled 
with  homely  family  news  and  simple  unaffected  expressions  of 
affection  to  himself.  "I  was  so  glad  to  see  anyone  who  could 
give  me  such  late  accounts  of  my  dear  husband  and  my  son, 
that  it  had  such  an  effect  on  me  that  I  could  not  hear  or  sec 
and  was  obliged  to  call  in  our  good  father."  One  of  hor 
latest  extant  letters  to  him,  prior  to  his  arrival  in  England, 
dated  March  29tii,  1800,  shows  the  same  deference  to  his 
wishes,  the  same  affection,  while  withal  quietly  protesting  her 

^  Nicolas,  vol.  i.  preface,  pp.  xix,  xx. 

'■*  The  letters  of  Nelson  hero  alluded  to  were  published  in  •'  Literatuiv," 
February-April,  1898. 


own 
ther 


ii 


char 

by 


'  her 

land, 

)   his 

ig  her 


LETTER  OF  LADY  NELSON 


445 


own  faithful  striving  to  koep  unimpaired  the  tie  that  united 
them. 

"  I  have  this  instant  received  a  note  from  Admiral  Young, 
who  tells  me  if  I  can  send  him  a  letter  for  you  in  an  hour, 
he  will  send  it,  therefore,  I  have  only  time  to  say  I  have  at 
last  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  two  letters  from  you,  dated 
January  20th  and  25th.  I  rejoice  exceedingly  I  di»i  not 
follow  the  auvice  of  the  physician  and  our  good  father  to 
change  the  climate,  and  I  hope  my  health  will  be  established 
by  hot  sea-bithing  and  the  warmth  of  the  summer. 

"  I  can  with  safety  put  my  hand  on  my  heart  and  say  it  has 
been  my  study  to  please  and  make  you  happy,  and  I  still 
flatter  myself  we  shall  meet  before  very  long.  I  feel  most 
sensibly  all  your  kindnesses  to  my  dear  son,  and  I  hope  he  will 
add  much  to  our  comfort.  Our  good  father  has  been  in  good 
spirits  ever  since  we  heard  from  you ;  indeed,  my  spirits  were 
quite  worn  out,  the  time  had  been  so  long.  I  thank  God  for 
the  preservation  of  my  dear  husband,  and  your  recent  success 
off  Malta.  The  taking  of  the  Genereux  seems  to  give  great 
spirits  to  all.  God  bless  you,  my  dear  husband,  and  grant  us 
a  happy  meeting,  and  believe  me,"  etc.^ 

The  newly  found  letters  prove  that  the  length  of  time  pass- 
ing without  news  was  not  due  to  his  failure  ':o  write.  So  far 
as  published,  however,  they  are  wanting  in  the  traces  of 
tenderness  which  marked  their  former  relations,  as  noted  in 
previous  passages  of  this  work.  "  My  dearest  Fanny "  has 
become  "  my  dear  Fanny ; "  "your  most  affectionate  husband," 
"your  affectionate."  That  such  conjugal  comrionplaces  as 
the  earlier  phrases  no  longer  slip  from  his  pen  bears  evidence, 
in  the  writer's  opinion,  to  the  stubborn  integrity  of  the  man 
scorning  to  deceive  even  himself  by  ordinary  subterfuges. 

It  is  possible  that,  like  many  men,  though  it  would  not  be  in 
the  least  characteristic  of  himself.  Nelson,  during  his  journey 
home,  simply  put  aside  all  consideration  of  the  evil  day  when 
the  two  women  would  be  in  the  same  city,  and  trusted  to  the 
chapter  of  accidents  to  settle  the  terms  on  which  they  might 
live ;  but  he  seems  to  have  entertained  an  idea  that  he  could 
maintain  in  London,  with  the  acquiescence  of  his  wife,  the 
public  relations  towards  Lady  Hamilton  tolerated  by  Neapoli- 

^  Alfred  Morrison  Collection  of  Autograph  Letters  (No.  473). 


■'*. 


HI 


'y- 


i    V 


1^  )i^: 


140 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


tan  socriety.  Miss  Knight  relates  that,  while  at  Leghorn,  he 
said  he  hoped  Lady  Nelson  and  hinisell'  would  be  nuieh  with 
the  Haniiltons,  that  tlu^y  all  would  dine  together  very  often, 
and  that  when  the  latter  went  to  their  nnisieal  parties,  he  and 
Lady  Nelson  would  go  to  bed.  In  aecordance  with  this  pro- 
gramme, he  took  his  two  friends  to  dine  with  his  wife  and 
father,  immediately  ui)on  his  arrival  in  town.  Miss  Knight 
went  to  another  hotel  with  Lady  Hamilton's  mother,  and  was 
that  evening  visited  by  Tioubridge.  Fe  .'idvised  her  to  go 
.and  stop  with  a  friend;  and,  although  no  reason  is  given,  it 
is  probable  that  he,  who  knew  as  much  as  any  one  of  the  pasi, 
saw  that  the  position  of  residence  with  the  Hamiltons  would 
be  socially  untenable  for  a  woman.  Miss  Knight  accordingly 
went  to  live  with  Mrs.  Nepean,  the  wife  of  the  Secretary  to 
the  Admiralty. 

A  few  days  later  there  was  again  a  dinner  at  the  house 
taken  by  the  Hamiltons  in  Grosvenor  Square.  The  Nelsons 
were  there,  as  was  Miss  Knight.  The  next  day  several  of 
the  party  attended  the  theatre,  and  Lad^'  Nelson,  it  is  said, 
fainted  in  the  box,  overcome  by  feeling,  many  thought,  at 
her  husband's  marked  attentions  to  Lady  Hamilton.  The 
latter  being  in  her  way  a  character  as  well  known  as  Kelson 
himself,  the  affair  became  more  than  usually  a  matter  c>I 
comment,  especially  as  the  scene  now  provided  for  London 
gossipers  was  a  re-presentation  of  that  so  long  enacted  at 
Palermo,  and  notorious  throughout  Europe ;  but  it  received 
little  toleration.  "  Most  of  my  friends,"  wrote  Miss  Knight, 
"  were  urgent  with  me  to  drop  the  acquaintance,  but,  circum- 
stanced as  I  had  been,  I  feared  the  charge  of  ingratitude, 
though  greatly  embarrassed  as  to  what  to  do,  for  things  became 
very  unpleasant."  Had  it  been  a  new  development,  it  would 
have  pi-esented  little  difficulty;  but  having  quietly  lived  many 
months  in  tlie  minister's  house  under  the  same  conditions, 
only  in  the  more  congenial  atmosphere  of  Palermo,  it  was  not 
easy  now  to  join  in  the  disapproval  shown  by  much  of  London 
Society. 

Lady  Hamilton,  of  course,  could  not  have  any  social  accept- 
ance, but  even  towards  Nelson  himself,  in  all  his  glory,  a 
marked  coldness  was  shown  in  significant  quarters.  "The 
Lady  of  the    Admiralty,"   wrote  he  to  his  friend  Davison, 


ILL   UKrElVED   AT  COUkT 


447 


"  never  had  any  just  cause  for  being  cool  to  nie ;  "  an  allusion 
probably  to  Lady  Spencer,  the  wile  of  the  First  Lord.  Cold- 
ness from  her  must  havi;  been  the  more  marked,  for  after  the 
Nile  she  had  written  him  a  wildly  enthusiastic  letter,  i2C0g- 
nizing  with  giatitude  the  distinction  conferred  npcn  her  hus- 
band's administration  by  the  lustre  of  that  battle.  '-  .''Either 
as  a  public  or  private  man,"  he  continued,  "I  wish  nothing 
undone  which  I  have  done,"  —  a  remark  entirely  ambiguous 
and  misleading  as  regards  his  actual  relations  to  Lady  Hamil- 
ton. He  told  Collingwood,  at  this  same  time,  that  he  had  not 
been  Avell  received  by  the  King.  '*  He  gave  me  an  account  of 
his  reception  at  Court,"  his  old  comrade  writes,  "which  was 
not  very  flattering,  after  having  been  the  adoration  of  that  of 
Naples.  His  Majesty  merely  asked  him  if  he  had  recovered 
his  health;  and  then,  without  waiting  for  an  answer,  turned 

to  General ,  and  talked  to  him  near  half  an  hour  in  great 

good  humour.  It  could  not  be  about  his  successes."  This 
slight  was  not  a  revival  of  the  old  prejudice  entertained  by 
the  King  before  the  war,  which  had  been  wholly  removed  by 
the  distinguished  services  Nelson  had  rendered  afterwards. 
Eighteen  months  before  this  ]3avison  had  written  to  him  :  "  I 
waited  upon  the  King  early  last  Sunday  morning,  and  was 
alone  with  him  a  full  hour,  when  much  of  the  conversation 
was  about  you.  It  is  impossible  to  express  how  warmly  he 
spoke  of  you,  and  asked  me  a  thousand  questions  about  you. 
...  I  have  been  again  at  the  Queen's  house,  and  have  given 
the  King  a  copy  of  your  last  letter  to  me,  giving  an  account 
of  your  health,  which  he  read  twice  over,  with  great  attention, 
and  with  api)arent  emotion  of  concern.  His  Majesty  'peaks 
of  you  with  the  tenderness  of  a  father."  Samuel  Rogers  has 
an  incidental  mention  of  the  effect  produced  upon  Nelson  by 
the  treatment  now  experienced.  "  I  heard  him  once  during 
dinner  utter  many  bitter  complaints  (which  Lady  Hamilton 
vainly  attempted  to  check)  of  the  way  he  had  been  treated  at 
Court  that  forenoon  :  the  Queen  had  not  condescended  to  take 
the  slightest  notice  of  him.  In  truth,  Nelson  was  hated  at 
Court ;  they  were  jealous  of  his  fame."  ^  People,  however, 
are  rarely  jealous  of  those  who  are  not  rivals. 

The  position  which  Nelson  had  proposed  to  himself  to  es- 
1  Table-Talk  ol"  Stiimicl  Rogers. 


M 


V 


'  III 


448 


THE  LlFi:  mF  NKLSON 


l»>itt  ,1 


m 


tahlisli  was  of  course  impossiblo.  Tlio  ;vorkl  was  no  moro 
disposed  to  worry  about  any  j)rivato  immoralities  of  his  thun 
it  did  about  thoyo  of  other  men,  but  it  was  not  prepared  to 
have  them  brandislicd  in  its  face,  and  it  wouhl  have  none 
of  Lady  Hamilton, — nor  would  Lady  Nelson.  The  general 
public  opinion  at  the  time  ftceives,  probably,  accurate  expres- 
sion from  Sir  William  Ilotliaiii,  a  man  then  in  London  society. 
"His  vanity,  excusable  as  such  !i.  foible  is  in  such  a  man,  led 
him  to  unpardonable  excesses,  and  bliiidod  him  to  the  advan- 
tages of  being  respected  in  society.  .  .  .  His  conduct  to  Lady 
Nelson  was  the  very  extreme  of  unjustifiable  weakness,  for  he 
should  at  least  have  attempted  to  conceal  his  infirmities,  with- 
out publicly  wounding  the  feelings  of  a  woman  whose  own 
conduct  he  well  l-new  was  irreproachable."  ^  On  the  other 
hand,  Nelson  could  not  forget  the  kindnesses  he  had  accepted 
from  Lady  Hamilton,  nor  was  he  either  able  or  willing  to  les- 
sen an  intimacy  which,  unless  diminished,  left  the  scandal 
unabated.  He'  was  not  able,  for  a  man  of  his  temperament 
could  not  recede  before  c^pposition,  or  slight  a  woman  now 
compromised  by  his  name ;  and  he  was  not  willing,  for  he  was 
madly  in  love.  Being  daily  with  her  for  seven  months  after 
leaving  Palem.  ,  there  occurs  a  break  in  their  correspondence  ; 
but  when  it  was  resumed  in  the  latter  part  of  January,  1801, 
every  particle  Ol  the  reticence  which  a  possible  struggle  with 
conscience  had  imposed  disappears.  He  has  accepted  the  new 
oituation,  cast  aside  all  restraints,  and  his  language  at  times 
falls  little  short  of  frenzy,  while  belying  the  respect  for  her 
which  he  asserts  continually  and  aggressively,  as  thouglt  against 
his  convictions. 

The  breach  with  Lady  Nelson  had  in  tliis  short  time  become 
final.  We  have  not  the  means  —  happily  —  to  trace  through 
its  successive  stages  a  rapid  process  of  estrangement,  of 
which  Nelson  said  a  few  months  afterwards  :  "  Sooner  than 
live  the  unhappy  life  I  did  when  last  I  came  to  England,  i 
would  stay  abroad  forever,''  A  highly  colored  account  is 
given  in  Harrison's  Life  of  Nelson,  emanating  apparently 
from  Lady  Hamilton,  of  the  wretchedness  the  hero  experi- 
enced from  the  temper  of  his  wife  ;  while  in  the  "  Memoirs 

1  The  author  is  indebted  to  Prof.  J.  Knox  Langhton  for  some  extracts  from 
Hotbam'.s  diary. 


no  HiOro 
his  thuii 
pared  to 
ive  none 
s  general 
8  exp:'ps- 
1  societ}'. 
man,  led 
le  ad  van- 
to  Lady 
!S,  for  he 
les,  with- 
ose  own 
he  other 
accepted 
ig  to  les- 
scandal 
)eram2nt 
nan  now 
r  he  was 
;hs  after 
Midence  ; 
T,  1801, 
gle  with 
the  new 
it  times 
for  her 
against 

bc'comn 
;hrougli 
ent,    of 

r  than 

and,  1 
xint  ifl 

rently 
experi- 
emoirs 

cts  from 


THE  BUEACII  WITH  LADY  NELSON 


of  Lady  Hamilton,"  published  shortly  after  her  death,  another 
side  of  the  case  is  brought  forward,  and  Lady  Nelson  appears 
as  rebutting  with  quiet  dignity  the  reproaches  of  her  husband 
for  heartlessness,  displayed  in  her  unsympathetic  attitude 
towards  her  rival,  when  suffering  from  indisposition.  Into 
these  recriminations  it  is  needless  to  enter ;  those  who  wish 
can  read  fur  themselves  in  the  works  mentioned.  A  marked 
symptom  of  growing  alienation  was  afforded  by  his  leaving 
her  on  the  I'Jtli  of  December,  in  company  with  the  Hamiltons, 
to  spend  the  Christmas  holidays  at  Fonthill,  the  seat  of 
William  Beckford. 

During  this  visit  occurred  a  curious  incident,  which  shows 
that  the  exultation  unquestionably  felt  by  Nelson  in  battle  did 
not  indicate  insensibility  to  danger,  or  to  its  customary  effects 
u[)on  men,  but  resulted  from  the  pleasurable  predominance  of 
otiier  eiiiotions,  which  accepted  danger  and  the  startling  tokens 
of  its  presence  as  accompaniments,  that  only  enhanced  the 
majesty  of  the  part  ho  had  to  play.  Beckford  tells  the  story 
as  follows :  "  I  offered  to  show  him  what  had  been  done  by 
planting  in  tlie  course  of  yer.i's.  Nelson  mounted  by  my  side 
in  a  phaeton,  drawn  by  fo'ir  .veil-trained  horses,  v»'hich  I 
drove.  There  was  not  the  least  danger,  the  horses  being  per- 
fectly under  my  command,  long  driven  by  myself.  Singular 
to  say,  we  had  not  gone  far  before  I  observed  a  peculiar 
anxiety  iii  his  countenance,  and  presently  he  said :  '  This  is 


too   inuc'a  for  me,  you  must  set  me  down.'     I  assured  him 


that  the  horses  were  continually  driven  by  me,  and  that  they 
wei-e  perfectly  under  command.  All  would  not  ilo.  Ho 
v.ould  descend,  and  I  walked  the  vehicle  back  again.'"  ^  Nel- 
son, of  course,  never  claimed  for  himself  the  blind  ignorance 
of  fear  wliich  has  been  asserted  of  him ;  on  the  contrary, 
the  son  of  his  old  friend  Locker  tells  us,  "  The  bravest  man 
(so  we  have  heard  Lord  N(dson  himself  declare)  feels  an 
anxiety  *  chca  i^nvconlia '  as  he  enters  the  battle ;  but  ho 
dread?  disgrace  yet  more."  ^  In  battle,  like  a  great  actor  in  a 
great  drama,  he  knew  himself  the  master  of  an  invisible  con- 
course, whose  houiage  he  commanded,  whose  plaudits  he 
craved,   and  whom,  by  t'le   sight  of  deeds  raised  above  the 


:\\ 


" 


1  Beckford's  Menioiis,  London,  1859,  vol.  ii.  p.  127. 

2  Locker's  Greenwich  Gidlery,  ftrticlo 

29 


Torrington." 


450 


TIIK  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


common  ground  of  eartli,  lie  drew  to  sympathy  witli  heroism 
and  self-devotion.  There,  too,  he  rejoiced  in  the  noblest 
exercise  of  power;  in  the  sensation  of  energies  and  faculties 
roused  to  full  exertion,  contending  with  mighty  obstacles, 
and  acting  amid  surroundings  worthy  of  their  grandeur ; 
like  Massena,  of  whom  it  was  said  that  he  found  his  greatest 
self  only  when  the  balls  flew  thick  about  him,  and  things 
began  to  look  their  worst. 

After  his  return  from  Fonthill  Lady  Nelson  and  himself 
lived  together  again  for  a  time  in  their  London  lodgings, 
in  Arlington  Street,  and  there,  according  to  the  story  told 
forty-five  years  afterwards  by  IVIr.  William  Haslewood,  Nel- 
son's solicitor,  the  crisis  of  their  troubles  was  reached.  "In 
the  winter  of  1800,  1801,  I  was  breakfasting  with  Lord  and 
Lady  Nelson,  at  their  lodgings  in  Arlington  Street,  and  a 
cheerful  conversation  was  passing  on  indifferent  subjects, 
when  Lord  Nelson  si.oke  of  something  which  had  been  done 
or  said  by 'dear  Lady  Hamilton;'  upon  which  Lady  Nel- 
son rose  from  her  chair,  and  exclaimed,  with  much  vehe- 
mence, *I  am  sick  of  hearing  of  dear  Lady  Hamilton,  and 
am  resolved  that  you  shall  give  up  either  her  or  me.'  Lord 
Nelson,  with  perfect  calmness,  said  :  '  Take  care,  Fanny, 
what  you  &ay.  I  love  you  sincerely ;  but  I  cannot  forget 
my  obligations  to  Lady  Hamilton,  cr  speak  of  her  other- 
wise than  with  affection  and  admiration.'  Without  one 
soothing  word  or  gesture,  but  muttering  something  about 
her  mind  being  made  up.  Lady  Nelson  left  the  room,  and 
shortly  after  drove  from  the  house.  They  never  lived  to- 
gether afterwards."  Though  committed  to  paper  so  many 
years  later,  the  incident  is  just  one  of  those  that  sticks  to 
the  memory,  and  probably  occurred  substantially  as  told. 
Lady  Nelson's  outbreak  will  probably  be  differently  regarded 
by  different  persons;  it  shows  at  least  that  she  Avas  living 
human  flesh  and  blood.  In  later  life,  we  are  told  by  Ilotham, 
who  was  in  the  habit  of  frequently  seeing  her,  up  to  her 
death,  in  1831,  "  she  continually  talked  of  him,  and  always 
attempted  to  palliate  his  conduct  towards  her,  was  warm  and 
enthusiastic  in  her  praises  of  his  public  achievements,  and 
bowed  down  with  dignified  submission  to  the  errors  of  his 
domestic  life." 


).■ 


THE  BREACH  WITH  LADY  NELSON 


451 


The  same  testimony  is  borne  by  a  lady,  of  whom  Nicuhas 
speaks  as  "the  personal  and  intimate  friend  both  of  Lord 
and  Lady  Nelson,  and  the  widow  of  one  of  his  most  distin- 
guished followers,"  but  whose  name  he  does  not  give.^  "I 
am  aware  of  your  intention  not  to  touch  upon  this  delicate 
subject :  I  only  allude  to  it  in  order  to  assure  you,  from  my 
personal  knowledge,  in  a  long  and  intimate  acquaintance,  that 
Lady  Nelson's  conduct  was  not  only  affectionate,  wise,  and 
prudent,  but  admirable,  throughout  her  married  life,  and  that 
she  had  not  a  single  reproach  to  make  herself.  I  say  not  this 
to  cast  unnecessary  blame  upon  one  whose  memory  I  delight 
to  honour,  but  only  in  justice  to  that  truly  good  and  amiable 
woman.  ...  It  mildness,  forbearance,  and  indulgence  to  the 
weaknesses  of  human  nature  could  have  availed,  her  fate 
would  have  been  very  different.  No  reproach  ever  passed  her 
lips  ;  and  when  she  parted  from  her  Lord,  on  his  hoisting 
his  flag  again,  it  was  without  the  most  distant  suspicion 
that  he  meant  it  to  be  final,  and  that  in  this  life  they  were 
never  to  meet  again.  I  am  desirous  that  you  should  know 
the  worth  of  her  who  has  so  often  been  misrepresented,  from 
the  wish  of  many  to  cast  the  blame  anywhere,  but  on  him 
who  was  so  deservedly  dear  to  the  N.'.tion." 

A.fter  their  separation  Lady  Nelson  wrote  to  her  husband 
0:1  three  different  occasions ;  the  first,  January  14,  1801,  to 
thaik  him  for  the  "generosity  and  tenderness  "  shown  in  the 
liP  1  Isome  allowance  made  to  her  ;  the  second,  in  the  following 
sun;iner,  to  express  her  ''thankfulness  and  happiness"  that 
his  life  had  been  spared  ab  Copenhagen;  the  third,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1801,  begging,  but  in  terms  of  dignified  simplicity  and 
aifection,  that  the  past  might  be  forgotten  and  th-y  live  to- 
gether again.  The  la?t  was  returned  to  lier  unread.  The 
latter  years  of  her  life  were  passed  partly  in  Paris  ivhere  she 
lived  with  licr  son  and  his  family.  Her  ekU'  ^..iiulchild, 
a  girl,  was  eight  or  ten  years  old  at  the  t;  .<.  of  lier  death. 
She  remembers  the  great  sweetness  of  her  grandmother's 
temper,  and  tells  that  she  often  saw  her  take  from  a  casket  a 
miniature  of  Nelson,  look  at  it  affectionately,  kiss  it,  and  then 
replace  it  gently  ;  after  which  she  would  turn  to  her  and  say, 
"  When  you  are  older,  little  Fan,  you  too  may  know  what  it  is 

1  Nicolas,  vol.  ii.  p.  353. 


V  , 


I- 


>. 


.^ 


1'  'J>\ 


- 


^ 


\    I 


452 


TIIK   LIFE  OF  xXELSON 


to  have  a  broken  licart."  This  trifling  incident,  transpiring,' 
as  it  now  does  for  the  first  time,  after  nearly  seventy  years, 
from  the  intimate  pri varies  of  family  life,  bears  its  own 
mute  evidence  that  Lady  Nelson  neither  reproached  her 
husband,  nor  was  towards  him  unforgiving.^  Nelson's  early 
friend,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  who  had  given  her  away  at 
tho  V,  edding,  maintained  his  kindly  relations  with  her  to 
the  end,  and  continued  liis  interest  to  her  descendants  after 
his  accession  to  tho  throne. 

Thus  abruptly  and  sadly  ended  an  attachment  which,  if 
never  ardent,  had  for  many  years  run  undisturbed  its  ten- 
der course,  and  apparently  had  satisfied  Nelson's  heart,  until 
the  Avavo  of  a  great  passion  swept  him  off  his  feet.  "  T  re- 
member," writes  Miss  Knight,  "  that,  shortly  after  the  l$attle 
of  the  Nile,  when  my  mother  said  to  him  that  no  doubt  he 
considered  tiie  day  of  that  victory  as  tho  happiest  in  his  life, 
he  answered,  '  No ;  the  happiest  was  that  on  which  I  married 
Lady  Nelson.'  "  On  the  13th  of  January,  1801,  Nelson  took 
formal  and  final  leave  of  her  before  hoisting  his  flag  at  Torbay. 
"I  call  God  to  witness,"  he  then  said,  "there  is  nothing  in 
you,  or  yo'U"  coiuliict,  that  I  wish  otherwise."  His  alienation 
from  her  was  soon  shared  by  most  of  his  family,  except  his 
father,  who  said  to  him  frankly,  that  gratitude  recpiired  ho 
should  spend  part  of  his  time  with  Lady  Nelson.  Two  years 
before,  he  had  written  of  her:  ''During  the  whole  war  [since 
17U3]  I  have  been  with  Lady  Nelson,  a  good  woman,  and  at- 
tentive to  an  infirm  old  man,"  and  they  had  continued  to  live 
together.  The  old  man  persuaded  himself  that  there  was 
nothing  criminal  in  relations,  the  result  of  which,  as  regarded 
his  son  and  daughter-in-law,  ho  could  not  but  deplore  ;  but  his 
letters  to  Lady  Hamilton  go  little  beyond  tho  civility  that  was 
necessary  to  avoid  giving  offence  to  Nelson.  Nelson's  two 
married  sisters,  I^frs.  IJolton  and  Mva.  IMatcham,  evidently 
shared  their  father's  belief.  They  and  their  children  main- 
tained with  Lady  Hamilton  a  friendly  and  even  affectionate 
correspondence,  long  after  Trafalgar,  and  until  the  death  of 
the  parties  put  an  end  to  it. 

Immediately  upon  landing  at  Yarmouth,  Nelson  had  written 

^  The  author  is  indebted  for  this  anectlote  to  Mrs.  F.  H.  B.  Eocles,  of 
Sherwell  House,  I'lyniouth,  the  daughter  of  tlie  "little  Fan"  who  told  it. 


THE   HIUTII  OF   IIORATIA 


453 


,'a 


s  two 


to  tlio  Admiralty  that  his  health  was  perfectly  restored,  and 
that  ho  wished  to  resume  service  immediately.  He  was  soon 
designated  to  a  command  in  the  Channel  fleet,  under  Earl  St. 
Vincent,  who  had  been  comnumder-in-chief  since  the  spring 
of  1800.  The  "  San  Josef,"  the  three-decker  boarded  by  him 
at  Cape  St.  Vincent,  was  named  to  receive  his  flag,  and  on  the 
17th  of  January  it  was  hoisted  on  board  her,  at  I'lymouth, — 
blue  at  the  fore,  he  having  been  promoted  Vice-Admiral  of  the 
r»lu(!  on  New  Year's  Day.  An  arrangement,  however,  had 
already  been  ni;ide,  that,  if  the  impending  difficulties  with 
J^enmark  threatened  hostilities,  ho  should  accompany  the  fleet 
sent  to  the  Baltic,  as  second  to  Sir  Hyde  I'arker,  selected  for 
the  chief  command.  While  he  was  reporting  to  St.  Viiuient, 
on  the  IGth,  at  Torbay,  preparatory  to  hoisting  his  flag,  a  let- 
ter from  Parker  informed  him  that  the  armament  was  decided 
upon.  This  he  showed  at  once  to  St.  Vincent,  who  acquiesced 
of  course  in  the  disappointment,  but  expressed  a  hope  that  he 
would  soon  rejoin  him. 

liy  the  first  of  February  the  "  San  Josef  "  had  gone  round 
to  Torbay,  the  rendezvous  of  the  Channel  fleet  under  St.  Vin- 
cent's command,  and  there  it  was  that  Nelson  received  the 
news  of  the  birth,  on  the  29th  or  30th  of  January,  of  the  child 
Horatia,  whose  parentage  for  a  long  time  gave  rise  to  much 
discussion,  and  is  even  yet  considered  by  some  a  matter  of 
doubt.  Fortunately,  that  (piestion  requires  no  investigation 
here ;  as  regards  the  Life  of  Nelson,  and  his  character  as 
involved  in  this  matter,  the  fact  is  beyond  dispute  that  he 
believed  himself  the  father,  and  Lady  Han)ilton  the  mother, 
of  the  girl,  whose  origin  he  sought  to  conceal  by  an  elaborate 
though  clumsy  system  of  mystification.  This  might  possibly 
have  left  the  subject  covered  with  clouds,  though  not  greatly 
in  doubt,  had  not  Lady  Hamilton,  after  wildly  unnecessary 
lying  on  her  own  part,  recklessly  preserved  her  holdings  of 
a  correspondence  which  Nelson  scrupulously  destroyed,  and 
enjoined  her  to  destroy. 

The  sedulous  care  on  h^s  side  to  conceal  the  nature  of  their 
relations,  and  the  reckless  disregard  of  his  wishes  shown  by 
her,  is  singularly  illustrated  by  the  method  he  took  to  bring 
the  child  into  her  charge,  from  that  of  the  nurse  to  whom  it 
had  been  intrusted.     When  it  was  somewhat  over  three  years 


m 


4U 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


old,  on  the  13th  of  August,  1804,  he  wrote  Lady  Hamilton  a 
letter,  evidently  to  be  used,  where  necessary,  to  account  for 
its  presence  under  his  roof.  "  I  am  now  goii  g  to  state  a  thing 
to  you  and  to  request  your  kind  assistance,  which,  from  my 
dear  Emma's  goodness  of  lieart,  I  am  sure  of  her  acquiescence 
in.  Before  we  left  Italy  I  told  you  of  the  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstance of  a  child  being  left  to  my  care  and  protection. 
On  your  first  coming  to  England  I  presented  you  the  child, 
dear  Horatia.  You  became,  to  my  comfort,  attached  to 
it,  so  did  Sir  William,  thinking  her  the  linest  child  he  had 
ever  seen.  She  is  become  of  that  age  when  it  is  necessary  to 
remove  her  from  a  mere  nurse  and  to  think  of  educating  her. 
...  I  shall  tell  you,  my  dear  Emma,  more  of  this  matter 
when  I  come  to  England,  but  I  am  now  anxious  for  the  child's 
being  placed  under  your  protecting  wing."  With  this  letter 
(or,  possibly,  with  another  written  the  same  day)  was  found 
an  enclosure,  uiulated  and  unsigned,  but  in  Nelson's  hand- 
writing. "  ]\Iy  beloved,  how  I  feel  for  your  situation  and  that 
of  our  dear  lloratia,  our  dear  child  .  .  ."^ 

The  indifference  to  incidental  consequences  which  was 
shown  by  Nelson,  Avhen  once  he  had  decided  upon  a  course 
of  action,  was  part  of  his  natural,  as  well  as  of  his  more  dis- 
tinctively military  character ;  but  in  this  connection  with 
Lady  Hamilton  he  must  have  felt  intuitively  that  not  only 
her  reputation  was  involved,  but  his  own  also.  The  hospital- 
ity, the  attention,  the  friendship,  extended  to  him  at  Naples 
and  Palermo,  wore  not  from  Lady  Hamilton  only  but  from  her 
husband  also,  in  whose  house  he  lived,  and  who  to  the  end,  so 
far  as  the  records  show,  professed  for  him  unbounded  esteem 
and  confidence.  This  confidence  had  been  betrayed,  and  the 
strongest  line  of  argument  formerly  advanced,  by  those  who 
disputed  Lady  Hamiluon's  being  the  mother  of  the  child,  has 
become  now  Nelson's  severest  condemnation. 

"However  great  was  Nelson's  infatuation,"  says  Sir  Har- 
ris Nicolas,  "  his  nice  sense  of  honour,  his  feelings  of  pro- 
priety, and  his  love  of  truth,  were  unquestionable.  Hence, 
though  during  a  long  separation  from  his  wife  on  the  public 
service  in  the  IMediterranean,  he  so  far  yielded  to  temptation 
as  to  become  the  father  of  a  child,  it  is  nevertheless  difficult  to 
1  Monisoi),  The  Haiuilton  niiJ  Nolson  Piipcra,  Nos.  777,  778,  779. 


!■«• 


HIS  KELATIONS   WITH   LADY   HAMILTON 


455 


believe  that  he  should  for  years  have  had  a  criiiinal  inter- 
course with  the  wife  of  a  man  of  liis  own  rank,  whom  he 
considered  as  his  dearest  friend,  who  placed  the  greatest 
confidence  in  his  honour  and  virtue,  and  in  whose  house  he 
was  living.  Still  more  difiicult  is  it  to  believe,  even  if  this 
had  been  the  cnae,  that  he  should  not  only  have  permitted 
every  one  of  his  relations,  male  and  female,  —  his  wife,  his 
father,  Ids  brothers,  his  brothers-in-law,  his  two  sisters,  and 
all  their  daughters,  —  to  visit  and  correspond  with  her,  but 
even  have  allowed  three  of  his  nieces  to  live  for  a  consider- 
able time  with  her;  have  ostentatiously  and  frequently  writ- 
ten and  spoken  of  her  *  virtuous  a?id  religious '  character,  — 
holding  her  up  as  an  example  to  his  family ;  have  apjiointed 
her  the  sole  guardian  of  his  child  ;  have  avowedly  intended  to 
make  her  his  wife ;  have  acted  upon  every  occasion  as  if  the 
purity  of  their  intimacy  was  altogether  free  from  suspicion  ; 
and  in  the  last  written  act  of  his  life  have  solemnly  called 
upon  his  country  to  reward  and  support  her.  An  honourable 
and  conscientious  man  rarely  acts  thus  towards  his  mistress. 
.  .  .  Moreover,  Nelson's  most  intimate  friends,  including  the 
Earl  of  St.  Vincent,  wlio  called  them  *  a  pair  of  sentimental 
fools,'  Dr.  Scott,  his  Chaplain,  and  Mr.  Haslewood,  were  of 
the  same  opinion;  and  Southey  says,  *  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  this  most  unfortunate  attachment  was  criminal.'" 
This  complicated  and  difficult  path  of  deception  had  to  be 
trod,  because  the  offence  was  not  one  of  common  error,  readily 
pardoned  if  discovered,  but  because  the  man  betrayed,  what- 
ever his  faults  otherwise,  had  shown  both  the  culprits  un- 
bounded confidence  and  kindness,  and  upon  tlie  woman,  at 
least,  had  been  led  by  his  love  to  confer  a  benefit  which 
neither  should  have  forgotten. 


\  , 


i, 


"1 


1 1> 


i  U 


t^^ 


•  'i 


V 

I 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Tub  ExrEDiTio>f  to  the  Baltic  and  Battle  of  Covexiiagen. 

iiETURNs  TO  England. 


Nelson 


February-June,  1801.     Age,  42. 

THE  trouble  between  Great  Britain  and  Denmark,  which 
now  called  Nelson  again  to  the  front,  leading  to  tlie  most 
difficult  of  his  undertakings,  and,  consequently,  to  the  most 
distinguished  of  his  achievements,  arose  about  the  maritime 
rights  of  neutrals  and  belligerents.  The  contention  was  not 
new.  In  1780  tlio  Baltic  States,  Russia,  Sweden,  and  Den- 
mark, being  neutrals  in  the  war  then  raging,  had  combined  to 
assert,  by  arms,  if  necessary,  certain  claims  advanced  by  them 
to  immunity  from  practices  which  international  law  had 
hitherto  sanctioned,  or  concerning  which  it  had  spoken  am- 
biguously. These  claims  Great  Britain  had  rejected,  as  con- 
trary to  her  rights  and  interests ;  but,  being  then  greatly 
outnumbered,  she  temporized  until  the  end  of  the  war,  which 
left  her  in  possession  T  the  principles  at  stake,  although  she 
had  forborne  to  enforce  them  offensively.  The  coalition  of  the 
Baltic  States,  at  that  time,  received  the  name  of  the  Armed 
Neutrality. 

From  1793  to  1800  Sweden  and  Denmark  had  again  suc- 
ceeded in  maintaining  their  neutrality,  and,  as  most  other 
maritime  states  were  at  war,  their  freedom  of  navigation  had 
tlirown  into  their  hands  a  largo  carrying  trade,  lint,  while 
their  profit  was  thus  great,  it  would  be  much  greater,  if  their 
ships  could  be  saved  the  interruptions  to  thcur  voyages  arising 
from  the  right  of  belligerents  to  stop,  to  search,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, to  send  into  port,  a  vessel  on  board  which  were  found 
enemy's  goods,  or  articles  considered  "contraband  of  war." 
The  uncertainty  hanging  round  the  definitions  of  the  latter 
phrase  greatly  increased  the  annoyance  to  neutrals;  and  seri- 


? 


TROUBLES   WITH  DENMARK 


457 


ous  disputes  existed  on  certain  points,  as,  for  example,  whether 
materials  for  ship-building,  going  to  an  enemy's  port,  were 
liable  to  c.ipture.  Great  Britain  maintained  that  they  were, 
the  neutr  (Is  that  they  were  not ;  and,  as  the  Baltic  was  one  of 
the  chief  regions  from  which  such  supplies  came,  a  principal 
line  of  trade  for  the  Northern  States  was  much  curtailed. 

Sweden  and  Denmark  were  too  weak  to  support  their  con- 
tention against  tho  sea-power  of  Great  Britain.  Where  there 
is  lack  of  force,  there  will  always  be  found  the  tendency  to 
resort  to  evasion  to  accomplish  an  end ;  and  Denmark,  in 
1799,  endeavored  to  secure  for  her  merrhant  ships  immunity 
from  search  by  belligerent  cruisers  —  which  International  Law 
has  always  conceded,  and  still  concedes,  to  be  within  the 
rights  of  a  belligerent  —  by  sending  them  on  their  voyages  in 
large  convoys,  protected  by  ships  of  war.  It  was  claimed  that 
the  statement  of  tho  senior  naval  officer,  that  there  were  not 
in  the  convoy  any  articles  subject  to  capture,  was  sufllcient ; 
and  that  the  belligerent  would  in  that  case  have  no  right  to 
search.  Great  liritain  replied  that  tho  right  of  search  rested 
upon  long-standing  common  consent,  and  precedent,  and  that 
it  could  not  be  taken  from  her  against  her  will  by  any  process 
instituted  by  another  state.  The  Danish  ships  of  war  being 
instructed  to  use  foice  against  search,  two  hostile  collisions 
followed,  in  one  of  which  several  men  were  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  Danish  frigate  was  taken  into  a  British  port  —  though 
afterwards  released. 

The  latter  of  these  ccmflicts  occurred  in  July,  1800.  Great 
Britain  then  sent  an  ambassador  to  Denmark,  backing  him 
with  a  fleet  of  nine  ships  of-the-line,  with  bomb-ve.jsels ;  and 
•at  the  end  of  August  a  convention  was  signed,  by  which  the 
general  subject  was  referred  to  future  discussion,  but  Denmark 
agreed  for  the  time  to  discontinue  her  convoys.  The  impor- 
tance of  the  subject  to  Great  liritain  was  twofold.  First,  by 
having  the  right  to  seize  enemy's  property  in  neutral  shii)s, 
she  suppressed  a  great  part  of  the  commerce  which  France 
coiild  carry  on,  thus  crippling  her  financially  ;  and,  second,  by 
capturing  articles  of  ship-building  as  contraband  of  war,  she 
ke\)t  from  the  French  materials  essential  to  the  maintenance 
of  their  navy,  'vhich  their  own  country  did  not  produce. 
British   statesmen   of  all   parties   maintained  that  in   these 


r 


458 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


contentions  there  was  at  stake,  not  an  empty  and  offensive 
privilege,  Imt  a  right  vital  to  self-defence,  to  the  effective 
maintenance  of  which  the  power  to  search  was  fundamentally 
necessary. 

In  1800  the  Czar  Paul  I.  had  become  bitterly  hostile  to 
Austria  and  Crreat  IJritaiu.  This  feeling  had  its  origin  in  the 
disasters  of  the  campaign  of  1709,  and  was  brought  to  a  climax 
by  the  refusal  of  (Jreat  IJritaiu  to  yield  ]\ralta  to  him,  as  Grand 
Master  of  tlie  Order,  after  its  (capture  from  the  French  in  Sep- 
tember, 1800.  It  liad  been  the  full  purpose  of  the  Uritish 
ministry  to  surrender  it,  and  Nelson,  much  to  his  distaste,  liad 
received  specific  orders  to  that  effect;  but,  besides  the  fact  that 
the  Kussians  had  contributed  notliing  directly  to  the  reduction 
of  the  island,  the  attitude  of  the  Czar  had  become  so  doubtful, 
that  common  prudence  forbade  putting  into  the  hands  of  a 
probable  future  enemy  the  prize  so  hardly  won  from  a  present 
foe.  Paul  had  already  announced  his  intention  of  reviving  the 
Armed  Neutrality  of  1780  ;  ami  when,  in  November,  he  learned 
the  fall  of  INIalta,  he  seized  throe  hundred  Ih-itish  vessels  lying 
in  Russian  ports,  marched  their  crews  into  the  interior,  and  at 
the  same  time  placed  seals  on  all  IJritish  Avarehoused  prop- 
erty, —  a  measure  intended  to  support  his  demand  for  the 
restitution  of  the  island  to  him. 

On  the  l()th  of  December  a  treaty  was  signed  at  St.  Peters- 
burg b}'  llussia  and  Sweden,  to  n-hich  Denmark  and  Prussia 
promptly  adhered,  renewing  tlie  Armed  Neutrality,  for  the 
support  of  their  various  claims.  The  consenting  states  bound 
themselves  to  maintain  their  demands  hj  force,  if  necessary ; 
but  no  declaration  of  war  was  issued.  Great  Britain,  in  ac- 
cepting the  challenge,  equally  absta'.cd  from  acts  which 
would  constitute  a  state  of  war ;  i  ut  she  armed  at  once  to 
shatter  the  coalition,  before  it  attained  coherence  in  aught 
but  words.  From  first  to  last,  until  the  Armed  Neutrality 
again  dissolved,  though  there  was  hard  fighting,  there  was  not 
formal  war. 

The  relation  of  thesv'^  occurrences  to  the  life  of  Nelson  will 
not  be  fully  understood,  unless  the  general  state  of  Europe 
be  recalled,  and  the  master  hand  of  Bonaparte  be  recognized, 
underlying  find  controlling  previous  changes  and  present  con- 
ditions.    After  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  and  up  to  a  year  before 


Ig 


THE  AnMEr>    jJEUTHALirY  OF  1800 


450 


this,  Austria,  Russia,  and  Great  Ih-itain  had  been  united  in 
arms  against  France  ;  and,  in  addition  to  the  undisputed  con- 
trol of  tlie  sea  by  the  liritish  Navy,  tliey  were  pressing  in 
overpowering  numbers  upon  her  eastern  frontiers,  from  tlie 
North  Sea  to  tlie  Mediterranean,  blunders  of  thcur  own  liad 
arrested  tlie  full  tide  of  success,  and  the  return  of  IJonaparte 
from  Egypt  reversed  the  current.  Russia  witlidrew  in  anger, 
and  Austria,  beaten  upon  field  after  Held,  in  Italy  and  Ger- 
many, by  Bonaparte  and  Moreau,  had  finally  consented  to 
peace  after  the  disastrous  defeat  of  lloheiilinden,  on  the  od 
of  December^  1800.  Great  Britain  was  left  without  an  ally  ; 
and  Kussia  was  added  to  the  list  of  her  active  enemies  by 
the  skilful  political  manipulation  Oj"  lionaparte,  who  ])layed 
upon  the  impulses  and  weaknesses  of  the  half-mad  Czar, 
releasing  with  distinguished  marks  of  respect  all  JIussian 
prisoners,  and  offering  the  vain  gift  of  Malta,  the  French 
garrison  of  which  was  even  then  clutclicd  by  the  throat  in 
the  iron  grip  of  the  British  sea-power. 

The  renewal  of  the  Armed  Neutrality  was  thus,  primarily, 
the  work  of  Bonaparte.  He  alone  lu.',d  the  keenness  to  see 
all  the  possibilities  in  favor  of  France  that  were  to  be  found 
in  the  immense  combination,  and  he  alone  possessed  tlie  skill 
and  the  power  to  touch  the  various  chords,  whose  concert 
was  necessary  to  its  harmonious  action.  Although  it  was 
true,  as  Nelson  said,  that  Paul  was  the  trunk  of  the  many- 
limbed  tree,  it  was  yet  more  true  that  Bonaparte's  deft  cajol- 
ing of  the  Czar,  and  the  inducements  astutely  suggested  by 
him  to  Prussia,  were  the  vitalizing  forces  which  animated 
the  two  principal  parties  in  the  coalition,  in  whose  wake  the 
weaker  states  were  dragged.  Through  the  former  he  hoped 
to  effect  a  combination  of  the  Baltic  navies  against  the 
British ;  through  the  latter  he  looked  to  exclude  Great 
Britain  from  her  important  commerce  with  the  Continent, 
which  was  carried  on  mainly  by  the  ports  of  Prussia,  or  by 
those  of  North  Germany,  which  she  could  control.  Thus, 
by  the  concerted  and  simultaneous  action  of  direct  weight  of 
arms  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  commercial  embarrassment  on 
the  other,  Bonaparte  hoped  to  overbear  the  power  of  his 
chief  enemy ;  and  here,  as  on  other  occasions,  both  before 
and  after,  Nelson  was  at  once  the  quickening  spirit  of  the 


P 


( 


I : ' 


■  \ 


III 


I 


4m 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


enterprise,  and  the  direct  agent  of  the  blow,  which  brought 
down  his  plans,  in  ruins,  about  his  ears. 

llelaxing  none  of  her  efforts  in  other  quarters  of  the  world, 
Great  Britain  drew  together,  to  confront  the  new  danger, 
everything  in  the  hojne  waters  that  could  lloat,  till  she  had 
gathered  a  fleet  of  twenty  saii-of-the-lino,  with  smaller  (rruisors 
in  due  proportion.  "  Under  the  i»res(-'nt  impending  storm 
from  the  north  of  Europe,"  wrote  St.  Vincent,  from  his  perch 
"■bove  the  waters  of  Torbay,  "to  enable  us  to  meet  such  a 
host  of  foes,  no  ship  under  my  command  must  have  anything 
done  to  her  at  I'lymouth  or  l*ortt;nouth  that  can  be  done  at 
this  anchorage."  "We  are  now  arrived  at  that  period,"  wrote 
Nelson,  "  what  we  have  often  heard  of,  but  must  now  execute 
—  that  of  lighting  for  our  dear  Country;  and  I  trust  that,  al- 
though we  may  not  be  able  to  subdue  our  host  of  enemies,  yet 
we  may  make  them  ashamed  of  themselves,  and  prove  that  they 
cannot  injure  us."  "1  have  only  to  say,"  ho  wrote  to  Earl 
Spencer,  who  must  have  rejoiced  to  see  the  old  si)irit  flaming 
again  in  undiminished  vigor,  "  what  you,  my  dear  Lord,  are 
fully  satislied  of,  that  the  service  of  my  King  and  Country 
is  the  object  nearest  my  heart;  and  that  a  flrst-rate,  or  sloop 
of  war,  is  a  matter  of  jjcrfect  indilference  to  your  most  faith- 
ful and  obliged  xTolson." 

The  "San  Josef"  being  considered  too  heavy  a  ship  for 
the  l>alti''.  service,  Nelson's  flag  was  shifted  on  the  12tli  of 
Febr  lary  to  the  "  St.  George,"  a  three-decker  of  lighter  draft. 
Hardy  accompanied  him  as  captain,  and  on  the  17th  Nelson 
received  orders  to  place  himself  under  the  command  of  Sir 
Hyde  Parker.  A  few  days  afterwards,  the  "  St.  George " 
went  to  Spithead,  where  she  received  on  board  six  hundred 
troops,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  William  Stewart,  to 
whom  we  owe  the  fullest  and  most  interesting  account  of  the 
expedition  in  general,  and  of  the  ]>attle  of  Copenhagen  in 
particular,  that  has  been  transmitted  by  an  eye-witness.  The 
ship  sailed  again  on  the  2d  of  March  for  Yarmout'*,  where 
she  arrived  on  the  Gth.  The  next  day  Nelson  went  to  call 
on  the  commander-in-chief,  who  was  living  on  shore,  his  flag 
flying  on  board  a  vessel  in  the  roads.  "  I  remember,"  says 
Colonel  Stewart,  "  that  Lord  Nelson  regretted  Sir  Hyde  being 
on  shore.    We  breakfasted  that  morning  as  usual,  soon  ailer 


I  k 


s  flag 
siiys 


THE  BALTIC  EXPEDITION 


461 


six  o'clock,  for  we  were  iilways  up  before  daylight.  We  went 
oil  shore,  so  as  to  be  at  Sir  Jlyde's  door  at  eight  o'clock,  Lord 
Nelson  choosing  to  be  amusingly  exact  to  that  hour,  which  he 
considered  as  a  very  late  one  for  business." 

At  this,  his  first  ofiicial  visi*",  the  commander-in-chief,  it 
is  said,  sccrcely  noticed  him,  and  Nelson,  as  will  be  seen, 
complained  freely  of  the  treatment  ho  at  the  beginning 
received.  Parker  was  now  verging  on  old  age,  but  ho  had 
recently  married  a  young  wife,  who  was  in  Yarmouth  with 
him,  and  the  two  had  arranged  to  give  a  great  ball  on  the 
13th  of  ISIarch ;  altogether  a  bad  combination  for  a  military 
undertaking.  Nelson,  who  was  in  haste  to  get  away,  — chiefly 
because  of  his  sound  martial  instinct  that  this  was  peculiarly 
a  case  for  celerity,  but  partly,  also,  because  of  anxiety  to  get 
the  thing  over  and  done,  and  to  return  to  his  home  comforts, 
—  appears  to  have  represented  matters  unoflicially  to  the 
Admiralty,  a  step  for  which  his  personal  intimacy  with  St. 
Vincent  and  Troubridge  afforded  easy  opportunity ;  and  an 
express  quickly  arrived,  ordering  the  fleet  to  sea  at  once.^ 
"  The  signal  is  made  to  prepare  to  unmoor  at  twelve  o'clock," 
wrote  Nelson  to  Troubridge  on  the  11th.  "No\v  we  can  have 
no  desire  for  staying,  for  her  ladyship  is  gone,  and  the  Ball 
for  Friday  knocked  up  by  yours  and  the  Earl's  uni)oliteness, 
to  send  gentlemen  to  sea  instead  of  dancing  with  white  gloves. 
I  will  only  say,"  he  continues,  "  as  yet  1  know  not  that  we 
are  even  going  to  the  IJaltic,  except  from  the  newspapers, 
and  at  sea  I  cannot  go  out  of  my  ship  but  with  serious  incon- 
venience,"—  owing  to  the  loss  of  his  arm.  What  was  not 
told  him  before  starting,  therefore,  could  not  be  told  by  mouth 
till  after  arrival. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Sir  Hyde  Parker  had  succeeded 
llotham  in  the  chief  command  of  the  Mediterranean,  for  a 
brief  but  critical  month  in  171)5,^  and  that  Nelson  had  then 
complained  of  his  action  as  regards  the  general  conduct  of 
the  campaign,  and  specifically  for  having  r(!duced  to  the  point 
of  inefficiency  the  small  squadron  under  Nelson's  own  direc- 
tion, upon  which  the  most  important  issues  hinged.  Possibly 
Parker  liad   heard  this,  possibly  the  notorious  disregard  of 

1  Xdval  Cliioiiiilc,  vol.  xxxvii.  p.  445. 
8  Ante,  i^lu  170-17-'. 


t  i 


I'l 


%\ 


3^ 


•J 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Keith's  orders  a  few  months  before  influenced  iiini  to  keep  liis 
renowned,  but  independent,  subordinatt;  at  a  distance  in  otli- 
cial  matters.  It  was  not  well  advised ;  though  probably  the 
great  blunderers  were  the  Admiralty,  in  sending  as  second 
a  man  who  had  shown  liimself  so  exceptionally  and  uniquely 
capable  (jf  supreme  command,  and  so  apt  to  make  trouble  for 
mediocre  superiors.  If  Lord  St.  Vincent's  surmise  was  cor- 
rect, Parker,  who  »vas  a  very  respectable  officer,  had  been 
chosen  for  his  present  place  because  in  possession  of  all  the 
information  accpiirful  luring  the  last  preparation  for  a  Rujb;an 
war;  win)'  Nel^!  ..  fai  cied  that,  St.  V'ncent  himself,  as  com- 
mit , do.  o'  ■  ■»  . muii  Ci  fleet,  had  recommended  him,  in  order 
to  get  rid  o-  n  ?»(h'i.>!  •  in  command  who  did  not  carry  out  satis- 
factorily the  ?  ■•laod;'  f  his  superior.  If  that  were  so,  the 
mistake  recoiled  upoi  m  ^  own  head ;  for,  while  the  appoint- 
ment was  made  by  Earl  Spencer,  St.  Vincent  succeeded  him  as 
First  Lord  before  the  expedition  sailed,  and  the  old  seaman 
would  much  have  preferred  to  see  Nelson  at  the  helm,  lie 
was  (piite  sure  of  the  latter,  ho  said,  and  should  have  been  in 
no  apprehension  if  he  had  been  of  rank  to  take  the  chief  com- 
mand ;  but  he  could  not  feel  so  sure  about  Sir  Hyde,  as  he  had 
never  been  tried.  Whatever  the  truth,  Lady  IMalmesbury's 
commenv.  after  the  event  was  indisputable :  "  I  feel  very  sorry 
for  Sir  Hyde;  but  no  wise  man  would  ever  have  gone  with 
Xelson,  or  over  him,  as  he  was  sure  to  be  in  the  background 
m  every  case." 

"  1  declare  solemnly,"  wrote  Nelson  to  Davison  four  days 
after  reporting,  "  that  I  do  not  k;iow  "  —  officially,  of  course  — 
"  that  I  am  going  to  the  Baltic,  and  much  worse  than  that  I 
could  tell  yo'  .  Sir  Ilyde  is  on  board  sulk3\  Stewart  tells 
me,  his  treatment  of  me  is  now  noticed.  Dickson  came  on 
board  to-day  to  say  all  were  sea  idalized  at  his  gross  neglect. 
I)urn  this  letter ;  then  it  can  ne^'^er  api)ear,  and  you  can  speak 
as  if  your  knowledge  came  from  another  quarter."  That  day 
the  orders  came  from  the  Admiralty  to  go  to  sea ;  and  the 
next,  INIarch  12,  the  ships  then  present  sailed,  —  fifteen  ships- 
of-the-line  and  two  fifties,  besides  frigates,  sloops  of  war, 
brigs,  cutters,  fire-ships,  and  seven  bomb-vessels,  —  for,  if  the 
Danes  were  obstinate,  Copenhagen  was  to  be  bon)barded.  On 
the  IGtli  of  March  Nelson  wrote  both  to  Davisou  and  Lady 


THK   IJALTIC   EXPEDITION 


"m 


Hamilton  thiit  he  as  yet  knew  nothing,  except  by  conunon 
report.  "  Sir  Hyde  has  not  tohl  nie  ottieially  a  thing.  I  am 
sorry  enough  to  he  sent  on  such  an  expedition,  but  nothing 
can,  I  trust,  di."{ra(h',  do  what  they  will."  His  mind  was  in  a 
condition  to  see  the  worst  motives  in  what  befell  him.  '•  I 
know,  1  see,  tliat  I  am  not  to  b«^  sujjported  in  the  way  1  ought, 
but  the  St.  (-e wrge  is  beginni''^  co  prepare  this  day  for  battle, 
ai.d  she  shah  be  true  to  h"rself.  .  .  .  Captain  Murray  sees,  as 
do  every  one,  what  ip  meant  to  disgrace  me,  but  that  is  impos- 
sible. ^WciL  che  Captain  of  the  Fleet  [Parker's  Chief  of  Statt] 
sent  me  word  tliat  it  was  not  his  doing,  for  that  Sir  Hyde 
Parker  luid  run  his  pen  through  all  that  could  do  me  credit, 
or  give  me  support ;  but  never  mind,  Nelson  will  be  first  if  he 
lives,  and  yor  shall  partake  of  all  his  glory.  So  it  shall  be 
my  study  to  di:  tinguish  myself,  that  your  heart  shall  !♦•  p  for 
joy  when  my  name  is  mentioned."  ^ 

Enough  reached  his  ears  to  draw  forth  unqualitiec".  '^xp  •  • 
sions  of  dissent  from  the  plans  proposed,  and  ecpi.  ),r.  oltar 
statements  as  to  what  should  be  done,  —  all  stan^^  x.  u,  niis- 
takably  with  the  *'  Nelson  touch,"  to  use  an  apt  pluase  ^f  Jiis 
own.  "lieports  say,"  he  tells  Lady  Hamilton,  '.ve  nre  to 
anchor  before  we  get  to  Cronenburg  Castle,  that  o..^  ainister 
at  Copeiihagen  may  negotiate.  What  nonsense  !  llow  much 
better  could  we  negotiate  was  our  fleet  off  Copenhagen,  and  the 
Danish  minister  would  seriously  reflect  how  he  brought  the 
fire  of  England  on  his  Master's  fleet  and  capital ;  but  to  keep 
us  oat  of  sight  is  to  seduce  Denmark  into  a  war.  ...  If  they 
are  the  plans  of  ^Ministers,  they  are  weak  in  the  extreme,  and 
very  different  to  what  I  understood  from  Mr.  Pitt.''^  If  they 
originate  with  Sir  Hyde,  it  makes  him,  in  my  mind,  as  —  but 
never  mind,  your  Nelson's  plans  are  bold  and  decisive — all 
on  the  great  scale.  I  hate  your  pen  and  ink  men ;  a  fleet  of 
P>ritish  ships  of  war  are  the  best  negotiators  in  Eurojje." 
While  the  greatness  and  decnsion  of  his  character  remain  un- 
impaired, perhaps  even  heightened,  it  will  be  noticed  that 
self-reliance,  never  in  any  man  more  justified,  has  tended  to 
degenerate  into  boastfulness,  and  restlessness  under  displeas- 
ing orders  to  become  suspicion  of  the  motives  prompting  them. 

'  Nelson  to  Lady  Haiiiiltoii.     Pcttigruw,  vol.  i.  pp.  442-444. 


I  i.'' 


, 


«     I 


Mi 


I:. 


'^  Pitt  had  resigned  from  ofiice  since  then. 


464 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSUX 


"  They  all  hate  me  and  treat  me  ill,"  he  says,  speaking  of 
Spencer's  and  St.  Vincent's  administrations.  •*  1  cannot, 
my  dear  friend,  recall  to  mind  any  one  real  act  of  kindness, 
but  all  of  iinkiudness."  It  must,  of  course,  be  remembered 
that,  while  such  expressions  j)ortray  faithfully  the  working  of 
the  inner  spirit,  and  serve,  by  contrast,  to  measure  the  Nelson 
of  1801  against  the  Nelson  of  179C,  they  were  addressed  to 
the  most  intimate  of  friends,  and  do  not  necessarily  imply  a 
corresponding  bearing  before  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  a  shrewd  stratagem  resorted  to 
by  Nelson,  on  the  passage  to  the  Baltic,  to  thaw  the  barrier  of 
frigidity  in  his  superior,  which  not  only  was  unpleasant  to  him 
personally,  as  well  as  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  state, 
but  threatened  alsoto  prevent  his  dne  share  in  the  planning 
and  execution  of  the  enterprise  in  hand,  thus  diminishing  the 
glory  he  ever  coveted.  The  narrator,  Lieutenant  Layman,  was 
serving  on  board  the  "  St.  George,"  and  happened  to  mention, 
in  Nelson's  presence,  that  some  years  before  he  had  seen 
caught  a  very  fine  turbot  on  the  Dogger  T-ank,  over  which  the 
fleet  must  pass  on  its  way. 

"  This  being  a  mere  casual  remark,  nothing  more  would  have 
been  thought  of  it,  had  not  Nelson,  after  showing  great  anxiety 
in  his  inquiries  when  they  should  be  on  the  Dogger  Bank,  sig- 
nificantly said  to  Mr.  Layman,  '  Do  you  think  we  could  catch 
a  turbot  ? '  After  a  try  or  two,  a  small  turbot  was  caught. 
Lord  Nelson  appeared  delighted,  and  called  out,  *  Send  it  to 
Sir  Hyde,'  Something  being  said  about  the  risk  of  sending  a 
boat,  from  the  great  sea,  lowering  weather,  and  its  being  dark, 
his  Lordship  said  with  much  meaning,  *  I  know  the  Chief  is 
fond  of  good  living,  and  he  shall  have  the  turbot.'  That  his 
Lordship  was  right  appeared  by  the  result,  as  the  boat  re- 
turned with  a  note  of  cojnpliment  and  thanks  from  Parker. 
The  turbot  having  opened  a  communication,  the  effect  was 
wonderful.  At  Merton  Mr.  Layman  told  Lord  Nelson  that  a 
man  eminent  in  the  naval  profession  had  said  to  hi;n,  *  Do  tell 
me  how  Parker  came  to  take  the  laurel  from  his  own  brow,  and 
place  it  on  Nelson's  ?  '  '  What  did  you  say  ? '  asked  Nelson. 
*  That  it  was  not  a  gift,'  replied  Layman,  '  as  your  Lordship 
had  gained  the  victory  by  a  turbot.'  '  A  turbot  ! '  '  Yes,  my 
lord,  I  well  recollect  your  great  desire  to  catch  a  turbot,  and 


ng 


THE  BALTIC  KXPEDITION 


your  astonishing  many,  by  insisting  upon  its  being  immediately 
sent  to  Sir  Hyde,  who  condescended  to  return  a  civil  note ; 
without  which  opening  your  Lordship  would  not  have  been 
consulted  in  the  Cattegat,  and  without  such  intercourse  your 
Lordship  would  not  have  got  the  detached  scpuidron  ;  without 
which  there  would  not  have  been  any  engagement,  and  conse- 
quently no  victory.'  Lord  Nelson  smilingly  said,  *  You  are 
right.' "  ^ 

On  the  19th  of  March  the  fleet  was  collected  off  the  northern 
point  of  Denmark,  known  as  the  Skaw.  From  there  the  broad 
•channel,  called  the  Kattegat,  extends  southward,  between 
Sweden  and  the  r.orthern  part  of  the  Danish  peninsula,  until 
it  reaches  the  large  Island  of  Zealand,  upon  the  eastern  shore 
of  which  Copenhagen  lies.  The  two  principal  entrances  into 
the  Baltic  are  on  either  side  of  Zealand.  The  eastern  one, 
separating  it  from  Sweden,  is  called  the  Sound,  that  to  the 
west  is  known  as  the  Great  Belt;  each,  from  the  military 
point  of  view,  possessed  its  particular  advantages  and  par- 
ticular drawbacks.  "We  are  slow  in  our  motions  as  ever," 
wrote  Nelson,  whose  impatient  and  decided  character  would 
have  used  the  fair  wind  that  was  blowing  to  enter  the 
Kattegat,  and  to  proceed  at  once  to  Copenhagen,  "but  I 
hope  all  for  the  best.  I  have  not  yet  seen  Sir  Hyde,  but  I 
purpose  going  this  morning ;  for  no  attention  shall  be  want- 
ing on  my  part."  The  next  day  he  rejjorts  the  result  of  the 
interview  to  his  friend  Davison :  "  I  staid  an  hour,  and 
ground  out  something,  but  there  was  not  that  degree  of 
openness  which  I  should  have  shown  to  my  second  in  com- 
mand." The  fleet  advanced  deliberately,  a  frigate  being 
sent  ahead  to  land  the  liritish  envoy,  JNIr.  Vansittart,  whose 
instructions  were  that  only  forty-eight  hours  were  to  be  al- 
lowed the  Danes  to  accept  the  demands  of  Great  Britain, 
and  to  withdraw  from  the  coalition.  The  slowness  here, 
like  every  other  delay,  chafed  Nelson,  Avhose  wish  from  the 
beginning  was  to  proceed  at  the  utmost  speed,  not  merely 
from  the  Skaw,  but  from  England,  with  whatever  ships  could 
be  collected  ;  for  he  reasoned  perfectly  accurately  upon  the 
safe  general  principle  that  delay  favors  the  defence  moro 
than  the  offence.     '*  I  only  now  long  to  be  gone,"  he  wrote 

1  Naval  Chiouicle,  vol.  xxxvii.  y.  4-16. 
30 


.\ 


1^ 


.<n 


if 


!". 


.V     I 


M  ',11 


i 


i' 


i  ; 


400 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


before  leaving  Yarmouth  :  "  time  is  precious,  and  every  hour 
makes  more  resistance ;  strike  quick,  and  liome."  It  was 
particularly  true  in  this  case,  lor  Denmark,  long  used  to 
peace,  had  not  thought  war  possible,  and  every  day  was 
precious  to  her  in  restoring  and  increasing  the  neglected  pro- 
tection of  Copenhagen. 

On  the  evening  of  iMarch  20  the  fleet  anchored  in  the 
Kattegat,  eighteen  miles  from  Cronenburg  Castle  and  the 
town  of  Elsinore,  at  whiiih  the  Sound  narrows  to  three 
miles.  Both  sliores  being  hostile,  Parker  would  not  attemjit 
to  force  the  passage  until  he  learned  the  result  of  the  British 
mission  to  Copenhagen  ;  meanwhile  the  Danes  were  working 
busily  at  the  blockships  and  batteries  of  the  city.  On  the 
2od  Mr.  Vansittart  returned  with  the  terms  rejected ;  and  he 
brought,  also,  alarming  reports  of  the  state  of  the  batteries 
at  Elsinore  and  Copenhagen,  which  were  much  stronger  than 
the  ])revious  information  of  the  British  Cabinet  had  shown, 
proving,  as  Nelson  urged,  that  each  day's  delay  increased  the 
enemy's  relative  power.  Sir  Hyde  called  a  council.  "Now 
we  are  sure  of  lighting, "  wrote  Nelson  to  Lady  Hamilton. 
'*  I  am  sent  for.  When  it  was  a  joke  I  was  kept  in  the  back- 
ground ;  to-morrow  will  I  hope  be  a  proud  day  for  England 
—  to  have  it  so,  no  exertion  shall  be  wanting  from  your 
most  attached  and  affectionate  friend." 

He  was  accompanied  to  Parker's  flagship  by  Lieutenant 
Layman,  who  went  in  the  boat  to  steer  for  him.  "  On  board 
the  London,"  according  to  Layman,  "  the  heads  appeared  very 
gloomy.  JVIr.  Vansittart,  who  arrived  at  the  same  moment 
Nelson  did,  said  that  if  the  fleet  proceeded  to  attack,  it 
would  be  beaten,  and  the  attempt  was  in  danger  of  being 
relinquished.  The  Captain  of  the  Fleet  said  to  Layman  that 
tlie  Danes  were  too  strong  to  attack,  and  a  torpor  verging  to 
despondency  ])revailed  in  the  councils.  While  others  were 
dismayed,  however,  Lord  Nelson  questioned  those  just  arrived 
from  Copenhagen  not  only  as  to  the  force,  but  as  to  the  posi- 
tion of  tlie  enemy.  Such  interrogatories  he  called  *  bringing 
people  to  the  post.'  Having  learned  that  the  great  strength 
of  the  enemy  was  at  the  head  of  the  line,  supported  by  the 
Crown  Battery,  his  Lordship  emphatically  observed  that  to 
begin  the  attack  there  would  be  like  taking  a  bull  by  the 


THE  BALTIC   EXI'EDITION 


407 


horns,  and  lie  therefore  8ugj»ested  tlie  attempt  by  the  tail."  ^ 
In  order  to  avoid  the  formidable  works  at  Cronenburg,  and 
yet  come  up  in  rear  of  Copenhagen,  according  to  this  proposi- 
tion of  Nelson's,  it  was  proposed  in  the  council  to  go  by  the 
Great  IJelt.  That  passage  is  more  intricate,  and  therefore, 
from  the  pilot's  point  of  view,  more  hazardous  than  the 
Sound.  Nelson  was  not  miu-h  deterred  by  the  alarming  re- 
ports. "  Go  by  the  Hound,  or  by  the  licit,  or  anyhow,"  he 
said,  "  only  lose  not  an  hour." 

The  minutes  of  the  council  have  not  been  transmitted,  but 
it  is  evident  from  Nelson's  own  letter  of  the  following  day, 
soon  to  be  quoted  in  full,  and  also  from  one  written  to  hifti 
by  Mr.  Vansittart,  after  the  latter  reached  London,  that  he 
urged  upon  Tarker,  and  prevailed  with  him,  to  throw  aside 
the  instructions  of  the  Government,  under  the  changed  condi- 
tions, and  to  adopt  boldly  the  plan  which,  according  to  his 
present  knowledge,  should  seem  most  certain  to  crush  Den- 
nujrk  at  once.  After  that,  he  would  shatter  the  coalition  by 
immediate  steps  against  Russia.  Only  such  a  bold  spirit, 
with  the  i)restige  of  a  Nelson,  can  dominate  a  council  of  war, 
or  extort  decisive  action  from  a  commander-in-chief  who  calls 
one.  *'  The  difficulty,"  wrote  Nelson  some  time  afterwards, 
"was  to  get  our  commander-in-chief  to  either  go  past  Cronen- 
burg or  through  the  Belt  [that  is,  by  any  passage],  because, 
what  Sir  Hyde  thought  best,  and  what  I  believe  was  settled 
before  I  came  on  board  the  London,  was  to  stay  in  the 
Cattegat,  and  there  wait  the  time  when  the  whole  naval 
force  of  the  Baltic  might  choose  to  come  out  and  fight  —  a 
measure,  in  my  opinion,  disgraceful  to  our  Country.  I  wanted 
to  get  at  an  enemy  as  soon  as  possible  to  strike  a  home  stroke, 
and  Paul  was  the  enemy  most  vulnerable,  and  of  the  greatest 
consequence  for  us  to  humble."  So  pressing,  daring,  and  out- 
spoken were  his  counsels,  so  freely  did  he  now,  as  at  former 
times,  advocate  setting  aside  the  orders  of  distant  superiors, 
that  he  thought  advisable  to  a^k  Vansittart,  who  was  to  sail 
immediatel}  for  England,  to  explain  to  the  Admiralty  all  the 
conditions  auu  reasons,  which  Vansittart  did.  St.  Vincent,  as 
First  Lord,  ga^e  unhesitating  approval  to  what  his  formey 
lieutenant  had  advised. 


I      '-  J 


1  Naval  Chronicle,  vol.  xxxvii.,  art.  "  Layman." 


Nelson's  uiulerstaiuling  of  tho  situation  was,  in  truth,  acute, 
I>rol'ouu<l,  and  decisive.  In  tlie  northern  combination  against 
Great  liritain,  Taul  was  the  trunk,  iJennuirk  and  Sweden 
tho  brani^hes.  Couhl  he  get  at  tlie  trunk  and  liew  it  down, 
the  branches  iVll  with  it;  but  shouhl  time  and  strength  first 
be  spent  h)|>ning  olf  the  branches,  the  trunk  wouhl  remain, 
and  "my  power  must  be  weaker  when  its  greatest  strength 
is  re<iuired."  As  things  then  were,  the  llussian  Xavy  was 
divided,  part  being  in  Cronstadt,  and  a  hirge  fraction,  twelve 
ships-of-the-line,  in  J{evel,  an  advanced  and  exposed  port, 
where  it  was  iletained  fettered  by  the  winter's  ice.  Get  at 
that  and  smite  it,  and  the  Russian  Navy  is  disabled ;  all  falls 
together.  This  would  be  his  own  course,  if  independent.  As 
Varker,  however,  was  obstijiately  resolved  not  to  leave  Denmark 
hostile  in  his  rear,  Nelson  had  to  bend  to  the  will  of  his 
superior,  lie  did  so,  without  forsaking  his  own  purjiose. 
As  in  the  diverse  objects  of  his  care  in  tho  Mediterranean, 
where  ho  could  not  compel,  he  sought  diligently  to  compass 
his  object  by  persuasion,  by  clear  and  full  explanation  of  his 
lofty  views,  by  stirring  appeols  to  duty  and  opportunity, 
striving  to  iujpart  to  another  his  own  insight,  ami  to  arouso 
in  him  his  own  single-minded  and  dauntless  activity.  Con- 
ceding, perfonie,  that  Denmark  was  not  to  be  left  hostile  in 
the  re  r,  —  although  he  indiiiates  thav.  this  objeiit  might  be  at- 
tained by  nuisking  her  jmwer  with  a  detacihment,  while  tho 
main  elTort  was  immediately  directed  against  llevel,  —  his 
suggest'jns  to  Parker  for  reducing  Dennuirk  speedily  are 
dominated  by  the  same  conception.  Strategic  and  tactical 
considerations  unite  to  dictate,  that  the  fleet,  Avhether  it  go 
by  the  Sound  or  the  IJelt,  must  quickly  reach  and  hold  a 
jiosition  beyond  —  and  therefore  in  the  rear  of  —  Copenhagen. 
There  it  interposed  between  Dennuirk  and  llussia;  from 
there  it  approached  Copenhagen  where  its  defences  were 
weakest.  This  comprehensive  exposition  went,  with  Nelson's 
customary  directness,  straight  to  the  root  of  the  matter. 

Next  day,  after  returning  t  .  liis  own  ship.  Nelson  drew  up 
the  following  paper,  which  is  at  onco  so  characteristic  of  his 
temperament  and  genius,  and  so  lucid  and  masterly  a  review 
of  tho  political  aiul  njilitary  conditions,  that,  contrary  to  tho 
author's  usual  practice,  it  is  given  entire.     Being  devoted  to 


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LETTER  TO  SIR  HYDE  PARKER 


409 


a  single  subject,  and  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  the  writer  when 
in  a  state  of  more  than  usual  exaltation,  it  possesses  a  unity 
of  purpose  and  demonstration,  nooessarily  absent  from  most 
of  his  letters,  in  which  many  and  diverse  matters  have  to  be 
treated. 

24th  Mairh,  IS'^,. 

My  dkar  Sir  Hyde,  —  Tho  convorsatlou  wo  hiul  yest'-.aay  has 
naturally,  from  its  iiiiportanco,  l»«eii  tho  sul)j<'ot  of  my  tlioiights  ;  and 
tho  more  I  have  reflected,  the  more  I  am  confiniK'd  in  opinion,  that 
not  a  moment  should  be  lost  in  attacking  tlio  enemy:  they  will  every 
day  and  hour  be  stronger  ;  wo  never  shall  be  so  j^ood  a  match  for 
them  as  at  this  moment.  The  only  consideration  in  my  mind  is, 
how  to  get  at  them  with  tho  least  risk  to  our  ships.  Piy  Mr.  Vansit- 
tart's  account,  the  Danes  have  taken  every  means  in  their  power  to 
prevent  onr  getting  to  attack  Copenhagen  by  t\w  passagt>  of  the 
Sound.  Cronenlmrg  has  been  strengthened,  the  Crown  Islands  for- 
tified, on  tho  outermost  of  which  are  twenty  guns,  pointing  mostly 
downwards,  and  only  eight  hundred  yards  from  very  formitlal>le 
batteries  placed  under  the  Citadi'l,  supported  by  tive  Sail  of  the  bin(>, 
seven  Floating  batteries  of  fifty  guns  each,  besides  Sniiil"  ci  il't.  Gun- 
boats, &c.  &c.  ;  and  that  the  Revel  Sipiadron  of  twelve  or  fourteen 
Sail  of  the  Line  are  soon  "xj^'cted,  as  also  five  Sail  of  Swed'  •(.  It 
would  appear  by  what  you  have  told  mo  of  yom*  instructions,  that 
Government  took  for  granted  you  would  find  no  dillicidty  in  getting 
off  Copenhagen,  and  in  the  event  of  a  failure  of  negotialion,  you 
might  instantly  attack;  and  that  there  woulil  ho  scarcely  a  donltfc  hut 
the  Dfanish  Fleet  wouhl  be  destroyed,  and  the  Capital  made  so  hot 
that  Denmark  would  listen  to  reason  and  its  true  int«'rest.  l\y  Mr. 
Vansittart's  .account,  their  states  of  preparation  exceeds  what  ho  con- 
ceives our  Government  thought  possil>le,  and  that  the  Danish  Goveri; 
ment  is  liostile  to  us  in  tlu^  greatest  possible  degree.  Therefore  here 
you  are,  with  almost  tho  safety,  certainly  with  tlm  honour  of  Hugland 
more  intrusted  to  you,  than  ever  yet  fell  to  tho  lot  of  any  li.\\ 
Oflicer.  On  your  decision  depends,  whether  our  Country  shall 
degraded  in  tlio  eyes  of  Kuroiw,  or  whetlier  she  shall  rear  her  ii  .1 
higher  than  ever;  again  do  I  repeat,  never  did  our  Country  dc  ^  ud 
so  much  on  the  success  of  any  Fleet  as  on  this.  How  best  to  1  ■  n.  ur 
our  Country  and  abate  the  pride  of  her  Kiu^nues,  by  defeating  ir 
schemes,  must  be  the  sul)ject  of  your  deejicst  consideration  as  mi- 
mander-in-Chief ;  and  if  what  I  have  to  offer  can  he  the  lea.  i-.-ful 
in  fornnng  your  decision,  you  are  most  heartily  welcome. 

I  shall  begin  with  supposing  you  are  determined  to  I'uter  by  tho 
Passage  of  the  Sound,  as  there  are  those  who  think,  if  you  leave  that 
passage  open,  that  the  Danish  Fleet  may  sail  from  Copeidiagcn,  and 


<v   i 


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.V      If 


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''ii 


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Ii 


( 


470 


riU:   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


join  tlie  Dutcli  or  Frencli.     I  own  I  have  no  fears  on  that  snbjetit; 
for  it  is  not  likely  that  whilst  their Cai)ital  is  nienaced  with  an  attack, 
9,000  of  her  best  men  should  be  sent  out  of  the  Kiuj^doni.     I  sui>ji()se 
that  son^e  damage  may  arista  amongst  our  nuists  and  yards;  yet  per- 
ha}>s  there  will  not  b<!  one  of  tlu'Mi  but  oould   l)C  niatle   servi(M>abie 
again.     You  are  now  about  Cmiienburg:  if  the  wind  ha  fair,  and 
you  determine  to  attaek  tlr^  Ships  and  Crown  Islands,  you  nnist  ex- 
pect the  natural  issue  of  such  a  buttle  —  Ships  crippled,  ami  perhaps 
one  or  two  lost;  for  the  wind  wlii(;h  carrii's  you  iu,  will  most  ])roba- 
bly  not  bring  out  a  crippled  Hhip.     This  mode  I  call  taking  the  bull 
by  the  horns.     It,  h(>wever,  will  not  prevent  the   llevel   Ships,  or 
Swedes,  from  joiuing  tlie  Dances;  and  to  jjrevent  this  froni  taking 
effect,  is,  in  my  Innnbl'?  opinion,  a  measure  absolutely  necessary  — 
and  still  to  attack  Copenhagen.     Two  modes  an;  in  my  view ;  one 
to  pass  Cronenbiu'g,  taking  the  risk  of  danuige,  and  to  ])ass  up*  the 
deepest  and  straightest  Chiannel   above   the   Middle   fjrounds;    and 
coming  down  the  Garbar  or  King's  Channel,  to  attack  their  Floating 
batteries,  &c.  &c.,  as  we  fin  I  it  convenient.     It  must  luive  tlu;  effect 
of  jireventing  a  junction  between  the  IJussians,  Swedes,  and  Danes, 
and  may  give;  ns  an  opportim:*^y  of  bombarding  Cojienhagen.     I  am 
also  pretty  certain  that  a  passage  could  be  found  to  the  northward 
of  Soutliolm  for  all  our  Ships;  perhaps  it  might  be  necessary  to  warp 
a  short  distance  in  tlie  very  narrow  i)art.     Should  this  mode  of  attack 
be  insligible,  the  passage  of  tlu;  lielt,  1  have  no  floubt,  would  Im;  a(v 
coniplished  in  four  or  five  days,  and  then  the  attack  by  Draco  could 
be  carried  i)'to  effect,  and  the  junctinn  of  tlie  Russians  prevented, 
with  every  probability  of  success  against  the   Danish  Floating  bat- 
teries.    What  effect  a  bombardment  might  have,  I  am  not  calhid  upon 
to  give  an  opini.ti ;  but  think  the  way  would  be  cleared  for  the  trial. 
Supposing  us  through  the  Belt  with  the  w  ind  first  westerly,  would 
it  not  be  possible  to  either  go  with  the  Fleet,  or  detach  ten  Ships  of 
three  and  two  decks,  with  one  Bomb  and  two  Fireships,  to  llevi'l,  to 
destroy  the  Russian  Squadron  at  that  place?     I  do  not  see  the  great 
risk  of  such  a  detac'vn'>nt,  and  with  the  remainder  to  attempt  the 
business  at  Copenhagen.     The  measure  may  be  thought  bold,  but  I 
am  of  opinion  the  boldest  measures  are  the  safest;  and  our  Country 
demands  a  most  vigorous  exertion  of  her  force,  directed  with  judg- 
ment.    In  supporting  you,  my  dear  Sir  Hyde,  through  the  arduous 
and   important   task   you   have    luidertaken,  no    exertion   of    head 
or  heart  shall  be  wanting  from  your  most  obedient   and   faithful 
servant, 

Nelson  /  vd  linoxTK. 

^  That  is,  from  north  to  south.     Tt  iimy  i  '  well  to  tioti'.io  that  to  go  from 
the  Kattegat  to  the  Baltic  is  up,  iilt hough  from  north  to  south. 


1  ■' : 


THE  BALTIC  EXPKDITIOX 


411 


Olio 


-a^ 


On  the  25th  the  wind  was  too  strong  to  allow  the  ships 
to  lift  their  anchors.  On  the  2Gth  the  fleet  weighed,  and  pro- 
ceeded for  a  few  hours  in  the  direction  of  the  Great  lielt, 
which  I'arker  had  de(!ided  to  follow.  Captain  Otway  of  the 
"London,"  8ir  Hyde's  flagship,  chanced  to  have;  hxial  knowl- 
edge of  tliat  passage,  which  had  not  come  before  the  couikmI, 
because  he  was  not  a  nuMnbe/.  \yh(;n  he  asrortained  the  in- 
tention, he  explained  the  difficulties  and  risks  to  the  atln:ir;d, 
upon  which  the  latter  coiududed  that  the  batteries  of  (Jronen- 
burg  p.'id  Klsinore  presentiMl  fewer  dangers.  He  accordingly 
directed  the  fleet  to  return  toward  the  Sound,  and  sent  Otway 
to  tell  Nelson  he  should  take  that  route.  "  I  don't  care  a 
d — n  by  which  passage  we  go,"  replied  the  latter,  "  so  that  we 
fight  them."  "  Sir  Hyde  I'arker,"  he  wrote  tlie  same  day  to 
Lady  ILamilton,  "has  by  this  time  found  out  the  worth  of 
your  Nelson,  and  that  he  is  a  useful  sort  of  man  on  a  pinch ; 
therefore,  if  he  ever  has  thought  unkindly  of  me,  I  freely  for- 
give him.  Nelson  must  stand  among  the  first,  or  he  must 
fall."  Side  by  side  with  such  expressions  of  dauntless  resolve 
and  unfailing  self-confidence  stand  words  of  deepest  tender- 
ness, their  union  under  one  cover  typifying  aptly  tlio  twin 
emotions  of  heroic  aspiration  and  passionate  dev  (tini;,  which 
at  this  time  held  within  him  alternate,  yet  noi;  <•  (iii'ictiiig, 
sway.  In  the  same  letter  he  tells  her  fondly,  "  Vou  know  1 
am  more  bigoted  to  your  picture — the  faithful  representation 
of  you  I  have  with  me  —  than  ever  a  Neapolitan  was  to  St. 
Januarius,  and  look  upon  you  as  my  guardian  angel,  and  CJod, 
I  trust,  will  make  yoii  so  to  me.  His  will  be  done."  From 
the  time  of  leaving  he  wrote  to  her  practically  every  da}'. 
"  Mr.  S.  is  quite  right,"  he  says  to  her  on  one  occuxsion,  "that 
through  the  medium  of  your  influence  is  the  surest  way  to 
get  my  interest.  It  is  true,  and  it  will  ever  be,  whilst  you 
ludd  your  present  conduct,  for  you  never  ask  anything  that 
does  not  do  honour  to  your  feelings,  as  tlu-  be>t  woman,  as 
far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  that  ever  lived,  and  it  nmst  do  me 
honour  the  complying  with  them." 

The  fleet  anchored  again  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  of 
March,  six  miles  from  Cronenburg,  and  was  there  detained 
three  days  by  head  winds  and  calms.  In  tliis  int(>rval,  Nel- 
son's  general  plan   of  operations    having   been   adopted,  he 


IMI 


m 


M'i 


I 


472 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSOK 


shifted  his  flag  to  a  lighter  ship,  the  "Elephant,"  seventy- 
four,  commanded  by  Captain  Foley,  the  same  wlio  had  led 
the  fleet  inside  the  French  line  in  Aboukir  liay.  On  the  SOtli, 
the  wind  coming  fair  from  nortliwest,  the  sliips  weighed  and 
passed  Cronenburg  Castle.  It  had  been  expected  tliat  the 
Swedish  batteries  would  open  upon  them,  but,  finding  they 
remained  silent,  the  column  inclined  to  that  sitlc,  thus  going 
clear  of  the  Danish  guns.  "  More  powder  and  sl«ot,  I  believe, 
never  were  thrown  away,"  wrote  Nelson,  "  lor  not  one  shot 
struck  a  single  ship  of  the  liritish  fleet.  Some  of  our  shi[)S 
fired  ;  but  the  Elephant  did  not  return  a  single  shot.  I  hope 
to  reserve  them  for  a  better  occasion." 

That  afternoon  they  anchored  again,  about  five  miles  below 
Copenhagen.  Parker  and  Nelson,  accompanied  by  several 
senior  officers,  went  at  once  in  a  schooner  to  view  the  defences 
of  the  town.  "  We  soon  perceived,"  wrote  Stewart,  "  that  our 
delay  had  been  of  important  advantage  to  the  enemy,  who  had 
lined  the  northern  edge  of  the  shoals  near  the  Crown  batteries, 
and  the  front  of  the  harbour  and  arsenal,  with  a  formidable 
flotilla.  The  Tsekrone;  (Three  Crowns)  liattery"  —  a  strong 
work  established  on  piles,  wliose  position  will  bo  given  — 
"  appeared,  in  particuhir,  to  have  been  strengthened,  and  all 
the  buoys  of  the  Northern,  and  of  the  King's  Channels  had 
been  removed."  Nelson,  however,  was,  or  feigned  to  be,  less 
impressed.  "  I  have  just  been  reconnoitring  the  Danish  line 
of  defence,"  he  wrote  to  Lady  Hamilton.  "It  looks  for- 
midable to  those  who  are  children  at  war,  but  to  my  judgment, 
wi  til  '■en  sail-of-the-line  I  think  I  can'  annihilate  them ;  at 
all  ev  (its,  I  hope  to  be  allowed  to  try."  This  is  again  the 
same  spirit  of  the  seaman  "  determined  to  attack  "  at  Aboukir ; 
the  same  resolution  as  before  Bastia,  where  he  kept  shut  in 
his  own  breast  the  knowledg3  of  the  odds,  feeling  that  to  do 
nothing  was  as  bad  as  failure  —  and  worse.  A  like  eagerness 
does  not  seem  to  have  prevailed  on  board  the  flagship, 
l^arker  had  allowed  himself  to  be  stiffened  to  the  fighting-point 
by  tlie  junior  he  had  befoi'e  disregarded,  but  that  he  looked  to 
the  issue  with  more  than  doubt  may  be  inferred  from  the 
words  of  his  private  secretary,  the  Kev.  Mr.  Scott,  who  after- 
wards held  the  same  relation  to  Nelson.  "I  fear,"  he  wrote 
on  the  day  of  the  council,  "  there  is  a  great  deal  of  Quixotism 


/  L. 


l\    !i 


(I 


l 


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■P 


I- 


i 


BATTLE  OF  COPENHAGEN 

APRIL    2.1801. 


A'  Agamemnon,  af  Anchor 
BB'BnYish  Line  of  Dattie. 
CC' British  Ships  Aground. 
f f  "  British  Frig  a  t  es . 


References: 

D.D- Danish  Line  ef  Hulks. 

ti' Anchorage  of  fie/son's  Division, 
Apr  it  1-2. 

P^  Anchorage  of  British  Main  Fleet 
under  SirH.ParKer. 


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I'LAN  OF  ATTACK 


m 


in  this  business;  thero  is  no  getting  any  positivo  information 
of  their  strength." 

Nelson's  general  i)lan  of  attack  is  sot  forth  in  main  outlines 
in  the  letter  already  given,  but  i^  '^  desirable  to  give  a  somo- 
uliat  more  detailed  description.  .„  will  be  seen,  by  the  an- 
n(!xed  chart,  that  there  are  before  Cojtenhagen  two  (diannels 
by  which  the  city  can  bo  passed.  Uetween  the  two  lies  a  shoal, 
called  the  !Middle  (Jround.  Tiie  inner,  known  as  tiie  King's 
Channel,  lay  under  the  guns  of  the  defences  which  had  been 
hurriedly  improvised  for  the  present  emergency.  These  con- 
sisted of  a  lino  of  hulks,  mostly  nuistless,  ranged  along  the 
inner  side  of  the  King's  Channel,  close  to  the  Hats  wiiich  bor- 
dered it,  flanked  at  the  northern  end  by  the  i)erMianent  work, 
called  the  Trekroner  '  J Jattciy.  "Westward  of  the  latter  lay, 
across  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  proper,  two  more  hulks,  and 
a  small  squadron  consisting  of  two  sliips-of-the-line  and  a 
frigate,  masted,  and  in  commission.  This  division  was  not 
seriously  engaged,  antl,  as  a  factor  in  the  battle,  may  be 
disregarded. 

The  northern  part  of  this  defence  was  decisively  the  stronger. 
To  attack  there,  Nelson  called  '•  taking  the  bull  l)y  the  horns." 
The  southern  wing  was  much  more  exposed.  Nor  was  this 
all.  An  advance  from  the  north  must  be  made  with  a  north- 
erly wind.  If  unsm^cessful,  or  even,  in  case  of  success,  if 
ships  were  badly  crippled,  they  could  not  return  to  the  north, 
where  the  Hoot  was.  On  the  <jthcr  hand,  attack  from  the 
south  presupposed  a  southerly  wind,  with  which,  after  an  ac- 
tion, the  engaged  ships  could  rejoin  the  Hcct,  if  they  threaded 
safely  the  dilhcult  navi!.ation.  In  any  event  there  was  risk, 
but  none  knew  better  than  Nelson  that  without  risks  war  is 
not  made.  To  the  considerations  above  given  he  added  that, 
when  south  of  tho  city,  the  liritish  would  be  interposed  be- 
tween the  other  Ualtic  navies  and  Denmark.  The  latt(>r,  in 
that  case,  could  not  receive  reinforcements,  unless  the  English 
S(piadron  wore  first  defeated.  He  therciforo  ^iroposod  that  ten 
ships-of-the-line,  of  tho  lighter  draughts,  which  he  offered  him- 
self to  lead,  should  pass  through  tho  outer,  or  northern  channel, 
gain  the  southern  flank  of  the  defence,  and  thence  make  the  prin- 

1  Trokroiior,  wliicli  wns  then  a  favorite  military  name  in  Denmark,  refers  to 
the  three  Crowns  of  Dcnninrk,  Norway,  and  Sweden,  once  united. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


I.I 


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1^    12.2 


^    ti£.    12.0 


II 


1.8 


L25  III  1.4   IIIIII.6 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  r.TIIEET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  145S0 

(716)872-4503 


\ 


'A 


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4^  4^ 


,.^ 


^j^ 


474 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


o-ipal  attack,  while  the  rest  of  the  fleet  supported  them  by  a 
dejuonstration  against  the  northern  end.  The  sagacity  of  this 
sclienie  is  best  attested  from  the  enemy  himself.  "  We  have 
been  deceived  in  the  plan  of  attack,"  wrote  the  historian 
Niebuhr,  then  residing  in  the  city  ;  "  and,"  now  that  the  right 
wing  of  the  defence  is  destroyed,  "  all  is  at  stake."  The 
nights  of  the  30th  and  31st  were  employed  in  surveying  the 
waters,  laying  down  buoys  to  replace  those  removed  by  the 
Danes,  and  in  furtlier  reconnoissance  of  the  enemy's  position. 
The  artillery  officers  who  were  to  supervise  the  bombardment 
satisfied  themselves  that,  if  the  floating  defences  south  of  the 
Trekroner  were  destroyed,  the  bouib-vessels  could  be  placed 
in  such  a  position  as  to  shell  the  city,  without  being  them- 
selves exposed  to  undue  peril. 

Parker  gave  Nelson  twelve  ships-of-the-line,  two  more  than 
he  ha:l  asked;  a  judicious  addition,  for  the  main  part  of  the 
lighting  was  to  fall  to  him,  and  the  difficulties  of  pilotage 
might,  and  actually  did,  deprive  him  of  several  ships.  More- 
over, while  it  was  proposed  that  the  vessels  remaining  with 
Parker  should  approach  and  engage  the  northern  defences,  yet 
the  time  of  attack  depended  upon  a  fair  wind  for  Nelson  ;  and 
as  that  would  necessarily  be  foul  for  the  other  body,  the 
diversion  made  by  it  might  be,  and  proved  to  be,  ineffective. 
Sound  judgment  dictated  giviiig  Nelson  all  that  could  be 
spared. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  31st  another  council  was  held,  in 
which  Nelson's  plan  was  finally  ratified ;  he  again  volunteered 
his  services,  which  were  accepted  and  his  force  detailed.  As 
usual,  the  council  was  prolific  in  suggestions  of  danger. 
Stewart,  who  seems  to  have  been  present,  writes:  "During 
this  Council  of  War,  the  energy  of  Lord  Nelson's  character 
was  remarked :  certain  difficulties  had  been  started  by  some 
of  the  members,  relative  to  each  of  the  three  Powers  we  should 
either  have  to  engage,  in  succession  or  united,  in  those  seas. 
The  number  of  the  Russians  was,  in  particular,  represented  as 
formidable.  Lord  Nelson  kept  pacing  the  cabin,  mortified  at 
everything  that  savoured  either  of  alarm  or  irresolution. 
When  the  above  remark  was  applied  to  the  Swedes,  he  sharply 
observed,  '  The  more  numerous  the  better ; '  and  when  to  the 
Russians,  he  repeatedly  said,  *  So  much  the  better,  I  wish  they 


PLAN  OF  ATTACK 


475 


were  twice  as  many,  the  easier  the  victory,  depend  on  it.'  He 
alluded,  as  he  afterwards  explained  in  private,  to  the  total 
want  of  tactique  among  the  Northern  fleets ;  and  to  his  inten- 
tion, whenever  he  should  bring  either  the  Swedes  or  llussians 
to  action,  of  attacking  the  head  of  their  line,  and  confusing 
their  movements  as  nmch  as  possible.  He  used  to  say,  '  Close 
with  a  Frenchman,  but  out-manoiuvre  a  Kussian.' " 

Nelson  gave  personal  supervision  to  the  general  work  of 
buoying  the  Northern  Channel.  On  the  morning  of  April  1st 
he  made  a  final  examination  of  the  ground  in  the  frigate 
"  Amazon,"  commanded  by  Captain  Riou,  who  fell  in  the  next 
day's  battle,  lieturning  at  about  one  in  tlie  afternoon,  he 
signalled  his  division  to  ■weigh,  and,  the  wind  favoring,  the 
whole  passed  without  accident,  the  "Amazon"  leading.  By 
nightfall  they  were  again  anchored,  south  of  the  Middle 
Ground,  not  over  two  miles  from  that  end  of  the  Danish  line. 
As  the  anchor  dropped,  Nelson  called  out  emphatically,  "I 
will  fight  them  the  moment  I  have  a  fair  wind."  As  there 
were  in  all  thirty-three  ships  of  war,  they  were  crowded  to- 
gether, and,  being  within  shelling  distance  of  the  mortars  on 
Amag  Island,  might  have  received  much  harm;  but  the  Danes 
were  too  preoccupied  with  their  yet  incomplete  defences  to 
note  that  the  few  shells  thrown  dropped  among  their  enemies. 

"On  board  the  Elephant,"  writes  Stewart,  who  with  his 
soldiers  had  followed  Nelson  from  the  "  St.  George,"  "  the 
night  of  the  1st  of  April  was  an  important  one.  As  soon  as 
the  fleet  was  at  anchor,  the  gallant  Nelson  sat  down  to  table 
with  a  large  party  of  his  comrades  in  arms.  He  was  in  the 
highest  spirits,  and  drank  to  a  leading  wind  and  to  the  success 
of  the  ensuing  day.  Captains  Foley,  Hardy,  Fremantle,  Riou, 
Inman,  Admiral  Graves,  his  Lordship's  second  in  command, 
and  a  few  others  to  whom  he  was  particularly  attached,  were 
of  this  interesting  party;  from  which  every  man  separated 
with  feelings  of  admiration  for  their  great  leader,  and  with 
anxious  impatience  to  follow  him  to  the  approaching  battle. 
The  signal  to  prepare  for  action  had  been  made  early  in  the 
evening.  All  the  captains  retired  to  their  respective  ships, 
Riou  excepted,  who  with  Lord  Nelson  and  Foley  arranged  the 
Order  of  Battle,  and  those  instructions  that  were  to  be  issued 
to  each  ship  on  the  succeeding  day.    These  three  officers  re- 


I J 


V 


^1; 


n  .  i 


m 


I 


»i 


111 


470 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


'  !■    1 


i-   I 


tired  between  nine  and  ten  to  the  after-cabin,  and  drew  up 
those  Orders  that  have  been  generally  published,  and  which 
ought  to  be  referred  to  as  the  best  proof  of  the  arduous  nature 
of  the  enterprise  in  which  the  fleet  was  about  to  be  engaged. 

"  From  the  previous  fatigue  of  this  day,  and  of  the  two  pre- 
ceding, Lord  Xelson  was  so  mucli  exhausted  while  dictating 
his  instructions,  that  it  was  recommended  to  him  by  us  all, 
and,  indeed,  insisted  upon  by  his  old  servant,  Allen,  who 
assumed  much  command  on  these  occasions,  that  he  should  go 
to  his  cot.  It  was  placed  on  tlie  floor,  but  from  it  he  still 
continued  to  dictate.  Captain  Hardy  returned  about  eleven, 
lie  had  rowed  as  far  as  the  leading  ship  of  the  enemy ;  sound- 
ing round  hor,  and  using  a  pole  when  he  was  apprehensive  of 
being  heard.  Ho  reported  the  practicability  of  the  Channel, 
and  the  depth  of  water  up  to  the  ships  of  the  enemy's  line. 
Had  we  abided  by  this  report,  in  lieu  of  confiding  in  our 
Masters  and  Tilots,  we  should  have  acted  better.  The  Orders 
were  completed  about  one  o'clock,  when  half  a  dozen  clerks  in 
the  foremost  cabin  proceeded  to  transcribe  them.  Lord  Nel- 
son's impatience  again  showed  itself;  for  instead  of  sleeping 
undisturbedly,  as  he  might  have  done,  he  was  every  half  hour 
calling  from  his  cot  to  these  clerks  to  hasten  their  work,  for 
that  the  wind  was  becoming  fair:  he  was  constantly  receiving 
a  report  of  this  during  the  night."  It  was  characteristic  of 
the  fortune  of  the  "heaven-born"  admiral,  that  the  wind 
which  had  been  fair  the  day  before  to  take  him  south,  changed 
by  the  hour  of  battle  to  fair  to  take  him  nortli ;  but  it  is  only 
just  to  notice  also  that  ho  himself  never  trifled  with  a  fair 
wind,  nor  with  time. 

The  Orders  for  Dattle,  the  process  of  framing  which  Stewart 
narrates,  have  been  preserved  in  full ;  ^  but  they  require  a 
little  study  and  analysis  to  detect  Nelson's  thought,  and  their 
tactical  merit,  which  in  matters  of  detail  is  unique  among  his 
works.  At  the  Nile  and  Trafalgar  he  contented  himself  with 
general  plans,  to  meet  cases  which  he  could  only  foresee  in 
broad  'nitlines  ;  the  method  of  application  he  reserved  to  the 
moment  of  battle,  when  again  he  signified  the  general  direction 
of  the  attack,  and  left  the  details  to  his  subordinates.     Here 

1  Tlioy  are  to  be  found  iu  Nieolas'a  "Despatches  and  Letters  of  Lord 
Nelson,"  vol.  iv.  p.  304. 


,  drew  up 

,nd  which 

)iis  nature 

ingaged. 

3  two  pre- 

dictating 

by  us  all, 

lien,  who 

should  go 

t  he  still 

it  eleven. 

y,  sound- 

lensive  of 

Channel, 

ny's  line. 

iig  in  our 

he  Orders 

clerks  in 

jord  Nel- 

!  sleeping 

half  hour 

work,  for 

receiving 

;eristic  of 

he   wind 

changed 

t  is  only 

h  a  fair 

Stewart 
require  a 
md  their 
pong  his 
pelf  with 
Iresee  in 
ll  to  the 
lirection 
Here 

of  Lord 


I'   ;■! 


Si" 


«M 


^ 


0 


o 

Si 

a 
u 

Q 
'A 

•Ti 

"A 

O 


o 


o 

Q 
A 


■A 
A 

u 
< 

0* 

B 


1! 

H 
U 

'A 

m 

A 
O 


O 


, 

1 

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I  i 


V\'.' 


a 

ti 
s: 
tl 
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si 
a] 

01 

b] 
oi 
tl: 
tv 

S11 

te 
th 
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ri< 
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Ti 
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"wi 
as 
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fer 

Tr. 

cor 

to 

un( 

he 

ho] 

he 

scr] 


TLAN  OP  ATTACK 


477 


at  Copenhagen  he  had  been  able  to  study  the  hostile  disposi- 
tions. Consequently,  although  he  could  not  mark  with  preci- 
sion the  situations  of  the  smaller  floating  batteries,  those  of 
the  principal  blockships  were  known,  and  upon  that  knowledge 
he  based  very  particular  instructions  for  the  position  each 
ship-of-the-line  was  to  occupy.  The  smaller  British  vessels 
also  had  specific  orders. 

Taking  the  Trekroner  as  a  point  of  reference  for  the  Danish 
order,  there  were  north  of  it,  on  the  Danish  left  flank,  two 
blockships.  South  of  it  were  seven  blockships,  with  a  number 
of  miscellaneous  floating  batteries,  which  raised  that  wing  of 
the  defence  to  eighteen — the  grand  total  being  therefore 
twenty.  This  was  also  Nelson's  count,  except  that  he  put  one 
small  vessel  on  the  north  wing,  reducing  the  southern  to  seven- 
teen —  an  immaterial  difference.  South  of  the  Trekroner, 
the  Danes  had  disposed  their  seven  blockships  —  which  were 
mastless  ships-of-the-line — as  follows.  Two  were  on  the 
right  flank,  supporting  each  other,  two  on  the  left,  the  three 
others  spaced  between  these  extremes ;  the  distance  from  the 
Trekroner  to  the  southernmost  ship  being  about  a  mile  and  a 
half.  The  intervals  were  filled  with  the  floating  batteries.  It 
will  be  recognized  that  the  Danes  treated  this  southern  wing 
as  an  entity  by  itself,  of  Avhich  they  strengthened  the  flanks, 
relying  for  the  protection  of  the  centre  upon  the  nearness  to 
slioal  water,  which  would  prevent  the  line  being  pierced. 

As  thus  described,  the  southern  wing  covered  the  front  of 
the  city  against  bombardment.  The  two  northern  blockships 
and  the  Trekroner  did  not  conduce  materially  to  that ;  they 
protected  chiefly  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  It  was  therefore 
only  necessary  to  reduce  the  southern  wing ;  but  Nelson  pre- 
ferred to  engage  at  once  the  whole  line  of  vessels  and  the 
Trekroner.  It  is  difficult  entirely  to  approve  this  refusal  to 
concentrate  upon  a  part  of  the  enemy's  order,  —  an  advantage 
to  which  Nelson  was  fully  alive,  —  but  it  was  probably  due  to 
underestimating  the  value  of  the  Danish  gunnery,  knowing  as 
he  did  how  long  they  had  been  at  peace.  He  may,  also,  have 
hoped  something  from  Parker's  division,  lie  this  as  it  nmy, 
he  spread  his  ships-of-the-line,  in  the  arrangement  he  pre- 
scribed, from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  enemy's  order. 

Having  done  this,  however,  he  adopted  measures  well  cal- 


iii 


•|!    . 


■''f       i 


:\ 


t  I' 
■  i 


^i 


'I 

If 


m 


THE  LIFK  OF  NELSON 


1:1 


;  '       ■  .' 


culated  to  crush   tlie   southern  flank  speedily,   and   then   to 
accumulate  superior  numbers  on  the  northern.     The  British 
were  arranged  in  a  cohimn  of  attack,  and  the  directions  were 
that  the  three  leading  ships  should  pass  along  the  hostile  lino, 
engaging  as  they  went,  until  the  headmost  readied  the  fifth 
Dane,  a  blockship  inferior  to  itself,  abreast  which  it  was  to 
anchor  by  the  stern,  as  all  the  IJritish  ships  were  to  do.    Num- 
bers two  and  three  were  then  to  pass  number  one,  and  anchor 
successively  ahead  of  her,  supporting  her  there  against  the 
other  enemy's  batteries,  while  four  and  five  were  to  anchor 
astern  of  her,  engaging  the  two  flank  blockships,  which  would 
have  received  already  the  full  broadsides  of  tlie  three  leading 
vessels.     Nelson  hoped  that  the  two  southern  Danes,  by  this 
concentration  of  fire  upon  them,  would  be  speedily  silenced ; 
and  their  immediate  antagonists  had  orders,  when  that  was 
done,  to  cut  their  cables  and  go  north,  to  reinforce  the  fight  in 
that  quarter.     The  sooner  to  attain  this  end,  a  frigate  and 
some  smaller  vessels  were  told  off   to  take  position  across 
the  bows  of  the  two  blockships,  and  to  keep  a  raking  fire  upon 
them. 

The  dispositions  for  the  other  British  vessels  were  more 
simple.  They  were  to  follow  along  the  outer  side  of  their 
own  engaged  ships,  each  one  anchoring  as  it  cleared  the  head- 
most ship  already  in  action,  —  number  six  ahead  of  number 
five,  number  seven  of  number  six,  —  so  that  the  twelfth  would 
be  abreast  the  twentieth  Dane.  One  ship-of-the-line  was  of 
course  thought  equivalent  to  two  or  three  floating  batteries,  if 
opposed  to  them  in  an  interval.  By  this  arrangement,  each  of 
the  British  was  covered  in  its  advance,  until  it  reached  its  pre- 
scribed antagonist  as  nearly  fresh  as  possible,  and  the  order  of 
the  British  column  was  reversed  from  end  to  end.^  A  division 
of  frigates  and  fireships,  under  Captain  Riou,  was  held  ready  for 
any  special  service.  The  bomb-vessels  were  to  anchor  in  the 
King's  Channel,  but  well  outside  the  line  of  battle,  from  which 
position  they  threw  some  bombs.  Alongside  each  ship-of-the- 
line  was  towed  a  flat-boat,  intended  to  carry  soldiers  in  an 
attempt  to  storm  the  Trekroner,  if  circumstances  favored;  and 
other  boats  were  sent  for  that  purpose  from  Parker's  division. 

1  Except  numbers  4  and  5,  whose  stations,    as  has  boen  said,  were  abreast 
the  two  southernmost  Danes. 


TLAN  OV  ATTACK 


470 


These  orders  were  copied,  and  ready  for  distribution,  by 
six  in  the  morning.  Nelson,  who  was  already  up  and  had 
breakfasted,  signalled  at  seven  for  all  captains,  and  l)y  eight 
these  had  their  instructions.  The  wind  had  become  so  fair 
that  ships  anchoring  by  the  stern  would  lie  perfectly  well 
for  using  their  broadsides  at  once.  At  this  instant  indecision 
appeared  among  the  pilots,  who  were  mostly  nuni  of  only 
a  little  local  experience,  and  tliat  gained  in  vessels  much 
smaller  than  those  they  were  now  to  conduct.  Nelson,  re- 
verting afterwards  to  these  moments,  said:  "I  experienced  in 
the  Sound  the  misery  of  having  the  honour  of  our  Country 
intrusted  to  pilots,  who  have  no  other  thought  than  to  keep 
the  ship  clear  of  danger,  and  their  own  silly  heads  clear  of 
shot.  At  eight  in  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  April,  not  one 
pilot  would  take  charge  of  a  ship."  There  is  in  these  words 
scarcely  fair  allowance  for  the  men's  ignorance.  At  length 
one  of  the  Masters  of  the  fleet,  a  !Mr.  IJrierley,  undertook  to 
lead  the  column,  and  the  signal  to  weigh  in  succession  was 
made.  The  leading  ship  got  off  handsomely,  but  difficulties 
soon  arose.  Nelson's  old  "  Agamemnon "  was  so  anchored 
that  she  could  not  weather  the  Middle  Ground;  she  conse- 
quently did  not  get  into  action  at  all.  Two  other  ships,  the 
"Bellona"  and  "Russell,"  seventy-fours,  grounded  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Middle  Ground,  where  they  remained  fast. 
Although  they  could  use  their  guns,  and  did  use  tliem  against 
those  southern  ships  which  Nelson  particularly  wanted  crushed, 
the  disadvantages  of  distance,  of  position,  and  of  general  help- 
lessness, detracted  exceedingly  from  their  usefulness.  The 
valid  British  force  was  thus  reduced  by  one-fourth,  —  to  nine 
vessels. 

Nelson's  ship,  the  "Elephant,"  was  following  the  "Bel- 
lona" and  "Russell,"  and  he  sav^  them  ground.  "  His  agita- 
tion during  these  moments  was  extreme,"  says  an  e^'e-witness. 
"  I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  it  made  on  me.  It  was 
not,  however,  the  agitation  of  indecision,  but  of  ardent, 
animated  patriotism  panting  for  glory,  which  had  appeared 
within  his  reach,  and  was  vanishing  from  his  grasp."  He 
doubtless  well  knew  the  thinly  veiled  reproaches  of  rashness, 
cast  by  timid  counsels  upon  the  daring,  which  even  under 
these    disadvantages    was    to    cover    with    confusion    their 


I 


■i  V 


V 


il 

;   1 

:  I 
■  i 


! 


n 


«'. 


I/S,| 


< 


ill 


m 


480 


THE  LIFE   OF   NELSON 


prophecies  of  disaster ;  but,  as  on  many  another  day,  and  in 
tiiat  more  famous  incident,  a  few  hours  hiter,  in  this  same 
battle,  his  tenacious  purpose  harbored  no  side-thought  of 
retreat.  "  Before  you  receive  this,"  he  had  written  to  Lady 
Hamilton,  "all  will  be  over  with  Denmark, — either  your 
Nelson  will  be  safe,  and  Sir  Hyde  Parker  a  victoc,  or  he, 
your  own  Nelson,  will  be  laid  low."  The  signal  to  advance 
was  kept  flying,  but  new  dispositions  had  to  be  made  to  meet 
the  new  and  adverse  conditions.'  The  remaining  ships  were 
made  to  close  to  the  rear,  as  they  anchored.  The  "  Elepiiant" 
had  been  originally  assigned  as  antagonist  to  the  biggest 
Danish  ship,  the  "  Sjaelland,"  seventy-four;  but,  the  '*  Bel- 
lona "  having  grounded,  she  now  dropped  into  the  hitter's 
berth  immediately  ahead  of  the  "Glatton ;  "  and  Nelson  hailed 
tlie  *»  Ganges,"  as  she  was  passing,  to  place  herself  as  close 
as  possible  ahead  of  the  "  Elei)hant."  This  movement  v/as 
imitated  by  the  ''  Monarch,"  which  thus  got  the  "  Elephant's  " 
position  abreast  the  "Sjaelland."  Here,  according  to  Danish 
accounts,  the  contest  stood  for  some  tin;e,  until  the  "  Deti- 
ance,"  Graves's  flagship,  arriving,  anchored  ahead  of  the 
"]\ronarch,"  completing  the  line  of  nine  liritish  ships.  Cap- 
tain lliou  with  his  light  division  engaged  the  Trekroner,  and 
the  Danish  blockship  next  south  of  it,  which  was  by  him 
terribly  battered.  From  this  moment,  and  for  some  time,  to 
use  subsecpient  words  of  Nelson,  "  Here  was  no  mana3uvring : 
it  was  downright  fighting." 

Meanwhile  Parker's  division,  which  had  weighed  as  agreed, 
was  some  four  miles  off,  beating  up  against  Nelson's  fair 
wind.  It  had  not  yet  come  into  action,  and  the  anxious  chief, 
ever  doul)tful  of  the  result  of  a  step  into  which  he  had  been 
persuaded,  contrary,  not,  perhaps,  to  his  will,  but  certainly 
to  his  bent,  watched  the  indecisive  progress  of  the  strife 
with  a  mind  unoccupied  by  any  fighting  of  his  own.     Two 

1  Tlie  following  is  the  order  of  the  ships  in  the  colunin  of  attack,  as 
originally  prescrihucl :  — 

L    Edgar,  7-1.  7.  Elephant,  74. 

2.    Ardent,  64.  8.  Ganges,  74. 

?..   Glatton,  54.  9.  Monarch,  74. 

4.    Lsis,  50.  10.  Defiance,  74. 

6.    Agamemnon,  64.  11.  Russell,  74. 

6.    Bellona,  74.  12.  Polyphemtrs,  64. 


day,  and  in 
u  tliis  samo 
!-tliought   of 
tun  to  Lady 
either  your 
ctor,  or  lie, 
i  to  advance 
lade  to  meet 
:  ships  were 
'Elepliant" 
the   biggest 
,  the  "  Bel- 
the  hatter's 
elson  hailed 
elf  as  close 
/enient  was 
Elephant's  " 
;  to  Danish 
the   "Deti- 
sad    of    the 
hips.     Cap- 
kroner,  and 
.'as  by  him 
ne  time,  to 
mceiivring: 


nil  if- 


■h  ,  -n'"- 


:^V 


i  as  agreed, 
elson's  fair 
!cioiis  chief, 
2  had  been 
t  certainly 
the  strife 
own.     Two 

of  .attack,  as 


64. 


Vice-admiral,  sir  hyde  parker. 


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trans 


BATTLE  OF  COPENHAGEN 


481 


things  were  evident :  that  Nelson  had  met  with  some  mis- 
haps, and  that  the  Danish  resistance  was  more  prolonged 
and  sturdier  than  he  had  argued  in  the  Council  that  it  would 
be.  Parker  began  to  talk  about  making  the  signal  to  leave 
ofE  action,  and  tlie  matter  was  discussed  betwt  .ii  himself, 
his  fleet-captain,  and  Otway,  the  captain  of  the  ship.  The 
latter  opposed  the  idea  strongly,  and  at  last,  as  a  stay,  ob- 
tained tlie  admiral's  authority  to  go  on  board  the  "Elephant" 
and  learn  how  things  were.  He  shoved  off  accordingly,  but 
before  he  reached  Nelson  the  signal  was  made. 

Nelson  at  the  moment  was  walking  the  quarter-deck  of  the 
"Elephant,"  which  was  anchored  on  the  bow  of  the  Danish 
flagship  "  Dannebroge,"  engaging  her  and  some  floating  bat- 
teries ahead  of  her.  At  this  time,  Stewart  says,  "  Few,  if 
any,  of  the  enemy's  heavy  ships  and  praams  had  ceased  to 
fire ; "  and,  after  mentioning  various  disappointments  that 
had  befallen  the  smaller  British  vessels,  besides  the  failure 
of  three  heavy  ships  to  reach  their  stations,  he  coutinues  : 
"  The  contest,  in  general,  although  from  the  relaxed  state  of 
the  enemy's  fire,  it  might  not  have  given  much  room  for 
apprehension  as  to  the  result,  had  certainly  not  declared 
itself  in  favour  of  either  side.  Nelson  was  sometimes  much 
animated,  and  at  others  heroically  fine  in  his  observations. 
A  shot  through  the  mainmast  knocked  a  few  splinters  about 
us.  He  observed  to  me,  with  a  smile,  '  It  is  warm  work,  and 
this  day  may  be  the  last  to  any  of  us  at  a  moment;'  and 
then,  stopping  short  at  the  gangway,  he  used  an  expression 
never  to  be  erased  from  my  memory,  and  said  with  emotion, 
*  but  mark  you,  I  would  not  be  elsewhere  for  thousands.' 

"When  the  signal,  No,  39,  was  made,  the  Signal  Lieu- 
tenant reported  it  to  him.  He  continued  his  walk,  and  did  not 
appear  to  take  notice  of  it.  The  lieutenant  meeting  his  Lord- 
ship at  the  next  turn  asked,  'whether  he  should  repeat  it?' 
Lord  Nelson  answered,  '  No,  acknowledge  it.'  ^  On  the  officer 
returning  to  the  poop,  his  Lordship  called  after  him,  *  Is  No. 
16  [For  Close  Action]  still  hoisted  ? '  The  lieutenant  an- 
swering in  the  affirmative,  Lord  Nelson  said,  *  Mind  you  keep 

*  To  acknowledge  a  sifjiial  is  simply  to  hoist  a  flag,  showing  that  it  has 
been  seen  and  understood.  To  repeat  is  to  hoist  the  signal  yourself,  thus 
transmitting  it  as  an  order  to  those  concerned. 

31 


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Hi 


482 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


) 


".:    I 


it  so.'  He  now  walked  the  deck  considerably  agitated,  which 
was  always  known  by  his  moving  the  stump  of  his  right  arm. 
After  a  turn  or  two,  he  said  to  me,  in  a  quick  manner,  '  Do 
you  know  what 's  shown  on  board  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
No.  39  ?  '  On  asking  him  what  that  meant,  he  answered, 
*  Why,  to  leave  off  action.'  'Leave  off  action  ! '  he  repeated, 
and  then  added,  with  a  shrug,  'Now  damn  me  if  I  do.'  He 
also  observed,  1  believe,  to  Captain  Foley,  *  You  know,  Foley, 
I  have  only  one  eye  —  I  have  a  right  to  be  blind  sometimes  ; ' 
and  then  with  an  archness  peculiar  to  his  character,  putting 
the  glass  to  his  blind  eye,  he  exclaimed,  *  I  really  do  not  see 
the  signal.*  This  remarkable  signal  was,  therefore,  only  ac- 
knowledged on  board  the  Elephant,  not  repeated.  Admiral 
Graves  did  the  latter,  not  being  able  to  distinguish  tlie  Ele- 
phant's conduct :  either  by  a  fortunate  accident,  or  intention- 
ally, No.  16  was  not  displaced. 

"The  squadron  of  frigates  obeyed  the  signal,  and  hauled 
off.  That  brave  officer,  Captain  Riou,  was  killed  by  a  raking 
shot,  when  the  Amazon  showed  her  stern  to  the  Trekroner. 
He  was  sitting  on  a  gun,  was  encouraging  his  men,  and  had 
been  wounded  in  the  head  by  a  splinter.  He  had  expressed 
himself  grieved  at  being  thus  obliged  to  retreat,  and  nobly 
observed,  '  What  will  Nelson  think  of  us  ? '  His  clerk  was 
killed  by  his  side  ;  and  by  another  shot,  several  of  the  marines, 
while  hauling  on  the  mainbrace,  shared  the  same  fate.  Riou 
then  exclaimed,  'Come  then,  my  boys,  let  us  all  die  together!' 
The  words  were  scarcely  uttered,  when  the  fatal  shot  severed 
him  in  two.  Thus,  and  in  an  instant,  was  the  British  service 
deprived  of  one  of  its  greatest  ornaments,  and  society  of  a 
character  of  singular  worth,  resembling  the  heroes  of  ro- 
mance." Fortunately  for  the  British,  not  a  ship-of-the-line 
budged.  Graves  had  indeed  transmitted  the  order  by  repeat- 
ing it,  but  as  he  kept  that  for  close  action  also  flying,  and 
did  not  move  himself,  the  line  remained  entire  throughout 
a  period  when  the  departure  of  a  single  ship  would  have 
ruined  all,  and  probably  caused  its  own  destruction. 

This  incident  of  refusing  to  see  the  signal  has  become  as 
hackneyed  as  a  popular  ballad,  and  in  its  superficial  aspect, 
showing  Nelson  as  the  mere  fighting  man,  who,  like  a  plucky 
dog,  could  not  be  dragged  off  his  antagonist,  might  well  now 


IP 


BATTLE  OP  COPENHAGEN 


483 


have  been  dismissed  with  the  shortest  and  most  summary 
mention.  Of  late  years  doubt  has  been  cast  over  the  reality 
of  Nelson's  disobedience,  for  the  reason  that  Otway,  whose 
mission  has  already  been  noted,  carried  a  verbal  message  that 
the  order  was  to  be  understood  as  permissive,  leaving  Nelson 
tlie  liberty  to  obey  or  not.  From  Otway 's  biography,  however, 
it  appears  that  the  signal  was  lioisted  before  he  reached  the 
"Elephant."  J'arker's  Secretary,  Mr.  Scott,  has  also  stated 
distinctly,  that  "  it  was  arranged  between  the  admirals,  that, 
sliould  it  appear  the  ships  which  were  engaged  were  snftering 
too  severely,  the  signal  for  retreat  would  be  made,  to  give 
Lord  Kelson  the  option  of  retiring,  if  he  thonght  lit."  ^ 

On  the  other  hand,  without  affirming  positively,  it  should 
be  said  that  Nelson's  own  impressions  do  not  seem  to  have 
agreed  with  Scott's.  Not  only  did  he  say,  some  hours  after 
the  fight,  "Well,  I  have  fought  contrary  to  orders,  and  I 
shall  perhaps  be  hanged ;  never  mind^  let  them,"  —  which 
might  pass  as  a  continuation  of  the  quarter-deck  drama,  if 
such  it  was, — but  his  account  of  the  niatter  to  Lord  Minto 
is  not  consistent  with  any  clear  understanding,  on  his  part, 
that  he  had  such  liberty  of  action.  Nearly  a  year  later,  in 
March,  1802,  Minto  writes:  "Lord  Nelson  explained  to  me 
a  little,  on  Saturday  last,  the  sort  of  blame  wliich  had  been 
imputed  to  Sir  Hyde  Parker  for  Copenhagen;  in  the  first 
place,  for  not  commanding  the  attack  in  person,  and  in  the 
next  place  for  making  signals  to  recall  the  fleet  during  the 
action ;  and  everything  would  have  been  lost  if  these  signals 
had  been  obeyed."  If  Nelson  understood  that  the  signal  was 
to  be  construed  as  permissive  only,  it  was  extremely  ungener- 
ous, and  most  unlike  Nelson,  to  have  withheld  an  explanation 
which  extenuated,  if  it  did  not  excuse,  one  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous and  ill-judged  orders  that  ever  was  conveyed  by  flags; 
nor  is  it  probable  that  Parker,  if  the  understanding  had  been 
explicit,  would  not  have  insisted  with  the  Admiralty  upon 
the  fact,  when  he  was  smarting  under  the  general  censure, 
which  had  led  to  talk  of  an  inquiry.  It  seems,  also,  unlikely 
that  Nelson,  having  such  a  contingency  in  view,  would  have 
failed  to  give  explicit  instructions  tliat  his  ships  should  not 

1  Life  of  llev.  Dr.  A.  J.  Scott,  p.  70. 


■:\ 


■  -  .u 


*^'^'ij|| 


I- 


'i; 


484 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


withdraw  (as  Eiou's  frigates  did)  unless  he  repeated;  nor  is 
it  easy  to  reconcile  the  agitation  noted  by  Stewart  with  a 
previous  arrangement  of  the  kind  asserted. 

What  Parker  said  was,  probably,  simply  one  of  those  by- 
remarks,  with  which  an  apprehensive  man  consoles  himself 
that  he  reserves  a  chanco  to  change  his  mind.  Such  pro- 
vision rarely  entered  Nelson's  head  when  embarking  upon  an 
enterprise  in  which  "do  or  die"  was  the  only  order  for  suc- 
cess. The  man  who  went  into  the  Copenhagen  fight  with  an 
eye  upon  withdrawing  from  action  would  have  been  beaten 
before  he  began.  It  is  upon  the  clear  perception  of  tliis  truth, 
and  his  tenacious  grip  of  it,  that  the  vast  merit  of  Nelson  in 
this  incident  depends,  and  not  upon  the  disobedience  ;  though 
never  was  disobedience  more  justified,  more  imperative,  more 
glorious.  To  retire,  with  crippled  ships  and  ma.ngled  crews, 
through  difficult  channels,  under  the  guns  of  the  half-beaten 
foe,  who  would  renew  his  strength  when  he  saw  the  move- 
ment, would  be  to  court  destruction,  —  to  convert  probable 
victory  into  certain,  and  perhaps  overwhelming,  disaster.  It 
was  not,  however,  only  in  superiority  of  judgment  or  of  fight- 
ing quality  that  Nelson  in  this  one  act  towered  like  a  giant 
above  his  superior;  it  was  in  that  supreme  moral  character- 
istic which  enabled  him  to  shut  his  eyes  to  the  perils  and 
doubts  surrounding  the  only  path  by  wliich  he  could  achieve 
success,  and  save  his  command  from  a  defeat  verging  on  an- 
nihilation. The  pantomime  of  putting  the  glass  to  his  blind 
eye  was,  however  unintentionally,  a  profound  allegory.  There 
is  a  time  to  be  blind  as  well  as  a  time  to  see.  And  if  in  it 
there  was  a  little  bit  of  conscious  drama,  it  was  one  of  those 
touches  that  not  only  provoke  the  plaudits  of  the  spectators, 
but  stir  and  raise  their  hearts,  giving  them  both  an  example 
of  heroic  steadfastness,  and  also  the  assurance  that  there  is 
one  standing  by  upon  whom  their  confidence  can  repose  to 
the  bitter  end,  —  no  small  thing  in  the  hour  of  hard  and 
doubtful  battle.  It  had  its  counterpart  in  the  rebuke  ad- 
dressed by  him  on  this  very  occasion  to  a  lieutenant,  who 
uttered  some  desponding  words  on  the  same  quarter-deck  : 
"At  such  a  moment,  the  delivery  of  a  desponding  opinion, 
unasked,  was  highly  reprehensible,  and  deserved  much  more 
censure  than  Captain  Foley  gave  you." 


ii    I 


BATTLE  OF  COPENHAGEN 


485 


At  two  o'clock,  an  hour  after  the  signal  was  made,  the 
resistance  of  the  Danes  had  perceptibly  slackened;  the 
greater  part  of  their  line,  Stewart  says,  had  ceased  to  reply. 
The  flagship  "  Dannebroge"  had  been  on  fire  as  early  as  half- 
past  eleven,  and  the  commander-in-chief,  Commodore  Fischer, 
had  felt  necessary  to  shift  his  broad  pendant  to  the  "Hol- 
stein,"  the  second  ship  from  the  north  flank.  The  "Danne- 
broge" continued  to  figlit  bravely,  losing  two  hundred  and 
seventy  killed  and  wounded  out  of  a  total  of  three  hundred 
and  thirty-six,  but  at  length  she  was  driven  out  of  the  line 
in  flames,  and  grounded  near  the  Trekroner,  where  she  blew 
up  after  the  action.  The  "Sjaelland,"  seventy-four,  next 
north  of  her,  was  likewise  carried  out  of  the  line  by  her  cables 
being  cut ;  while  the  "  Holstein,"  and  the  northernmost  ship 
of  all,  the  "  Indfodsretten,''  were  so  shattered,  the  latter 
mainly  by  Kiou's  frigates,  that  Fischer  again  shifted  his  flag, 
this  time  to  the  Trekroner.  The  two  southern  flank  ships, 
upon  whom  the  most  concentrated  attack  was  made,  had  also 
met  with  tremendous  losses.  Their  flags  were  shot  away 
many  times,  till  at  the  last,  by  a  Danish  account,  no  one  had 
time  to  raise  them  again,  ■whence  the  impression  arose  amongst 
the  British  that  these  vessels,  as  well  as  some  others,  fought 
after  having  surrendered. 

This  incident,  occurring  in  several  cases,  was  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  Nelson's  taking  a  step  which  both  then  and 
since  has  been  blamed  as  an  unjustifiable  stratagem.  So 
much  of  the  Danish  fire  south  of  the  Trekroner  had  ceased, 
that  that  wing  could  be  looked  upon  as  subdued ;  some  vessels 
were  helpless,  some  had  their  flags  down.  Between  himself 
and  the  Trekroner,  Nelson  alleged,  there  was  a  group  of  four 
Danes,  unresisting  and  unmanageable,  across  and  through  which 
the  battery  was  firing,  and  the  British  replying.  Ships  which 
had  struck  repelled  boats  sent  to  board  them,  and  the  batteries 
on  A  mag  Island  also  fired  upon  those  boats,  and  over  the 
surrendered  Danes.  That  there  was  some  ground  for  the 
complaints  made  by  him  appears  from  the  Danish  admission 
just  quoted,  as  well  as  from  several  British  statements ;  Stew- 
art's being  explicit.  Nelson  accordingly  sent  a  message 
ashore,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  the  Crown  Prince,  who  was 
in  general  command,  saying  that  if  he  were  not  allowed  to 


J 


i   : 


I 


■IS 


I :< 


1     ♦•' 


I 


i  ,■ 

486 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


take  possession  of  his  prizes,  lie  would  have  to  burn  them. 
The  message  ran  :  — 


TO  THK  15K0TIIi:US  OF  ENGLISHMEN,  THK  DANES. 

Lord  Nt^lson  lias  directions  to  si»are  Denmark,  when  no  longer 
resistiiiy;  but  if  the  tiring  is  continued  on  the  part  of  Denmark,  Lord 
Xelson  will  be  oltli;4(!d  to  set  on  fire  all  the  floating  batteries  he  has 
taken,  without  having  the  power  of  saving  the  brave  Danes  who  have 
defended  them. 

Nelson  and  Bronte. 


'.'j;  r 


I     I 


It  was  in  the  preparation  and  despatch  of  this  note  that 
Nelson  gave  another  illustration,  often  quoted,  of  his  cool 
consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  surrounding  him,  and 
of  the  politic  regard  to  effect  which  he  ever  observed  in  his 
official  intercourse  with  men.  It  was  written  by  his  own  hand, 
a  secretary  copying  as  he  wrote.  When  finished,  the  original 
was  put  into  an  envelope,  Avhich  the  secretary  was  about  to 
seal  with  a  wafer;  but  this  Nelson  would  not  permit,  directing 
that  taper  and  wax  should  be  brought.  The  man  sent  was 
killed  before  he  could  return.  When  this  was  reported  to  the 
admiral,  his  only  reply  was,  "  Send  another  messenger  ; "  and 
he  waited  until  the  wax  came,  and  then  saw  that  particular 
care  was  exercised  to  make  a  full  and  perfect  impression  of 
the  seal,  which  bore  his  own  arms.  Stewart  said  to  him, 
"  May  I  take  the  liberty  of  asking  why,  under  so  hot  a  fire, 
and  after  so  lamentable  an  accident,  you  have  attached  so 
much  importance  to  a  circumstance  apparently  so  trifling  ?  " 
Nelson  replied,  "  Had  I  made  use  of  the  wafer,  it  would  still 
have  been  wet  when  presented  to  the  Crown  Prince ;  he  would 
have  inferred  that  the  letter  was  sent  oif  in  a  hurry,  and  that 
we  had  some  very  |)ressing  reasons  for  being  in  a  hurry.  The 
wax  told  no  tales." 

A  flag  of  truce  in  a  boat  asks  no  cessation  of  hostilities, 
except  so  far  as  the  boat  itself  is  concerned.  As  for  the  mes- 
sage sent,  it  simply  insisted  that  the  Danes  should  cease  fir- 
ing; failing  which,  Nelson  would  resort  to  the  perfectly 
regular,  warlike  measure  of  burning  their  ships.  As  the 
ships  were  beaten,  this  might  not  be  humane ;  but  between  it 
and  leaving  them  under  the  guns  of  both  parties,  the  question 


THE  FLAG  OF  TRUCE 


487 


)  burn  them. 


AND  Bronte. 


of  humanity  was  only  one  of  degree.  If  Nelson  could  extort 
from  the  Danes  a  cessation  of  hostilities  by  such  a  threat,  he 
had  a  perfect  right  to  do  it,  and  his  claim  that  what  he  de- 
manded was  required  by  humanity,  is  at  least  colorable.  It 
must  be  observed,  however,  that  he  makes  no  suggestion  of 
truce  or  armistice,  —  he  demands  that  tiring  shall  be  discon- 
tinued, or  he  will  resort  to  certain  steps. 

The  Crown  Prince  at  once  sent  back  his  principal  aid-de- 
camp, with  a  verbal  message,  which  the  latter  reduced  to 
writing,  as  follows  :  — 

"  Ills  Royal  Highness,  the  Prince  Royal  of  Denmark,  has  sent  me, 
(isneral  Adjutant  Lincl'>olin,  on  hoard  to  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
Vice- Admiral,  the  Right  xlonourable  Lord  Nelson,  to  ask  the  particu- 
lar object  of  sending  the  flag  of  truce." 

To  this  Nelson  replied  in  writing :  — 

"Lord  Nelson's  object  in  sending  on  shore  a  flag  of  truce  is 
humanity  ;  he,  tlierefore,  consents  tliat  hostilities  shall  cease  till  Lord 
Nelson  can  take  his  prisoners  out  of  the  prizes,  and  he  consents  to 
land  all  the  wounded  Danes,  and  to  burn  or  remove  his  prizes." 

This  message  concluded  with  a  complimentary  expression 
of  hope  that  good  relations  would  be  restored  between  the 
two  nations,  whom  Nelson  always  carefully  spoke  of  as  natu- 
ral friends.  It  will  be  observed  that  he  again  alludes  only  to 
the  flag  of  truce  sent  by  the  boat,  and,  as  at  first  he  demanded, 
so  now  he  consents  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  until  he  can 
secure  his  prisoners  and  remove  his  prizes.  If  he  could 
rightly  remove  his  prizes,  which  he  avowed  as  part  of  his 
demand,  then  still  more  he  could  his  own  ships.  This  part  of 
the  negotiation  he  took  upon  himself  to  settle ;  for  discussion 
of  any  further  matters  he  referred  Lindholm  to  Sir  Hyde 
Parker,  and  the  Danish  officer  sta,rted  for  the  "  London  "  at 
the  same  time  that  the  English  officer  pushed  off  to  carry 
Nelson's  second  message  to  the  Crown  Prince.  The  latter 
had  already  sent  orders  to  the  batteries  to  cease  firing.  The 
battle  then  ended,  and  both  sides  hoisted  flags  of  truce. 

Nelson  at  once  began  to  remove  his  ships,  which  had  suf- 
fered more  than  in  any  other  battle  he  had  ever  fought. 
That  he  was  fully  aware  of  the  imminent  necessity  for  some 
of  them  to  withdraw,  and  of  the  advantage  the  Danes  had 


i  :ii 


488 


'IIIK   LIl'K  OF  MKLSON 


i      I 


yielded  him  by  accepting  his  terms,  is  iiidisputiiWo,  and  his 
own  opinion  was  conHrmed  by  tliat  of  two  oi  his  h'ading 
captains,  whom  ho  consulted.  This  he  never  denied;  but  ho 
did  deny  that  ho  had  used  a  ruse  (/«  tjuinu'^  or  taken  unfair 
advantage  of  a  truce.  On  the  score  of  humanity  he  had  con- 
sented to  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  conditional  upon  his  free- 
dom to  take  out  of  the  surrendered  ships  the  unwounded 
])risoners,  and  to  remove  the  prizes.  If  the  bargain  was  more 
to  his  advantage  than  to  that  of  the  Danes  —  wiiich  is  a  matter 
of  opinion  —  it  was  noiu'  the  less  a  bargain,  of  whicli  he  had 
full  right  to  reap  the  benefit.  The  Danes  did  not  then  charge 
him  with  taking  an  unfair  advantage.  On  the  contrary,  Lind- 
holm,  who  was  closely  cogni/ant  of  all  that  passed  in  relation 
to  these  negotiations,  wrote  to  him  :  "  Your  Lordship's  motives 
for  sending  a  Hag  of  truce  to  our  Government  can  never  be 
misconstrued,  and  your  subsequent  conduct  has  sufficiently 
shown  that  humanity  is  always  the  companion  of  true  valour." 
The  truce  that  then  began  was  prolonged  from  day  to  day  till 
April  9th.  During  it  both  parties  went  on  with  their  prei)a- 
rations  for  war.  "Those  few  days,"  wrote  Niebuhr,  on  the 
Oth,  "have  certainly  been  employed  in  repairing  the  evil  [of 
faulty  preparation]  as  far  as  possible."  It  is  clear  that  the 
Danes  understood,  what  Nelson's  message  specified,  a  cessa- 
tion of  direct  hostilities,  not  of  other  movements.  The  British 
during  the  same  days  were  putting  bomb-vessels  in  place,  a 
perfectly  overt  act. 

Nelson's  success  at  Coi)enhagen  was  secured  by  address,  as 
it  had  been  won  by  force.  But  it  had  been  thoroughly  won. 
"We  cuinot  deny  it,"  wrote  Niebuhr,  "we  are  quite  beaten. 
Our  line  of  defence  is  destroyed.  We  cannot  do  much  injury 
to  the  enemy,  as  long  as  he  contents  himself  with  bombarding 
the  city,  docks,  and  fleet.  The  worst  is  the  Crown  Batteries 
can  be  held  no  longer."  Two  or  three  days  later  he  says 
again:  "The  truce  has  been  prolonged.  The  remaining  half 
of  our  defences  are  useless,  now  that  the  right  wing  is 
broken, — a  defect  over  which  I  have  meditated  uselessly 
many  a  time  since  last  summer."  The  result  was  due  to  Nel- 
son's sagacious  and  emphatic  advice  as  to  the  direction  and 
manner  of  the  attack,  by  which  the  strong  points  of  the  Danish 
positions  were  completely  and  unexpectedly  turned.      This 


blc,  and  his 


NELSON'S   MERIT  AT  COPENHAGEN 


480 


])liin,  it  is  credibly  stated,  he  had  fonned  before  heaving 
England,  although  ho  was  not  I'ornially  consulted  by  Tarker 
until  the  'J'M  of  March. 

Having  regard  to  the  general  political  conditions,  and 
osi)ccially  to  the  groat  combination  of  the  North  at  this  time 
directed  against  Great  Britain,  the  victory  of  Coponhagon  was 
second  in  importaniio  to  none  that  Nelson  ever  gained ;  while 
in  the  severity  of  the  resistance,  and  in  the  attendant  ditlicnl- 
ties  to  be  overcome,  the  battle  itself  was  the  most  critical  of 
all  in  which  he  was  engaged.  So  conspicuous  were  the  energy 
and  sagacity  shown  by  him,  that  most  seamen  will  agree  in 
the  opinion  of  Jurieu  de  la  Graviere  :  "They  will  always  be 
in  the  eyes  of  seamen  his  fairest  title  to  glory.  He  alone  was 
capable  of  displaying  such  boldness  and  perseverance ;  he 
alone  could  confront  the  immense  ditticulties  of  that  enterprise 
and  overcome  them."  Notwithstanding  this  and  notwithstand- 
ing that  the  valor  of  the  squadron,  as  manifested  in  its  losses, 
was  never  excelled,  medals  were  not  issued  for  the  battle,  nor 
were  any  individual  rewards  bestowed,  except  upon  Nelson 
himself,  who  was  advanced  in  the  peerage  to  be;  a  Viscount, 
and  upon  his  immediate  second,  Hear- Admiral  Graves,  who 
was  made  a  Knight  of  the  Bath.  The  reasons  for  this  action 
are  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  the  diary  of  Mr. 
George  K.^c:  ''Wednesday,  April  22d.  lireakfasted  with 
Lord  St.  Vincent  by  appointment.  .  .  .  His  Lordship  entered 
on  the  late  glorious  victory  at  Copenhagen,  and  told  me  the 
merit  of  the  attack  rested  solely  with  Lord  Nelson,  as  Sir 
Hyde  Parker  had  been  decidedly  adverse  to  the  attempt  being 
made,  and  was  overruled  only  by  the  perseverance  and  firm- 
ness of  the  former;  and  that  in  the  middle  of  the  action  Sir 
Hyde  had  made  the  signal  (No,  30)  for  discontinuing  the 
engagement,  which  Lord  Nelson  said  to  the  officer  who 
communicated  it  to  him,  he  was  sure  proceeded  from  some 
mistake.  When  it  was  mentioned  to  Admiral  Graves,  he 
asked  if  it  was  repeated  by  Lord  Nelson  ;  and  on  being 
answered  in  the  negative,  he  said,  '  Then  we  have  nothing  to 
do  with  it.'  Lord  St.  Vincent  then  added,  '  For  these  and 
other  causes,'  probably  alluding  to  the  armistice,  *  we  have 
recalled  Sir  Hyde,  and  Lord  Nelson  is  to  remain  with  the 
command.'     His  Lordship  proceeded  to  say  that  this  measure 


1  a 


Ak 


400 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


of  necessity  put  the  Administration  under  some  ditticulty  as  to 
rewards  of  honour  to  the  ofHcers  who  had  distinguished  them- 
selves ;  and  that  ho  had  thought  it  advisabh)  to  (hday  any  dis- 
tribution of  mechils  or  to  recommend  any  stage  in  the  j)eerage 
to  Lord  Nelson,  conceiving  that  the  whole  might  be  done  on 
the  termination  of  the  service  with  propriety,  and  without 
embarrassment  respecting  Sir  Hyde  Tariter.  .  .  .  After  1  had 
left  his  Lordship,  it  occurred  to  nie  tiiat  as  no  measures  c;in 
bo  kept  with  Sir  llydo  I'arker,  it  might  be  desirable  to  confer 
the  intended  step  in  the  peerage  on  Lord  Nelson  now,  and  tiie 
medals  on  the  otlu^r  ofKcers  ;  in  which  opinion  jMr.  I'itt  con- 
curring, [  wrote  to  suggest  that  to  his  Lordship."  * 

"  I'irst  secure  the  victory,  then  make  the  most  of  it," 
had  been  avowedly  Nelson's  motto  before  the  Nile.  In  the 
Battle  of  Copenhagen  ho  had  followed  much  the  same  rule. 
After  beating  the  force  immediately  opposed  to  him,  he 
obtained  the  safe  removal  of  his  detachment  from  its  critical 
position,  by  the  shrewd  use  made  of  the  advantage  then  in  his 
hands.  This  achieved,  and  his  ships  having  rejoined  the 
main  body,  after  various  mishaps  from  grounding,  under  the 
enemy's  guns,  which  emphasized  over  and  over  tne  adroit 
presence  of  mind  he  had  displayed,  it  next  fell  to  him  to 
make  the  most  of  what  the  Britisli  had  so  far  gained ;  having 
regard  not  merely  to  Denmark  and  Copenhagen,  but  to  the 
whole  question  of  British  interests  involved  in  the  Coalition  of 
the  Baltic  States.  Parker  intrusted  to  him  the  direct  man- 
agement of  the  negotiations,  just  as  he  had  given  him  the 
immediate  command  of  the  lighting. 

A  circumstance,  which  completely  changed  the  political 
complexion  of  affairs,  was  as  yet  unknown  to  him.  On  the 
night  of  March  24th  the  Czar  Paul  had  been  murdered,  and 
with  him  fell  the  main  motive  force  and  support  of  the  Armed 
Neutrality.  Ignorant  of  this  fact,  Nelson's  one  object,  the 
most  to  be  made  of  the  victory,  was  to  get  at  the  detachment 
of  the  Eussian  fleet  —  twelve  ships  —  lying  in  the  harbor  of 
Eevel,  before  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice  allowed  it  to  join  the 
main  body  at  Cronstadt.  The  difficulty  in  the  way  lay  not  in 
his  hesitation  to  act  instantly,  nor  in  the  power  of  the  British 
fleet  to  do  so  ;  it  lay  in  the  conflicting  views  of  other  persons, 

^  Diaries,  etc.,  of  Rt.  Hon.  George  Rose,  vol.  i.  p.  347. 


tticulty  as  to 
lished  them- 
•hiy  any  dis- 

thu  peerajj'o 
t  bo  (lone  on 
and  withont 

After  1  had 
uiasuiGS  cnn 
ble  to  confer 
now,  and  the 
\lv.  ritt  con- 

nost  of  it," 
iile.  In  the 
le  same  rule. 

to  liiin,  he 
in  its  critical 
e  then  in  his 
rejoined  the 
g,  under  the 
r  tne  adroit 
jll  to  h'un  to 

ned;  having 

but  to  the 

Coalition  of 

direct  nian- 

ven  him  the 


NKGOTIATIONS  AT  COPKNHAGKN 


401 


of  the  Crown  l*rinco  and  of  Tarker,  the  roprosontatives  of 
DcJimark  and  of  (.Jreat  Hritain.  Tarker  was  rosolved,  so 
Nelson  has  told  us,  not  to  leave  Denmark  hostile  in  his  rear, 
flanking  his  line  of  communications  if  he  procerled  up  the 
Jtaltic ;  and  Nelson  admits,  altliouj^'h  with  his  sagacious  dar- 
ing he  would  have  disregarded,  that  the  batteries  commanding 
the  shoal  ground  above  Cojicnhagen  might  have  seriously 
interrupted  the  passage.  Ho  was  ready  to  run  risks 
again  for  the  very  adequate  object  mentioned.  On  the  other 
hand  the  Crown  Trince,  while  recognizing  the  exposure  of 
Copenhagen,  feared  to  yield  even  to  the  menace  of  bombard- 
ment, lest  he  should  incur  the  vengeance  of  the  Czar.  It  was 
to  find  a  middle  term  between  these  opposing  motives  that 
Nelson's  diplomacy  was  exerted. 

On  the  3d  of  April  he  went  ashore  to  visit  the  Crown  Prince, 
by  whom  he  was  received  with  all  ])ossible  attention.  "  The 
po])ulace,"  says  Stewart,  "  showed  a  mixture  of  admiration, 
curiosity,  and  displeasure.  A  strong  guard  secured  his  safety, 
and  appeared  necessary  to  keep  off  the  mob,  whose  rage, 
although  mixed  with  admiration  at  his  thus  trusting  himself 
amongst  them,  was  natur.dly  to  be  expected.  It  perhaps 
savored  of  rashness  in  him  thus  ^arly  to  risk  himself  among 
them;  but  with  him  his  Country's  cause  was  paramount  to  all 
personal  considerations."  Nelson  himself  did  not  note  these 
threatening  indications.  Fond  of  observation,  with  vanity 
easily  touched,  and  indifferent  to  danger,  he  heard  only  homage 
in  the  murmurs  about  him.  "The  people  received  me  as  they 
always  have  done ;  and  even  the  stairs  of  the  palace  were 
crowded,  huzzaing,  and  saying,  '  God  bless  Lord  Nelson.' " 

His  interview  with  the  Crown  Prince  was  private,  only 
Lindholm  being  present.  It  ranged,  according  to  his  private 
letter  to  Addington,  over  the  whole  subject  of  the  existing 
differences  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  respective  interests 
of  the  two  states.  The  most  important  points  to  be  noticed 
in  this  personal  discussion,  which  was  preliminary  to  the 
actual  negotiation,  are,  first.  Nelson's  statement  of  the  cause 
for  the  presence  of  the  British  fleet,  and,  second,  the  basis  of 
agreement  he  proposed.  As  regards  the  former,  to  a  question 
of  the  Prince  he  replied  categorically :  The  fleet  is  here  "  to 
crush  a  most  formidable  and  unprovoked  Coalition  against 


\ 


f 


I 


hi 


,1 


I 


II      • 


;■ 


^\ 


1  ; 

;.! 


,(1  • 


M 


492 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


if.     ! 


Great  Britain."  For  the  second,  he  said  that  the  only  founda- 
tion, upon  which  Sir  Hyde  Parker  could  rest  his  justification 
for  not  proceeding  to  bombardment,  would  be  the  total  sus- 
pension of  the  treaties  with  Russia  for  a  fixed  time,  and  the 
free  use  of  Danish  ports  and  supplies  by  the  British  fleet. 
These  two  concessions,  it  will  be  observed,  by  neutralizing 
Denmark,  would  remove  the  threat  to  British  communications, 
and  convert  Denmark  into  an  advanced  base  of  operations  for 
the  fleet.  Nelson  did  not  have  great  hope  of  success  in  ne- 
gotiating, for  he  observed  that  fear  of  Russia,  not  desire  for 
war,  was  controlling  the  Prince.  Therefore,  had  he  been 
commander-in-chief,  he  would  at  all  risks  have  pushed  on  to 
Revel,  and  struck  the  coalition  to  the  heart  there.  "  I  make 
no  scruple,"  he  wrote  to  St.  Vincent  after  he  had  procured 
the  armistice,  "  in  saying  that  I  would  have  been  at  Revel 
fourteen  days  ago.  No  man  but  those  on  the  spot  can  tell 
what  I  have  gont  through,  and  do  suffer.  I  wanted  Sir  Hyde 
to  let  me  at  least  go  and  cruise  off  Carlscrona,  [where  the 
Swedish  fleet  was,]  to  prevent  the  Revel  ships  getting  in. 
Think  of  me,  my  dear  Lord,  and  if  I  have  deserved  well, 
let  me  retire ;  if  ill,  for  heaven's  sake  supersede  me,  for  I 
cannot  exist  in  this  state."     Pegasus  was  indeed  shackled. 

The  truce  was  continued  from  day  to  day,  both  sides  pre- 
paring to  renew  hostilities,  while  the  negotiators  sat.  Dis- 
cussing thus,  sword  in  hand.  Nelson  frankly  told  the  other 
side  that  he  wanted  an  armistice  for  sixteen  weeks,  to  give 
him  time  to  act  against  the  Russian  fleet,  and  then  to  return 
to  Denmark.  On  the  likely  supposition  that  the  latter  would 
not  greatly  grieve  over  a  Russian  disaster,  this  openness  was 
probably  discreet.  In  the  wrangling  that  preceded  consent, 
one  of  the  Danes  hinted,  in  French,  at  a  renewal  of  hostilities. 
"  Renew  hostilities ! "  said  Nelson,  who  understood  the  lan- 
guage, but  could  not  speak  it,  "tell  him  that  we  are  ready  at 
this  moment;  ready  to  bombard  this  very  night."  But,  while 
he  thus  could  use  on  occasion  the  haugh*-y  language  of  one 
at  whose  back  stood  a  victorious  fleet  of  twenty  ships-of-the- 
line,  "the  best  negotiators  in  Europe,"  to  repeat  his  own 
words,  his  general  bearing  was  eminently  conciliatory,  as 
became  one  who  really  longed  for  peace  in  the  particular  in- 
stance, and  was  alive  to  the  mingled  horror  and  inutility  of 


NEGOTIATIONS   AT  COPENHAGEN 


493 


the  next  move  open  to  Great  Britain,  nnder  Parker's  policy, 
—  the  bombardment  of  Copenhagen.  "  Whoever  may  be  the 
respective  Ministers  who  shall  sign  the  peace,"  wrote  to  him 
Count  Waltersdorff.  who  with  liindholm  conducted  the  Danish 
case  and  signed  the  armistice,  "  I  shall  always  consider  your 
lordship  as  the  Pacificator  of  the  North,  and  I  am  sure  that 
your  heart  will  be  as  much  flattered  by  that  title,  as  by  any 
other  which  your  grateful  Country  has  bestowed  upon  you." 

Had  Paul  lived,  the  issue  might  have  been  doubtful,  and  in 
that  case  England  might  well  have  rued  the  choice  of  a 
commander-in-chief  whose  chief  function  was  to  hamstring 
her  greatest  seaman ;  but  the  Danes  received  word  of  the 
murder,  and  on  the  9th  of  April  an  agreement  was  reached. 
There  was  to  be  a  cessation  of  hostilities  for  fourteen  weeks, 
during  which  Denmark  suspended  her  part  in  the  Armed 
Neutr  lity,  and  would  leave  her  ships  of  war  in  the  same  state 
of  unpreparedness  as  they  then  were.  The  British  fleet  was 
at  liberty  to  get  supplies  in  all  Danish  ports.  In  return,  it 
was  merely  stipulated  that  no  attacks  should  be  made  on  any 
part  of  the  coast  of  Denmark  proper.  Norway  *  and  the 
Danish  colonies  were  not  included,  nor  was  Holstein.  In  a 
letter  to  Addington,  Nelson  pointed  out  that  as  a  military 
measure,  which  it  was,  the  result  was  that  the  hands  of  Den- 
mark were  tied,  those  of  the  fleet  loosed,  its  communications 
secured,  its  base  of  supplies  advanced,  and  last,  but  far  from 
least,  the  timid  counsels  of  its  commander-in-chief  discon- 
certed ;  no  excuse  for  not  advancing  being  left.  Besides,  as 
he  said,  to  extort  these  concessions  he  had  nothing  in  his 
hand  but  the  threat  of  bombardment,  which  done,  "  we  had 
done  our  worst,  and  not  much  nearer  being  friendr.."  Sir 
Hyde  would  not  have  advanced. 

As  a  military  negotiation  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  one  more 
adroitl}''  managed,  more  perfectly  conducive  to  the  ends  in 
view,  or,  it  may  be  added,  more  clearly  explained.  The 
Government,  with  extraordinary  dulness,  replied  in  that 
patronizing  official  tone  of  superior  wisdom,  which  is  prob- 
ably one  of  the  most  exasperating  things  that  can  be  encoun- 
tered by  a  man  of  such  insight  and  action  as  Nelson  had 

1  Norway  was  then  attaclied  to  tlie  Duaisli  Crown,  as  now  to  that  of 
Sweden. 


i:i::  .  • 


I'l-  ■. 


*    '.: 


49-1 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


SI  ' 


displayed.  *'  Upon  a  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances, 
His  Majesty  lias  thought  fit  to  approve."  "I  am  sorry," 
replied  Nelson,  "  that  the  Armistice  is  only  approved  under 
aU  considerations.  Now  T  own  myself  of  opinion  that  every 
part  of  the  all  was  to  the  advantage  of  our  King  and  Coun- 
try." As  First  Lord  of  the  Adiuiralty,  old  St.  Vincent  had 
to  transmit  this  qualified  approval ;  but  he  wrote  afterwards 
to  Nelson  :  "  Your  Lordship's  whole  conduct,  from  your  first 
appointment  to  this  hour,  is  the  subject  of  our  constant  ad- 
miration. It  does  not  become  me  to  make  comparisons  :  all 
agree  there  is  but  one  Nelson." 

The  armistice  being  signed  and  ratified,  the  fleet  on  the 
12th  of  April  entered  the  Baltic  ;  the  heavy  ships  having  to 
remove  their  guns,  in  order  to  cross  the  "  Grounds,"  between 
the  islands  of  Amager  and  Saltholm.  Nelson  was  left  behind 
in  the  "  St.  George,"  which,  for  some  reason,  was  not  ready. 
"My  commander-in-chief  has  left  me,"  he  wrote  to  Lady 
Hamilton,  "  but  if  there  is  any  work  to  do,  I  dare  say  they 
will  wait  for  me.  Nelson  will  he  first.  Who  can  stop  him?  " 
"We  have  reports,"  he  says  again,  "that  the  Swadish  fleet 
is  above  the  Shallows,  distant  fi\o  or  six  leagues.  All  our 
fellows  are  longing  to  be  at  them,  and  so  do  I,  as  great  a  boy 
as  any  of  them,  for  I  consider  this  as  being  at  school,  and 
going  to  England  as  going  home  for  the  holidays,  therefore  I 
really  long  to  finish  my  task."  His  confidence  in  himself 
and  in  his  fortune  was  growing  apace  at  this  time,  as  was 
both  natural  and  justifiable.  "  This  day,  twenty-two  years," 
he  writes  soon  after,  on  the  11th  of  June,  "  I  was  made  a 
Post-Captain  by  Sir  Peter  l^arker.  If  you  meet  him  again, 
say  that  I  shall  drink  his  health  in  a  bumper,  for  I  do  not 
forget  that  I  owe  my  present  exalted  rank  to  his  partiality, 
although  I  feel,  if  I  had  even  been  in  an  humbler  sphere,  that 
Nelson  would  have  been  Nelson  still."  Although  always  rev- 
erently thankful  to  the  Almighty  for  a  favorable  issue  to 
events,  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  in  him  any  keen 
consciousness  of  personal  dependence,  such  as  led  Moltke  to 
mark  the  text,  "  My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness." 

While  thus  lying,  about  twenty-four  miles  from  the  main 
body,  a  report  came  that  the  Swedish  squadron  had  put  to 
sea.    Alarmed  lest  a  battle  might  take  place  in  his  absence, 


PARKER'S  NEGLIGENCES 


405 


Nelson  jumped  into  a  boat  alongside,  and  started  for  a  six 
hours'  pull  against  wind  and  current  to  join  the  fleet,  in  haste 
so  great  that  he  refused  even  to  wait  for  a  boat  cloak.  "  His 
anxiety  lest  the  fleet  should  have  sailed  before  he  got  on 
board  one  of  them,"  tells  the  officer  who  was  with  him,  "  is 
beyond  all  conception.  I  will  quote  some  expressions  in  his 
own  words.  It  was  extremely  cold,  and  I  wished  him  to 
put  on  a  great  coat  of  mine  which  was  in  the  boat:  '  No,  I  am 
not  cold;  my  anxiety  fcr  my  Country  will  keep  me  warm. 
Do  you  not  think  the  fleet  has  sailed?'  *I  should  suppose 
not,  my  Lord.'  'If  they  are,  we  shall  follow  them  to 
Carlscrona  in  the  boat,  by  G-d  ! '  —  I  merely  state  this  to  show 
how  his  thoughts  must  have  been  employed.  The  idea  of 
going  in  a  small  boat,  rowing  six  oars,  without  a  single  morsel 
of  anything  to  eat  or  drink,  the  distance  of  about  fifty  leagues, 
must  convince  the  world  that  every  other  earthly  consideration 
than  that  of  serving  his  Country,  was  totally  banished  from 
his  thoughts."  Such  preoccupation  with  one  idea,  and  that 
idea  so  fine,  brings  back  to  us  the  old  Nelson,  who  has  found 
himself  again  amid  the  storm  and  stress  of  danger  and  of  action, 
for  which  he  was  created. 

About  midnight  he  reached  the  ''Elephant,"  where  his  flag 
was  again  hoisted ;  b'at  ne  did  not  escape  unharmed  from  the 
exposure  he  had  too  carelessly  undergone.  "  Since  April  15," 
he  wrote  several  weeks  afterwards  to  Lady  Hamilton,  "  I  have 
been  rapidly  in  a  decline,  but  am  now,  thank  God,  I  firmly 
believe,  past  all  danger.  At  *.hat  time  I  rowed  five  hours  in  a 
bitter  cold  night.  A  cold  struck  me  to  the  heart.  On  tlie  27th 
I  had  one  of  my  terrible  spasms  of  heart-stroke,  which  had 
near  carried  me  off,  and  the  severe  disappointment  of  being 
kept  in  a  situation  where  there  can  be  nothing  to  do  before 
August,  almost  killed  me.  From  that  time  to  the  end  of  May 
I  brought  up  what  every  one  thought  was  my  lungs,  and  I  was 
emaciated  more  than  you  can  conceive." 

The  fleet  proceeded  in  a  leisurely  manner  toward  Carlscrona, 
Nelson  chafing  and  fretting,  none  the  less  for  his  illness,  under 
the  indecision  and  dilatoriness  that  continued  to  characterize 
Parker's  movements.  "My  dear  friend,"  he  had  written  to 
Lady  Hamilton,  "  we  are  very  lazy.  We  Mediterranean 
people  are  not  used  to  it."     "  Lord  St.  Vincent,"  he  tells  his 


il 


I'  ; 


i! 


'^1  K 


llff 


1  'i 


^r^. 


490 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


I-  I 


brotlun-,  "  will  either  take  this  late  business  up  with  a  very 
high  hand,  or  he  will  depress  it ;  but  how  they  will  manage 
about  Sir  Hyde  I  cannot  guess.  I  am  afraid  much  will  be 
said  about  him  in  the  public  papers  ;  but  not  a  word  shall  be 
drawn  from  me,  for  God  knows  they  may  make  him  Lord  Copen- 
hagen if  they  please,  it  will  not  offend  me."  But  now  that 
Denmark  has  been  quieted,  he  cannot  understand  nor  tolerate 
the  delay  in  going  to  Revel,  where  the  appearance  of  the  fleet 
would  checkmate,  not  only  Russia,  but  all  the  allied  squadrons  ; 
for  it  would  occupy  an  interior  and  commanding  position 
between  the  detachments  at  Revel,  Cronstadt,  and  Carlscrona, 
in  force  superior  to  any  one  of  them.  "  On  the  19th  of  April," 
he  afterwards  wrote  bitterly  to  St.  Vincent,  "  we  had  eighteen 
ships  of  the  line  and  a  fair  wind.  Count  Pahlen  [the  Russian 
Cabinet  Minister]  came  and  resided  at  Revel,  evidently  to 
endeavour  to  prevent  any  hostilities  against  the  Russian  fleet 
tliere,  which  was,  I  decidedly  say,  at  our  mercy.  Nothing,  if 
it  had  been  right  to  make  the  attack,  could  have  saved  one  ship 
of  them  in  two  hours  after  our  entering  the  bay  ;  and  to  prevent 
their  destruction.  Sir  Hyde  Parker  had  a  great  latitude  for 
asking  for  various  things  for  the  suspension  of  his  orders." 
That  is,  Parker  having  the  fleet  at  his  mercy  could  have 
exacted  terms,  just  as  Nelson  himself  had  exacted  them  from 
Denmark  when  Copenhagen  was  laid  open ;  the  advantage, 
indeed,  was  far  greater,  as  the  destruction  of  an  organized 
force  is  a  greater  military  evil  than  that  of  an  unarmed  town. 
This  letter  was  written  after  Nelson  had  been  to  Revel,  and 
seen  the  conditions  on  which  he  based  his  opinion. 

So  far  from  taking  this  course,  —  which  it  may  be  said 
would  have  conformed  to  instructions  from  his  Government 
then  on  their  way,  and  issued  after  knowing  Paul's  death,  — 
Parker  appeared  off  Carlscrona  on  April  20th.  Two  days 
afterwards  he  received  a  letter  from  the  Russian  minister  at 
Copenhagen,  saying  that  the  Emperor  had  ordered  his  fleet  to 
abstain  from  all  hostilities.  Parker  apparently  forgot  that  he 
was  first  a  naval  officer,  and  only  incidentally  a  diplomatist; 
for,  instead  of  exacting  guarantees  which  would  have  insured 
the  military  situation  remaining  unchanged  until  definite 
agreements  had  been  reached,  he  returned  to  Kioge  Bay,  near 
Copenhagen,  but  within  the    Shallows,   leaving    the  Revel 


I 


THE   FISCHER   LETTER 


497 


squadron  untrammelled,  either  by  force  or  pledge,  free  to  go 
out  when  the  ice  allowed,  and  to  join  either  tiie  Swedes  or  its 
own  main  body.  Accordingly,  it  did  come  out  a  fortnight 
later,  went  to  Cronstadt,  and  so  escaped  the  British  fleet. 

While  on  this  cruise  towards  Carlscroiia,  Nelson  became  in- 
volved in  a  pen-and-ink  controversy  about  Commodore  Fischer, 
who  had  commanded  the  Danish  line  at  the  Battle  of  Copen- 
hagen,—  one  of  two  or  three  rare  occasions  which  illustrate 
the  vehemence  and  insolence  that  could  be  aroused  in  him 
when  his  vanity  was  touched,  or  when  he  conceived  his  repu- 
tation to  be  assailed.  Fischer,  in  his  official  report  of  the 
action,  had  comforted  himself  and  his  nation,  as  most  beaten 
men  do,  by  dwelling  upon  —  and  unquestionably  exaggerating 
—  the  significance  of  certain  incidents,  either  actual,  or 
imagined  by  the  Danes ;  for  instance,  that  towards  the  end  of 
the  battle.  Nelson's  own  ship  had  fired  only  single  guns,  and 
that  two  British  ships  had  struck,  —  the  latter  being  an  error, 
and  the  former  readily  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the 
**  Elephant "  then  had  no  enemy  within  easy  range.  What 
particularly  stung  Nelson,  however,  seems  to  have  been  the 
assertion  that  the  liritish  force  was  superior,  and  that  his 
sending  a  flag  of  truce  indicated  the  injury  done  his  squadron. 
Some  of  his  friends  had  thought,  erroneously  in  the  opinion 
of  the  author,  that  the  flag  vas  an  unjustifiable  mse  de  guerre, 
which  made  hira  specially  sensitiv^e  on  this  point. 

His  retort,  addressed  to  his  Danish  friend,  Lindholm,  was 
written  and  sent  in  such  heat  that  it  is  somewhat  incoherent 
in  form,  and  more  full  of  abuse  than  of  argument,  besides  in- 
volving him  in  contradictions.  That  the  British  squadron  was 
numerically  superior  in  guns  seems  certain ;  it  would  have  been 
even  culpable,  having  ships  enough,  not  to  have  employed  them 
in  any  case,  and  especially  when  the  attacking  force  had  to  come 
into  action  amid  dangerous  shoals,  and  against  vessels  already 
carefully  placed  and  moored.  In  his  official  report  he  had 
stated  that  the  "  Bellona  "  and  "  Russell  "  had  grounded  ; 
"but  although  not  in  the  situation  assigned  them,  yet  so 
placed  as  to  be  of  great  service."  In  the  present  dispute  he 
claimed  that  they  should  be  left  out  of  the  reckoning,  and  he 
was  at  variance  with  the  Danish  accounts  as  to  the  effect  of 
Biou's  frigates.    But  such  errors,  he  afterwards  admitted  to 


3    % 


I,.  I 


■'^■r* 


I: 


408 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


I      I 


Liudholm,  may  creep  into  any  official  report,  and  to  measure 
credit  merely  by  counting  guns  is  wholly  illusory  ;  for,  as  he 
confessed,  with  exaggerated  humility,  some  months  later,  "  if 
any  merit  attaches  itself  to  me,  it  was  in  combating  the  dangers 
of  the  shallows  in  defiance  of  the  pilots." 

He  chose,  liowever,  to  consider  that  Fischer's  letter  had 
thrown  ridicule  upon  his  character,  and  he  resented  it  in 
terms  as  violent  as  he  afterwards  used  of  the  French  admiral, 
Latouche  Treville,  who  asserted  that  he  had  retired  before  a 
superior  force  ;  as  though  Nelson,  by  any  flight  of  imagina- 
tion, could  have  been  suspected  of  over-caution.  Fischer 
had  twice  shifted  his  broad  pendant  —  that  is,  his  own  posi- 
tion—  in  the  battle;  therefore  he  was  a  coward.  "In  his 
letter  he  states  that,  after  he  quitted  the  Dannebrog,  she  long 
contested  the  battle.  If  so,  more  shame  for  him  to  quit  so 
many  brave  fellows.  Here  was  no  manoeuvring :  it  was  dowu' 
right  fighting,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  have  sliown  an  example 
of  firmness  becoming  the  liigh  trust  reposed  in  him."  This 
was  probably  a  just  comment,  but  not  a  fair  implication  of 
cowardice.  "  He  went  in  such  a  hurry,  if  he  went  before  she 
struck,  which  but  for  his  own  declaration  I  can  hardly  be- 
lieve, that  he  forgot  to  take  his  broad  pendant  with  him." 
This  Liudholm  showed  was  a  mistake.  "  He  seems  to  exult 
that  I  sent  on  shore  a  flag  of  truce.  Men  of  his  description, 
if  they  ever  are  victorious,  know  not  the  feeling  of  humanity. 
.  .  .  Mr.  Fischer's  carcase  was  safe,  and  he  regarded  not  the 
sacred  call  of  humanity."  This  letter  was  sent  to  Liudholm, 
to  be  communicated  to  the  Crown  Prince ;  for,  had  not 
Fischer  addressed  the  latter  as  an  eye-witness.  Nelson  "  would 
have  treated  his  official  letter  with  the  contempt  it  deserved." 
Liudholm  kept  it  from  Fischer,  made  a  temperate  reply  de- 
fending the  latter,  and  the  subject  there  dropped. 

On  the  25th  of  April  the  fleet  was  at  anchor  in  Kioge  Bay, 
and  there  remained  until  the  5th  of  May,  when  orders  arrived 
relieving  Parker,  and  placing  Nelson  in  chief  command. 
The  latter  was  utterly  dismayed.  Side  by  side  with  the  un- 
quenchable zeal  for  glory  and  for  his  Country's  service  had 
been  running  the  equally  unquenchable  passion  for  Lady 
Hamilton ;  and,  with  the  noble  impulses  that  bore  him  up 
in  battle,  sickness,  and  exposure,  had  mingled  soft  dreams  of 


\:S 


PARKEIl   RKLIEVKI)    HY   NKLSON 


400 


flight  from  the  world,  of  days  sptiit  upon  the  sunny  slopes 
of  Sicily,  on  his  estate  of  IJronte,  amid  scenes  closely  resem- 
bling those  associated  with  his  past  delights,  and  with  the 
life  of  the  woman  Avhoni  he  loved.  To  this  he  several  times 
alludes  in  the  almost  daily  letters  which  he  wrote  her.  IJut, 
whether  to  be  realized  there  or  in  England,  he  panted  for  the 
charms  of  home  which  he  had  never  known.  '•  1  am  fixed," 
he  tells  her,  "  to  live  a  country  life,  and  to  have  many  (I 
hope)  years  of  comfort,  which  God  knows,  I  never  3'et  had 
—  only  moments  of  happiness,"  —  a  pathetic  admission  of  the 
price  he  had  paid  for  the  glory  whicdi  could  not  satisfy  him,  yet 
which,  by  the  law  of  his  being,  he  could  not  cease  to  crave.  "  I 
wish  for  happiness  to  be  my  reward,  and  not  titles  or  money ;  " 
and  happiness  means  being  with  her  whom  he  repeatedly  calls 
Santa  Emma,  and  his  "guardian  angel," — a  fond  inuigining, 
the  sincerity  of  which  checks  the  ready  smile,  but  elicits  no 
tenderness  for  a  delusion  too  gross  for  sympathy. 

Whatever  sacrifices  he  might  be  ready  to  nudte  for  hia 
country's  service,  he  was  not  willing  to  give  up  all  he  held 
dear  when  the  real  occasion  for  his  exceptional  powers  had 
passed  away ;  and  the  assurances  that  the  service  absolutely 
required  his  presence  in  the  Baltic  made  no  imi)ression  upon 
him.  He  knew  better.  "Had  the  command  been  given  me 
in  February,"  he  said,  ''many  lives  would  have  been  saved, 
and  we  should  have  been  in  a  very  different  situation  ;  but 
the  wiseheads  at  home  know  everything."  Now  it  means 
expense  and  suffering,  and  nothing  to  do  beyond  tiie  powers 
of  an  average  officer.  "  Any  other  man  can  as  well  look  abcnit 
him  as  Nelsor."  "  Sir  Thomas  Troubridge,"  he  complains, 
after  enumerating  his  grievances,  "  had  the  nonsense  to  say, 
now  I  was  a  Commander-in-Chief  I  must  be  pleased.  Does  he 
take  me  for  a  greater  fool  than  I  am  ?  "  It  was  indeed  shav- 
ing pretty  close  to  insult  to  send  out  a  man  like  Nelson  as 
second,  when  great  work  was  in  hand,  and  then,  after  he  had 
done  all  his  superior  had  permitted,  and  there  was  nothing 
left  to  do,  to  tell  him  that  he  was  indispensable ;  but  to  be  con- 
gratulated upon  the  fact  by  a  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  which 
Troubridge  then  was,  was  rather  too  much.  He  could  not  refuse 
to  accept  the  command,  but  he  demanded  his  relief  in  terms 
which  could  not  be  disregarded.    His  health,  he  said,  made  him 


m 


\'i 


"'I 


>l\ 


r 

'j    ■; 


)       V 


M 


500 


TlIK   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


.'  I 


unequal  to  the  service.  For  tliree  weeks  he  could  not  leave  his 
cabin.  "  The  keen  air  of  the  North  kills  me."  "  I  did  not 
come  to  the  Baltic  with  the  design  of  dying  a  natural  death.'^ 

Parker  had  no  sooner  departed  than  Nelson  made  the  signal 
for  the  fleet  to  weigh,  and  started  at  once  for  lievel.  He  did 
not  know  whether  or  not  the  Ilussian  ships  were  still  there, 
and  he  felt  that  the  change  of  sovereigns  probably  implied  a 
radical  change  of  policy  ;  but  he  understood,  also,  that  the 
part  of  a  commander-in-chief  was  to  see  that  the  military  situ- 
ation was  maintained,  from  day  to  day,  as  favorable  as  possible 
to  his  own  country.  He  anticipated,  therefore,  by  his  per- 
sonal judgment,  the  instructions  of  the  Cabinet,  not  to  enter 
upon  hostilities  if  certain  conditions  could  be  obtaine;:,  hut  to 
exact  of  the  Russian  Government,  pending  its  decision,  that  the 
Kevel  ships  should  remain  where  they  were.  "  My  object,"  he 
said,  writing  the  same  day  he  took  command,  "tvas  to  get  at 
Revel  before  the  frost  broke  up  at  Cronstadt,  tliat  the  twelve 
sail  of  the  line  might  be  destroyed.  I  shall  now  go  there  as  a 
friend,  but  the  two  f"ets  shall  not  form  a  junction,  if  not  already 
accomplished,  unless  my  orders  permit  it."  For  the  same  reason, 
he  wrote  to  the  Swedish  admiral  that  he  had  no  orders  to  abstain 
from  hostilities  if  he  met  his  fleet  at  sea.  He  hoped,  therefore, 
that  he  would  see  the  wisdom  of  remaining  in  port. 

His  visit  to  Revel,  consequently,  was  to  wear  the  external 
appearance  of  a  compliment  to  a  sovereign  whose  friendly  in- 
tentions were  assumed.  To  give  it  that  color,  he  took  with 
him  only  twelve  ships-of-the-line,  leaving  the  others,  with  the 
small  vessels  of  distinctly  hostile  character,  bombs,  fireships, 
etc.,  anchored  off  Bornholm  Island,  a  Danish  possession.  The 
resolution  to  prevent  a  junction  was  contingent  and  concealed. 
On  the  12th  the  squadron  arrived  in  the  outer  bay  of  Revel, 
and  a  complimentary  letter,  announcing  the  purpose  of  his 
coming,  was  sent  to  St.  Petersburg.  TJie  next  day  he  paid  an 
official  visit  to  the  authorities,  when  his  vanity  and  love  of 
attention  received  fresh  gratification.  "  Except  to  you,  my  own 
friend,  I  should  not  mention  it,  'tis  so  much  like  vanity;  but 
hundreds  come  to  look  at  Nelson,  '  that  is  him,  that  is  him,'  in 
short  'tis  the  same  as  in  Italy  and  Germany,  and  I  .i^ow  feel 
that  a  good  name  is  better  than  riches,  not  amongst  our  great 
folks  in  England;  but  it  has  its  fine  feelings  to  au  honest 


i»    I  \i 


VISITS  REVEL   WITH  THE   FLEET 


501 


heart.  A.11  the  Russians  liave  taken  it  into  their  heads  that  I 
am  like  Suwaroff,  Le  jeune  Smvaroff; "  thus  coufirming  the 
impression  made  upon  Mrs.  St.  George  at  Dresden. 

On  the  IGth  of  May  a  letter  arrived  from  Count  I'ahlen,  the 
Russian  minister.  The  Czar  declined  to  see  a  compliment  in 
the  appearance  in  Russian  waters  of  so  formidable  a  force, 
commanded  by  a  seaman  whose  name  stood  foremost,  not 
merely  for  professional  ability,  but  for  sudden,  resolute,  and 
aggressive  action.  "  Nelson's  presence,"  Niebuhr  had  written, 
"leads  us  to  think,  judging  of  him  by  his  past  conduct,  that 
a  furious  attack  will  be  made  upon  our  harbor ; "  and  he  him- 
self had  recorded  with  complacency  that  a  Danish  officer,  visit- 
ing the  "  London,"  upon  learning  that  he  was  with  the  fleet  in  the 
Kattegat,  had  said,  "  Is  he  here  ?  Then  I  suppose  it  is  no  joke, 
if  he  is  come."  *'  The  Baltic  folks  will  never  fight  me,  if  it  is 
to  be  avoided."  "  The  Emperor,  my  Master,"  wrote  Pahlen, 
"  does  not  consider  this  step  compatible  with  the  lively  desire 
manifested  by  His  Britannic  Majesty,  to  reestablish  the  good 
intelligence  so  long  existing  between  the  two  Monarchies.  The 
only  guarantee  of  the  loyalty  of  your  intentions  that  His  Maj- 
esty can  accept,  is  the  prompt  withdrawal  of  the  fleet  under 
your  command,  and  no  negotiation  with  your  Court  can  take 
place,  so  long  as  a  naval  force  is  in  sight  of  his  ports." 

Nelson  had  of  co\irse  recognized  that  the  game  was  lost, 
as  soon  as  he  saw  that  the  Russian  fleet  was  gone.  The  con- 
ditions which  had  mainly  prompted  his  visit  were  changed, 
and  the  Russian  Government  was  in  a  position  to  take  a  high 
tone,  without  fear  of  consequences.  *'  After  such  an  answer," 
he  wrote  indignantly  to  St.  Vincent;  "  I  had  no  business  here. 
Time  will  show ;  but  I  do  not  believe  he  would  have  written 
such  a  letter,  if  the  Russian  fleet  had  been  in  Revel."  "Lord 
Nelson  received  the  letter  a  few  minutes  before  dinner-time," 
wrote  Stewart.  "  He  appeared  to  be  a  good  deal  agitated  by  it, 
but  said  little,  and  did  not  return  an  immediate  reply.  During 
dinner,  however,  he  left  the  table,  and  in  less  than  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  sent  for  his  secretary  to  peruse  a  letter  which,  in  that 
short  absence,  he  had  composed.  The  signal  for  preparing  to 
weigh  was  immediately  made ;  the  answer  above-mentioned 
was  sent  on  shore;  and  his  Lordship  caused  the  fleet  to  weigh, 


t- 


\ 


and  to  stand  as  far  to  sea  as  was  safe  for  that  evening." 


fi02 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


!     1 


I  I 


Nelson  took  hold  of  rahleii's  expression,  that  he  had  come 
"with  his  whole  fleet"  to  Kevel.  Confining  himself  to  that, 
he  pointed  out  the  mistake  the  minister  had  made,  for  he  had 
brought  "  not  one-seventh  of  his  fleet  in  point  of  numbers.'' 
He  mentioned  also  the  deference  that  he  had  paid  to  the  Eevel 
authorities.  "  ^ly  conduct,  I  feel,  is  so  entirely  different  to 
what  your  Excellency  has  expressed  in  your  letter,  that  I  have 
only  to  regret,  that  my  desire  to  pay  a  marked  attention  to 
His  Imperial  JNIajesty  has  been  so  entirely  misunderstood. 
Tliat  being  the  case,  I  shall  sail  immediately  into  the  Baltic." 
Retiring  thus  in  good  order,  if  defeated,  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  it  was  not  his  own  blunder,  but  the 
wretched  dilatorinoss  of  his  predecessor,  that  had  made  the 
Czar,  instead  of  the  British  admiral,  master  of  tlie  situation. 

Stopi)ing  for  twcnty-i'our  hours  at  Bornholm  on  the  way 
down,  Nelson  on  the  24th  anchored  in  llostock  Bay,  on  the 
German  coast  of  the  Baltic,  and  there  awaited  the  relief 
he  confidently  expected.  lie  had  scarcely  arrived  when  a 
second  letter  from  I'ahlen  overtook  him.  The  minister  ex- 
pressed his  regret  for  any  misunderstanding  that  had  arisen 
as  to  the  purpose  of  his  first  visit,  and  continued,  "  I  cannot 
give  your  excellency  a  more  striking  proof  of  the  confidence 
which  the  Emperor  my  IVEaster  reposes  in  you,  than  by  an- 
nouncing the  effect-  produced  by  your  letter  of  the  IGth  of 
this  month.  His  laiperial  Majesty  has  ordered  the  imme- 
diate raising  of  the  embargo  placed  upon  the  Phiglish  mer- 
chant ships."  Nelson  plumed  himself  greatly  upon  this  result 
of  his  diplomacy.  "  Our  diplomatic  men  are  so  slow.  Lord 
St.  Helens  told  me  that  he  hoped  in  a  month  he  shoidd  be 
able  to  tell  mo  something  decisive.  Now,  what  can  take  two 
hours  I  cannot  even  guess,  but  Ministers  must  do  something 
for  their  diamond  boxes.  I  gained  the  unconditional  release 
of  oiir  ships,  which  neither  IMinisters  nor  Sir  Hyde  Parker 
could  accomplish,  by  showing  my  fleet.  Then  they  became 
alarmed,  begged  I  would  go  away,  or  it  would  be  considered  as 
warlike.  On  my  complying,  it  pleased  the  Emperor  and  his 
ministers  so  much,  that  the  whole  of  the  British  shipping  were 
given  up."  There  is  nothing  like  the  point  of  view ;  but  it  must 
be  admitced  that  Nelson  extricated  himself  from  an  unpleasant 
position  with  great  good  temper  and  sound  judgment. 


Mi 


^Ui 


DAILY  LIFE  IN  TIIK  BALTIC 


:m 


lie  remained  in  his  flagsliip  between  llosto(!k  and  Kioge 
Bay,  until  relieved  by  Vice-Adniiral  Pole  on  the  19tli  of 
June.  Nothing  of  official  importance  occurred  during  these 
three  weeks  ;  for  the  naval  part  of  ti»e  Daltic  entanglement 
was  ended,  as  he  had  foreseen.  A  pleasant  j)icture  of  his  daily 
life  on  board  the  "  St.  George  "  at  this  time  has  been  preserved 
for  us  by  Colonel  Stewart:  "His  hour  of  rising  was  four  or 
five  o'clock,  and  of  going  to  rest  about  ten;  breakfast  was 
never  later  than  six,  and  generally  nearer  to  five  o'clock.  A 
midshipman  or  two  were  always  of  the  party;  and  1  have 
known  him  send  during  the  middle  watch  ^  to  invite  the  little 
fellows  to  breakfast  witli  him,  when  relieved.  At  table  with 
them,  he  would  enter  into  their  boyish  jokes,  and  be  the  most 
youtliful  of  the  party.  At  dinner  he  invariably  had  every 
officer  of  the  ship  in  their  turn,  and  was  both  a  polite  and 
hospitable  host.  Tlie  whole  ordinary  business  of  the  fleet  was 
invariably  despatched,  as  it  had  been  by  Earl  St.  Vincent, 
before  eight  o'clock.  The  great  command  of  time  which  Lord 
Nelson  thus  gave  himself,  and  tlie  alertness  whicli  this  example 
imparted  throughout  the  fleet,  can  only  be  understood  by  those 
who  witnessed  it,  or  who  know  the  value  of  early  hours.  .  .  . 
He  did  not  again  land  whilst  in  the  Baltic ;  his  health  was 
not  good,  and  his  mind  was  not  at  ease  ;  with  him,  mind  and 
health  invariably  sympathized." 

While  thus  generally  pleasant  on  board  ship,  he  resolutely 
refused  intercourse  with  the  outside  world  when  not  compelled 
by  dut}'.  lu  this  there  appears  to  have  been  something  self- 
imposed,  in  deference  to  Lady  Hamilton.  There  are  indica- 
tions that  she  felt,  or  feigned,  some  jealousy  of  his  relations 
with  others,  especially  Avith  women,  corresponding  to  the 
frenzied  agitation  he  manifested,  at  the  association  of  her  name 
with  that  of  any  other  man,  and  especially  with  that  of  the 
llxCn  Prince  of  Wales.  Whatever  her  real  depth  of  attachment 
to  him,  her  best  hope  for  the  future  was  in  his  constancy,  and 
that  he  would  eventually  marry  her ;  for  Sir  William's  death 
could  not  be  far  distant,  and  matters  might  otherwise  favor 
the  hope  that  both  he  and  she  cherished.  Her  approaching 
widowhood  would  in  fact  leave  her,  unless  her  husband's  will 
was  exceptionally  generous,  in  a  condition  as  precarious,  her 

1  MiduiL'lit  to  four  A.  M. 


!U'  -  * 


h 


I 


I 


D.I 


I 


; '  ■ 


'/' 


( 


i.v 


\ 


il 


•  •^    i 

I   I       i 

I 


•  I 


604 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


acquired  tastes  considered,  as  that  from  which  her  marriage 
had  rescued  her;  and  htr  uueasinosa  would  naturally  arouse 
an  unctertain  and  exacting  temper  as,  in  the  old  days  at  Naples, 
when  Hamilton  could  not  nuiko  up  his  mind.  Tlie  (M)n(lition 
of  Nelson's  health  furnislied  him  an  excuse  for  declining  all 
civilities  or  calls,  even  from  a  reigning  prince,  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  not  well  enough  to  go  ashore  ami  return  them. 
Soon  after  this,  however,  he  was  able  to  write  Lady  Hamilton 
that  ho  was  perfectly  recovered.  '*  As  far  as  relates  to  health, 
I  don't  think  I  ever  was  stronger  or  in  better  health.  It  is 
odd,  but  after  severe  illness  I  feel  nuudi  better."  Thus  he 
was,  when  definitely  informed  that  his  relief  was  on  the  way. 
"To  find  a  proper  successor,"  said  Lord  St.  Vin(;ent,  when 
announcing  the  fact  to  him,  "  your  lordship  knows  is  no  easy 
task;  fori  never  saw  the  man  in  our  profession,  excepting 
yourself  and  Troubridge,  who  possessed  the  magic  art  of  in- 
fusing the  same  spirit  into  others,  which  inspired  their  own 
actions  ;  exclusive  of  other  talents  and  habits  of  business,  not 
common  to  naval  cliaracters."  "  I  was  so  overcome  yesterday," 
wrote  Nelson  to  Lady  Hamilton,  "  with  the  good  and  happy 
news  that  came  about  my  going  home,  that  I  believe  I  was  in 
truth  scarcely  myself.  Tlie  thoughts  of  going  do  me  good, 
yet  all  night  I  was  so  restless  that  I  could  not  sleep.  It  is 
nearly  calm,  therefore  Admiral  Pole  cannot  get  on.  If  he  was 
not  to  come,  I  believe  it  would  kill  me.  I  am  ready  to  start 
the  moment  1  have  talked  with  him  one  hour." 

On  the  19th  of  June  Nelson  left  the  Baltic  in  the  brig  "Kite," 
and  on  the  1st  of  July  landed  at  Yarmouth. 

Note.  —  Since  this  work  was  first  published,  the  author  has  learned 
that  in  the  year  1817  her  presen.  ^Jajesty  authorized  the  grant  of  a 
naval  medal  to  the  survivors  of  naval  engagements  that  had  taken 
place  between  the  years  1703  and  1840.  Under  this  ordering,  medals 
were  issued  for  the  IJattle  of  Copenhagen.  Although  a  gracious  act 
in  the  government  of  the  day,  such  a  lardy  recognition,  when  the 
most  conspicuous  actors  were  dead,  scarcely  invalidates,  in  the  au- 
thor's opinion,  the  statement  on  page  489  that  medals  were  not  issued. 
This  note  is  added,  however,  as  necessary  to  a  complete  account  of 
the  matter. 


CITArTER  XVII. 

Nelson  commands  tiik,   "  Squadiion  on  a  rAUTictri.An  Skuvior,"  for 
TiiK    Dkkksck  ok  Till',    Coast    ok    Knolanu   AciAiNsr    Invasion. — 

SitJNATUUK  OK    I'UliMMINAUIKS   OK    I'EAUK   WITH    FllANCK. 
JULY-OCTOUEU,    1801.       A(iK,   43. 

BEFORE  sailing  for  the  Raltic;,  and  tliruuj,'hout  his  service 
in  tliat  sea,  the  hjnging  lor  rei)ose  and  for  a  lover's 
paradise  had  disputeil  with  the  love  of  glory  for  the  empire 
in  Nelson's  heart,  and  signs  were  not  wanting  that  the  latter 
was  making  a  doubtful,  if  not  a  losing,  light.  Shortly  before 
his  departure  for  the  North,  he  wrote  to  St.  Vincent,  "Al- 
though, I  own,  I  have  met  with  much  more  honours  and 
rewards  than  ever  my  most  sanguine  ideas  led  me  to  expect, 
yet  I  am  so  circumstanced  that  probably  this  Expedition  will 
be  the  last  service  ever  performed  by  your  obliged  and 
affectionate  friend."  His  old  commander  was  naturally  per- 
turbed at  the  thought  that  the  illustrious  career,  which  he 
had  done  so  much  to  foster,  was  to  have  the  ignoble  termina- 
tion to  be  inferred  from  these  words  and  the  notorious  facts. 
"  Be  assured,  my  dear  Lord,"  he  replied,  "  that  every  public  ^ 
act  of  your  life  has  been  the  subject  of  my  admiration,  which 
I  should  have  sooner  declared,  but  that  I  was  ai)])alled  by 
the  last  sentence  of  your  letter  :  for  God's  sake,  do  not  suffer 
yourself  to  be  carried  away  by  any  sudden  impulse." 

During  his  absence,  the  uncertain  deferment  of  his 
desires  had  worked  together  with  the  pervprse  indolence 
of  Sir  Hyde  Parker,  the  fretting  sight  of  opportunities  wasted, 
the  constant  chafing  against  the  curb,  to  keep  both  body  and 
mind  in  perpetual  unrest,  to  which  the  severe  climate  con- 
tributed by  undermining  his  health.  This  unceasing  discom- 
fort had  given  enhanced  charm  to  his  caressing  dreams  of 

^  These  suggestive  italics  are  in  the  letter  as  priuted  by  Clark  and 
M'Arthur,  aud  reproduced  by  Nicolas. 


;    ' 


1  <" 


1       1 

1 

'■,! 

1 

1   ' 

1 

[ 

9  1 

f! 


If 


506 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I'l,    ^ 


y-  f 


'if 


reposeful  happiness,  soothed  and  stimulated  by  the  com- 
panionship which  he  so  far  had  found  to  fulfil  all  his  power 
of  admiration,  and  all  his  demands  for  sympathy.  Released 
at  last,  he  landed  in  England  contidently  expecting  to  realize 
his  hopes,  only  to  find  that  they  must  again  be  postponed. 
Keputation  such  as  his  bears  its  own  penalty.  There  was 
no  other  man  in  whose  name  England  could  find  the  calm 
certainty  of  safety,  which  popular  apprehension  demanded 
in  the  new  emergency,  that  had  arisen  while  he  was  uphold- 
ing her  cause  in  the  northern  seas.  Nelson  repined,  but  he 
submitted.  Within  four  weeks  his  flag  was  flying  again,  and 
himsp!f  immersed  in  professional  anxieties. 

War  on  the  continent  of  Europe  had  ceased  definitively  with 
the  treaty  of  Luneville,  between  France  and  Austria,  signed 
February  9,  1801.  Over  four  years  were  to  elapse  before  it 
should  recommence.  But,  as  Great  Britain  was  to  be  the 
first  to  take  up  arms  again  to  resist  the  encroachments  of 
Bonaparte,  so  now  she  was  the  last  to  consent  to  peace,  eager 
as  her  people  were  to  have  it.  Malta  had  fallen,  the  Armed 
Neutrality  of  the  North  had  dissolved,  the  French  occupation 
of  Egypt  was  at  its  last  gasp.  Foiled  in  these  three  directions 
by  the  sea-power  of  Great  Britain,  unable,  with  all  his  manip- 
ulation of  the  prostrate  continent,  to  inflict  a  deadly  wound, 
Bonaparte  now  resorted  to  the  threat  of  invasion,  well  aware 
that,  under  existing  conditions,  it  could  be  but  a  threat,  yet 
hoping  that  its  influence  upon  a  people  accustomed  to  sleep 
securely  might  further  his  designs.  But,  though  the  en- 
chanter wove  his  spells  to  rouse  the  demon  of  fear,  their  one 
effect  was  to  bring  up  once  more,  over  against  him,  the 
defiant  form  of  his  arch-subverter.  Both  the  Prime  IVIinister, 
Addington,  and  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  assured 
Nelson  that  his  presence  in  charge  of  the  dispositions  for 
defence,  and  tl\at  only,  could  quiet  the  public  mind.  "I  have 
seen  Lord  St.  Vincent,"  he  Avrote  the  former,  "  and  submit  to 
your  and  his  partiality.  Whilst  my  health  Avill  allow,  I  can 
only  say,  that  every  exertion  of  mine  shall  be  used  to  merit 
the  continuance  of  your  esteem."  St.  Vincent,  writing  to  him 
a  fortnight  later,  avowed  frankly  the  weight  attached  to  his 
very  name  by  both  friend  and  foe.  "  Our  negotiation  is 
drawing    near  its  close,  and   must  terminate    one    way  or 


THREATENED  INVASION   OF   ENGLAND 


507 


another  in  a  few  days,  and,  I  need  not  add,  how  very  impor- 
tant it  is  that  the  enemy  should  know  that  you  are  constantly 
opposed  to  him." 

The  purpose  of  Bonaparte  in  1801  is  not  to  be  gauged  by 
the  same  measure  as  that  of  1803-1805.  In  1798  he  had  tohl 
the  then  government  of  France  that  to  make  a  descent  upon 
England,  without  being  master  of  the  sea,  would  be  the  boldest 
and  most  difficult  operation  ever  attempted.  Conditions  had 
not  changed  since  then,  nor  had  he  now  the  time  or  tlie  money 
to  embark  in  the  extensive  preparations,  which  afterwards 
gave  assurance  that  he  was  in  earnest  in  his  threats.  An 
adept  in  making  false  demonstrations,  perfectly  appreciative 
of  the  power  of  a  great  name,  he  counted  upon  his  own 
renown,  and  his  amazing  achievement  of  the  apparently 
impossible  in  the  past,  to  overawe  the  imagination  of  a  nation, 
whose  will,  rather  than  whose  strength,  he  hoped  to  subdue. 
Boulogne  and  the  small  neighboring  ports,  whose  nearness 
clearly  indicated  them  as  the  only  suitable  base  from  which 
an  invasion  could  start,  were  in  that  year  in  no  state  to  receive 
the  boats  necessary  to  carry  an  army.  This  the  British 
could  see  with  their  own  eyes  ;  but  who  could  be  sure  that  tlie 
paper  flotilla  at  Boulogne,  like  the  paper  Army  of  Keserve  at 
Dijon  a  year  before,  had  not  elsewhere  a  substantial  counter- 
part, whose  sudden  appearance  might  yet  work  a  catastrophe 
as  unexpected  and  total  as  that  of  INIarengo  ?  And  who  more 
apt  than  Bonaparte  to  spread  the  impression  that  some  such 
surprise  was  brewing  ?  "  I  can  venture  to  assure  you  that  no 
embarkation  of  troops  can  take  place  at  Boulogne,"  wrote 
Nelson,  immediately  after  his  iirst  reconnoissance  ;  but  he  says 
at  the  same  time,  "  I  have  now  more  than  ever  reason  to  believe 
that  the  ports  of  Flushing  and  Flanders  are  much  more  likely 
places  to  embark  men  from,  than  Calais,  Boulogne,  or  Dieppe  ; 
for  in  Flanders  we  cannot  tell  by  our  eyes  what  means  tliey 
have  collected  for  carrying  an  army."  "Great  prv^parations 
at  Ostend,"  he  notes  a  week  later;  "Augereau  commands  that 
part  of  the  Army.  I  hope  to  let  him  feel  tlie  bottom  of 
the  Goodwin  Sand."  It  was  just  this  sort  of  ipprehension, 
specific  in  direction,  yet  vague  alid  elusive  in  ootails,  that 
Bonaparte  was  skilled  in  disseminating. 

St.  Vincent,  and  the  Government  generally^  agreed  with 


ill 


4|i 


m 


I 


'      V 


V 


1:1 


n 


u    ir.v 


•* 


■HH 


508 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I  ! 


Nelson's  opinion.  "  We  are  to  look  to  Flanders  for  the  groat 
effort,"  wrote  the  Earl  to  him.  Neither  of  them  had,  nor  was 
it  possible  for  clear-headed  naval  officers  to  have,  any  sub- 
stantial, rational,  fear  of  a  descent  in  force ;  yet  the  vague 
possibility  did,  for  the  moment,  impress  even  them,  and  the 
liability  of  the  populace,  and  of  the  commercial  interests,  to 
panic,  was  a  consideration  not  to  be  overlooked.  ]>esides,  in 
a  certain  way,  tliere  was  no  adequate  preparation  for  resist- 
ance. The  liritish  Navy,  indeed,  was  an  overwhelming  force 
as  compared  to  the  French ;  but  its  hands  were  fully  occupied, 
and  the  fleet  Nelson  had  just  left  in  the  I'altic  could  not  yet 
be  recalled.  It  was,  however,  in  purely  defensive  measures,  in 
the  possession  of  a  force  similar  to  that  by  which  the  proposed 
attack  was  to  be  made,  and  in  dispositions  analogous  to 
coast  defences,  that  the  means  were  singularly  defective, 
both  in  material  and  n>en.  "Everything,  my  dear  Lord," 
wrote  Nelson,  the  day  after  he  hoisted  his  flag  at  Sheerness, 
"  must  have  a  beginning,  and  we  are  literally  at  the  founda- 
tion of  our  fabric  of  defence  ;  "  but,  he  continues,  reverting  to 
his  own  and  St.  Vincent's  clear  and  accurate  military  intui- 
tions, "  I  agree  perfectly  with  you,  that  we  must  keep  the 
enemy  as  far  from  our  own  coasts  as  possible,  and  be  able  to 
attack  them  the  moment  they  come  out  of  their  ports." 

"Our  first  defence,"  he  writes  a  fortnight  later,  showing  the 
gradual  maturing  of  the  views  which  he,  in  common  with  St, 
Vincent,  held  with  such  illustrious  f  rmness  in  tlie  succeeding 
years,  "  is  close  to  the  enemy's  ports.  When  that  is  broke, 
others  will  come  forth  on  our  own  coasts."  It  was  in  the 
latter  that  the  unexpected  anxieties  of  1801  found  the  Gov- 
ernment deficient,  and  these  it  was  to  be  Nelson's  first  care  to 
organize  and  dispose.  F>y  the  time  his  duties  were  completed, 
and  the  problems  connected  with  them  had  been  two  months 
under  his  consideration,  he  had  reached  the  conclusion  which 
Napoleon  also  held,  and  upon  which  he  acted.  "  This  boat 
business  may  be  a  part  of  a  great  plan  of  Invasion,  buu  can 
never  be  the  only  one."  From  the  first  he  had  contemplated 
the  possibility  of  the  French  fleets  in  Brest  and  elsewhere 
attempting  diversions,  such  as  Napoleon  planned  in  support 
ofhis  later  great  projects.  "Although  I  feel  confident  that 
the  fleets  of  the  enemy  will  meet  the  same  fate  which  has 


!  I 


l*! 


tr  the  great 
ad,  nor  was 
;,  any  sul> 
;  the  vague 
ni,  and  the 
uterests,  to 
besides,  in 
I  for  resist- 
Iming  force 
ly  occupied, 
)uld  not  yet 
ueasures, iu 
ihe  proposed 
nalogous   to 
f   defective, 
ilcar  Lord," 
b  Sheerness, 
the  fouuda- 
reverting  to 
ilitary  intui- 
ist  keep  the 
d  be  able  to 
)rts." 

showing  the 
on  with  St, 
succeeding 
at  is  broke, 
was  iu  tlie 
id  the  Gov- 
first  care  to 
completed, 
Itwo  months 
lision  which 
"  This  boat 
on,  buo  can 
ntemplated 
I  elsewhere 
in  support 
iitident  that 
which  has 


?i 


).i«  is 


•  ;  is* 


'     ,    I 


:t^ 


V 


'    '.] 


5'  ■■  r..   I' t 


i  i   i 


PLANS  FOR  DEFENDING  LONDON 


600 


always  attended  them,  yet  tlieir  sailing  will  facilitate  the 
coming  over  of  tiieir  flotilla,  as  they  will  naturally  suppose  our 
attention  will  be  called  only  to  the  fleets/' 

What  was  feared  in  1801  was  not  a  grand  military  opera- 
tion, in  the  nature  of  an  attempt  at  conquest,  or,  at  the  least, 
at  injury  so  serious  as  to  be  disabling,  but  rather  something 
in  the  nature  of  a  great  raid,  of  which  tlie  most  probable 
object  was  the  city  of  London,  the  chief  commercial  centre. 
It  was  upon  this  supposition  that  the  instructions  of  the 
Admiralty  to  Kelson  were  framed,  and  upon  this  also  the 
memorandum  as  to  methods,  submitted  by  liim  to  it,  on 
the  25th  of  July,  1801.  "  It  is  certainly  proper  to  believe  the 
I'rench  are  coming  to  attack  London."  "I  will  sui)pose  that 
40,000  men  are  destined  for  this  attack,  or  rather  surprise." 
His  plan  is  given  first  in  his  own  words,  as  due  to  a  matter 
of  so  much  importance ;  and  to  them  the  writer  appends  a 
summary  of  the  principal  features,  as  understood  by  him. 
These  are  not  always  easily  to  be  seen  on  the  face  of  the 
paper,  owing  to  the  small  time  for  its  preparation,  and  the 
consequent  haste  —  off-hand  almost  —  Avith  whicli  it  was 
drawn  up,  as  is  further  indicated  from  the  copy  in  the  Admi- 
ralty being  in  his  own  writing. 


MEMORANDA  IJY  LOUD  NELSON,   ON  Till",  DEFENCK  OF  THE 

THAMES,  ETC. 

2r>th  July,  LSOL 
Besides  the  stationed  Ships  at  tlie  different  posts  between  the 
Nortli  Foreland  and  Orfordness,  as  many  Gxm-vessels  as  can  be 
spared  from  the  very  necessary  protection  of  the  Coast  of  Sussex  and 
of  Kent  to  the  westward  of  Dover,  should  be  collected,  for  this  part 
of  tlie  Coast  nuist  be  seriously  attended  to ;  for  supposing  London 
the  object  of  surprise,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  Enemy's  object  ouyht 
to  be  the  getting  on  sliorc;  as  speedily  as  possible,  for  the  dangers  of  a 
navigation  of  forty -eight  liours,  appear  to  me  to  bean  insurmountable 
objection  to  tlie  rowing  from  Boulogne  to  the  Coast  of  Essex.  It  is 
therefore  most  probable  (for  it  is  certainly  projter  to  ])elieve  the 
French  are  coming  to  attack  London,  and  th<'r(>fore  to  be  prepared) 
that  from  Boulogne,  Calais,  and  even  Havre,  that  the  enemy  will  try 
and  land  in  Sussex,  or  the  lower  part  of  Kent,  and  from  Dunlcirk, 
Ostend,  and  the  other  Ports  of  Flanders,  to  land  on  the  Coast  of  Essex 


f 

^ 

1 
1 

if 

* 

\   \ 

Ti 

■    : 

! 

1 

I'  i 

';,! 

f 

■  ji 

:  i 


W\ 


.\  i; 


■m,|;! 


t:|! 


m 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


fS^ 


or  Suffolk;  for  I  own  myself  of  opinion  that,  the  object  being  to  get 
on  sliore  somewhere  witliin  100  miles  of  London,  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, that  the  Flats  in  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  will  not  be  the  only 
place  necessary  to  attend  to ;  added  to  this,  the  Enemy  will  create  a 
powerful  diversion  by  the  sailing  of  the  Combined  Fleet,  and  the 
either  sailing,  or  creating  such  an  appearance  of  sailing,  of  the  Dutch 
Fleet,  as  will  prevent  Admiral  Dickson  from  sending  anything  from 
off  the  great  Dutch  Ports,  whilst  the  smaller  Ports  will  spew  forth  its 
Flotilla,  —  viz.,  Flushing,  &c.  &c.  It  must  be  pretty  well  ascertained 
what  number  of  small  Vessels  are  in  each  Port. 

I  will  supi)ose  that  40,000  men  are  cestined  for  this  attack,  or 
rather  surprise,  of  London;  20,000  will  laud  on  the  west  side  of 
Dover,  sixty  or  seventy  miles  from  London,  and  the  same  number  on 
the  east  side:  they  are  too  knowing  to  let  us  have  but  one  point  of 
alarm  for  London.  Supposing  200  craft,  or  2.'j0,  collected  at  Boulogne 
&c.,  they  are  supjiosed  equal  to  carry  20,000  men.  Tn  very  calm 
weather,  they  might  row  over,  supposing  no  impediment,  in  twelve 
liouis ;  at  the  same  instant,  by  telegraph,  the  same  number  of  troops 
would  bo  rowed  out  of  Dunkirk,  Ostend,  &c.  &c.  These  are  the  two 
great  objects  to  attend  to  from  Dover  and  the  Downs,  and  perhaps 
one  of  the  small  Ports  to  the  westward.  Boulogne  (which  I  call  the 
central  point  of  the  Western  attack)  must  bo  attended  to.  If  it  is 
calm  when  the  Enemy  row  o\it,  all  our  Vesscils  and  Boats  appointed 
to  watch  them,  must  get  into  the  Cliaimel,  and  meet  them  as  soon  as 
possible :  if  not  strong  enough  for  the  attack,  they  must  watch,  and 
keep  them  company  till  a  favourable  opportunity  offers.  If  a  breeze 
springs  up,  our  Ships  are  to  deal  destruction ;  no  delicacy  can  bo 
observed  on  this  great  occasion.  But  should  it  remain  calm,  and  our 
Flotilla  not  fancy  itself  strong  enough  to  attack  the  Enemy  on  their 
passage,  the  moment  that  they  begin  to  touch  our  sliore,  strong  or 
weak,  our  Flotilla  of  Boats  must  attack  as  much  of  the  Enemy's 
Flotilla  as  they  are  able — say  only  one-half  or  two-thirds,;  it  will 
create  a  most  ]iowerful  diversion,  for  the  bows  of  our  Flotilla  will  bo 
opposed  to  their  vuiarmed  sterns,  and  the  courage  of  Britons  will 
never,  I  believe,  allow  one  Frenchman  to  leave  the  beach.  A  great 
number  of  Deal  and  Dover  Boats  to  be  on  board  our  vessels  off  the 
Port  of  Boidogne,  to  give  notice  of  the  dii'ection  taken  by  the  Enemy. 
If  it  is  calm,  Vessels  in  the  Channel  can  make  signals  of  intelligence 
to  our  shores,  from  the  North  Foreland  to  Orfordness,  and  even  as 
far  as  Solebay,  not  an  improbable  place,  about  seventy  or  eighty 
miles  from  London. 

A  Flotilla  to  be  kept  near  ]\I..rgate  and  Ramsgate,  to  consist  of 
Gun-boats  and  Flat-boats;  another  Squadron  to  be  stationed  near  the 
centre,  between    Orfordness  and  Xorth  Foreland,  and  the  third  in 


PLANS  FOR  DEFENDING  LONDON 


511 


Iloseley  Bay.^  The  Floating  Batteries  ai'e  stationed  in  all  proper 
positions  for  defending  the  different  Channels,  and  the  smaller  Ves- 
sels will  always  have  a  resort  in  the  supiiort  of  the  stationed  ships. 
The  moment  of  the  Enemy's  movement  from  Boulogne,  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  the  movement  of  the  Enemy  from  Dunkirk.  Supposing  it 
calm,  the  Flotillas  are  to  be  rowed,  and  the  heavy  ones  towed,  (except 
the  stationed  Ships),  those  near  Margate,  three  or  four  leagues  to  the 
north  of  the  North  Foreland ;  those  from  Iloseley  Bay,  a  little 
approaching  the  Centre  Division,  but  always  keeping  an  eye  towards 
Solebay ;  the  Centre  Division  to  advance  half-way  between  the  two. 
The  more  fast  Rowing  boats,  called  Thames  Galleys,  which  can  be 
procured  the  better,  to  carry  orders,  information,  &c.  &c. 

Whenever  the  Enemy's  Flotilla  can  be  seen,  our  Divisions  are 
to  unite,  but  not  intermix,  and  to  be  ready  to  execute  such  orders  as 
may  be  deemed  necessary,  or  as  the  indispensable  circimstances  may 
require.  For  this  purpose,  men  of  such  confidencj  in  each  other 
should  be  looked  for,  that  (as  far  as  human  foresight  can  go,)  no 
little  jealousy  may  creep  into  any  man's  mind,  but  to  be  all  animated 
with  the  same  desire  of  preventing  the  descent  of  the  Enemy  on  our 
Coasts.  Stationary  Floating  Batteries  are  '>ot,  from  any  apparent 
advantage,  to  be  moved,  for  the  tide  may  iirevent  their  resuming  the 
very  important  stations  assigned  them ;  they  are  on  no  account  to  be 
supposed  neglected,  even  should  the  Enemy  surround  them,  for  they 
may  rely  on  support,  and  reflect  that  perhaps  their  gallant  conduct 
may  prevent  the  mischievous  designs  of  the  Enemy.  Whatever 
plans  may  be  adopted,  the  moment  the  Enemy  touch  our  Coast,  be  it 
where  it  may,  they  are  to  be  attacked  by  every  man  afloat  and  on 
shore  :  this  must  be  perfectly  understood.  Never  fear  the  erent.  The 
Flat  Boats  can  probably  be  manned  (partly,  at  least,)  with  the  Sea 
Fencibles,  (the  numbers  or  fixed  places  of  whom  T  am  entirely  igno- 
rant of,)  but  the  Flat  Boats  they  may  man  to  be  in  gi'and  and  sub- 
divisions, commanded  by  their  own  Captains  and  Lieutenants,  as  far 
as  is  possible.  The  number  of  Flat  Boats  is  unknown  to  me,  as  also 
the  other  means  of  defence  in  Small  Craft ;  but  I  am  clearly  of  opinion 
that  a  proportion  of  the  small  force  should  be  kept  to  watch  the  Flat- 
Boats  from  Boulogne,  and  the  others  in  the  way  I  have  presumed  to 
suggest.  These  are  offered  as  merely  the  rude  ideas  of  the  moment, 
and  are  only  meant  as  a  Sea  plan  of  defence  for  the  City  of  London ;  but 
I  believe  other  parts  may  likewise  be  menaced,  if  the  Brest  fleet,  and 
thosp  f i-om  Rochfort  and  Holland  put  to  sea ;  although  I  feel  confi- 
d  Mit  that  the  Fleets  of  the  Enemy  will  meet  the  same  fate  which  has 
always  attended  them,  yet  their  sailing  will  facilitate  the  coming  over 
of  their  Flotilla,  as  they  will  naturally  suppose  our  attention  will  be 
called  only  to  the  Fleets. 

1  Hollesley  Bay. 


•    !     1  j 


'  r  k 


V  a 


1^ 


612 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


V 


Coming  by  water,  the  expectation  seeius  to  have  been  thai 
the  enemy  might  proceed  up  the  river,  or  to  a  landing  on 
some  of  the  flats  at  the  mouth  of  the  Thames.  Nelson  says 
expressly  that  he  does  not  think  those  alone  are  the  points  to 
be  guarded;  but  he  characterizes  his  paper  as  being  "only 
meant  as  a  sea  plan  of  defence  for  the  city  of  London,"  and 
the  suggestion  already  noticed,  that  the  enemy's  fleet  will 
support  the  attack  by  diversions,  is  merely  mentioned  casu- 
ally. London  being  the  supposed  object,  and  the  Thames  the 
highway,  the  purely  defensive  force  is  to  be  concentrated 
there ;  the  Channel  coasts,  though  not  excluded,  are  secondary. 
'•'As  many  gun-vessels  as  can  be  spared  from  the  very  necessary 
protection  of  the  coast  of  Sussex,  and  of  Kent  to  the  westward 
of  Dover,  should  be  collected  between  the  North  Foreland 
and  Orfordness,  for  this  part  of  the  coast  must  be  seriously 
attended  to." 

The  attack  is  expected  in  this  quarter,  because  from  Flanders 
and  Flushing  it  is  the  most  accessible.  The  object.  Nelson 
thinks,  will  be  to  get  on  shore  as  speedily  as  possible,  and 
therefore  somewhere  within  one  hundred  miles  of  London. 
Anywhere  from  tlie  westward  of  Dover  round  to  Solebay  — 
"  not  an  improbable  place  "  —  must  be  looked  upon  as  a  pos- 
sible landing.  If  there  are  forty  thousand  men  coming,  he 
regards  it  as  certain  that  they  will  come  in  two  principal 
bodies,  of  twenty  thousand  each — "  they  are  too  knowing  to 
let  us  have  but  one  point  of  alarm  for  London."  "  From  Bou- 
logne, Calais,  and  even  Havre,  the  enemy  will  try  and  land  in 
Sussex,  or  the  lower  part  of  Kent ;  and  from  Dunkirk,  Ostend, 
and  the  other  ports  of  Flanders,  to  land  on  the  coast  of  Essex 
or  Suffolk."  "In  very  calm  weather,  they  might  row  over 
[from  Boulogne],  supposing  no  impediment,  in  twelve  hours ; 
at  the  same  instant,  by  telegraph,  the  same  number  of  troops 
would  be  rowed  out  of  Dunkirk,  Ostend,  &c.  &c."  "  Added  to 
this,  the  enemy  will  create  a  powerful  diversion  by  the  sailing 
of  the  combined  fleet,  and  the  either  sailing,  or  creating  such 
ar  appearance  of  sailing,  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  as  will  prevent 
Admiral  Dickson  [commander-in-cMef  in  the  North  Sea]  from 
sending  anything  from  off  the  great  Dutch  ports,  whilst 
the  smaller  ports  will  spew  forth  its  flotilla  —  viz,  Flushing 
&c.  &c." 


m 


— X 


'1 


PLANS  FOR  DEFENDING  LONDON 


513 


.'I 


To  frustrate  that  part  of  this  combined  effort  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  directed  against  tne  Channel  coast,  Xelson  pro- 
poses that,  "  if  it  is  calm  when  the  enemy  row  out,  all  our 
vessels  and  boats  appointed  to  watch  them,  must  get  into  the 
Channel,  and  meet  them  as  soon  as  possible ;  if  not  strong 
enough  for  the  attack,  they  must  watcth,  and  keep  them  com- 
pany till  a  favourable  opportunity  offers.  .  .  .  Should  it  re- 
main calm,"  so  that  the  cruising  ships  cannot  assist,  "  the  mo- 
ment that  they  begin  to  touch  our  shore,  strong  or  weak,  our 
Hotilla  of  boats  must  attack  as  much  of  the  enemy's  flotilla  as 
they  are  able  —  say  only  one-half  or  two-thirds —  it  will  create 
a  most  powerful  diversion,  for  the  bows  of  our  flotilla  will  be 
opposed  to  their  unarmed  sterns." 

The  dispositions  to  defend  the  entrance  of  the  Thames, 
being  considered  the  more  important,  are  the  more  minute. 
Blockships  are  stationed  in  the  principal  channels,  as  floating 
fortifications,  commanding  absolutely  the  water  around  them, 
and  forming  strong  points  of  support  for  the  flotilla.  It  is 
sagaciously  ordered  that  these  "  are  not,  from  any  apparent 
advantage,  to  be  moved,  for  the  tide  may  prevent  their  re- 
suming the  very  important  stations  assigned  them."  Nelson 
was  evidently  alive  to  that  advantage  in  permanent  works, 
which  puts  it  out  of  the  power  of  panic  to  stampede  them; 
tide  is  not  the  only  factor  that  prevents  retrieving  a  false  step. 
The  eastern  flotilla  is  organized  into  three  bodies,  the  right 
whig  being  near  Margate,  the  left  in  Hollesley  ]iay  near  Har- 
wich, the  centre,  vaguely,  between  Orfordness  and  the  North 
Foreland  "'^''hen  the  alarm  is  given,  they  are  to  draw  together 
towards  t  .  oontre,  but  not  to  emphasize  their  movement  suffi- 
ciontly  to  uncover  either  flank,  until  the  enemy's  flotilla  can 
be  seen  ;  thyn  they  are  "  to  unite,  but  not  intermix." 

To  both  divisions  —  that  in  the  Channel  and  that  on  the 
East  Coast  —  the  commander-in-chief,  in  concluding,  renews 
his  charge,  with  one  of  those  "Nfloon  touches"  wliich  elec- 
trified his  followers:  "Whatever  plans  may  be  adopted,  the 
moment  the  enemy  touch  our  coast,  be  it  where  it  may,  they 
are  to  be  attacked  by  every  man  afloat  and  on  shore :  this 
must  be  perfectly  understood.     Never  fear  the  events 

This  plan  for  the  defence  of  London  against  an  attack  by 
surprise,  drawn  up  by  Nelson  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  was 

33 


,   A' 


'■[ 


Ill 


614 


THE   LIFE  OP  NELSON 


I 


t;  ;.      i 


based  simply  upon  his  general  ideas,  and  without  specific 
information  yet  as  to  either  the  character  or  extent  of  the 
enemy's  preparations,  or  of  the  means  of  resistance  available 
on  his  own  side.  It  has,  therefore,  something  of  an  abstract 
character,  embodying  broad  views  unmodified  by  special  cir- 
cumstances, and  possessing,  consequently,  a  somewhat  peculiar 
value  in  indicating  the  tendency  of  Nelson's  military  concep- 
tions. He  assumes,  implicitly,  a  certain  freedom  of  move- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  two  opponents,  unrestricted  by  the 
friction  and  uncertainty  which  in  practice  fetter  action ;  and 
the  use  which,  under  these  conditions,  ho  imagines  either  will 
make  of  his  powers,  may  not  unfairly  be  assumed  to  show 
what  he  thought  the  correct  course  in  such  a  general  case. 

Prominent  among  his  ideas,  and  continuous  iti  all  his  specu- 
lations as  to  the  movements  of  an  enemy,  from  1795  onward, 
is  the  certainty  that,  for  the  sake  of  diversion,  l>onaparte  will 
divide  his  force  into  two  great  equal  fragments,  which  may 
land  at  points  so  far  apart,  and  separated  by  such  serious 
obstacles,  as  were  Solebay  and  Dover.  Those  who  will  be  at 
the  trouble  to  recall  his  guesses  as  to  the  future  movements 
of  the  Fi-ench  in  the  Kiviera,  Piedmont,  and  Tuscany,  in  1795 
and  179G,  as  well  as  his  own  propositions  to  the  Austrians  at 
the  same  period,  will  recognize  here  the  recurrence,  unchas- 
tened  by  experience  or  thought,  of  a  theory  of  warfare  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  approve.  That  Bonaparte,  —  supposed 
to  be  master  of  his  first  movements,  —  if  he  meant  to  land  in 
person  at  Dover,  would  put  half  his  army  ashore  at  Solebay, 
is  as  incredible  as  that  he  would  have  landed  one  half  at 
Leghorn,  meaning  to  act  with  the  other  from  the  Riviera.  If 
this  criticism  be  sound,  it  would  show  that  Nelson,  genius  as 
he  was,  suffered  from  the  lack  of  that  studv  which  reinforces 
its  own  conclusions  by  the  experience  of  others;  and  that  his 
experience,  resting  upon  service  in  a  navy  so  superior  in 
quality  to  its  enemies,  that  great  inferiority  in  number  or 
position  could  bo  accepted,  had  not  supplied  the  necessary 
corrective  to  an  ill-conceived  readiness  to  sub-divide. 

The  resultant  error  is  clearly  traceable,  in  the  author's 
opinion,  in  his  dispositions  at  Copenhagen,  and  in  a  general 
tendency  to  allow  himself  too  narrow  a  margin,  based  upon  an 
under- valuation  of  the  enemj'^  not  far  removed  from  contempt. 


PLANS  FOR  C^  VS'I'   DKFENCK 


MS 


It  was  most  fortunate  for  him,  iti  tno  lialtic,  that  I'arker  in- 
creased to  twelve  the  detachment  ho  himself  had  fixed  at  ten. 
The  last  utterances  of  liis  life,  however,  show  a  distinct  ad- 
vance and  ripenin}^  of  the  judgment,  without  the  slightest 
decrease  of  the  heroic  resolution  that  so  characterized  him. 
''  I  have  twenty-three  sail  with  me,"  he  wrote  a  fortnight 
hoforo  Trafalgar,  "  and  should  they  come  out  I  will  imme- 
diately bring  them  to  battle ;  .  .  .  but  I  am  vcnj,  vci'if,  very 
anxious  for  the  arrival  of  the  force  wiiich  is  intended.  It  is, 
;is  ^[r.  Pitt  knows,  annihilation  that  the  ccmntry  wants,  and 
not  merely  a  splendid  victory  of  twenty-three  to  thirty-six. 
Numbers  only  can  annihilate." 

The  assumption  that  Bonaparte's  plan  would  be  such  as  he 
mentioned,  naturally  controlled  Nelson  in  tlic  dispositions  he 
ski?tched  for  the  local  defence  of  the  sliorc  lines.  The  inva- 
sion being  in  two  bodies,  the  defence  was  to  be  in  two  bodies 
also;  nor  is  there  any  suggestion  of  a  possibility  that  these 
two  might  be  united  against  one  of  the  enemy's.  The  whole 
scheme  is  dual ;  yet,  although  the  chance  of  either  division 
of  the  British  being  largely  inferior  to  the  enemy  opposed  to 
it  is  recognized,  the  adoption  of  a  central  position,  or  concentra- 
tion upon  either  of  the  enemy's  flotillas,  apparently  is  not 
contemplated.  Such  uncertainty  of  touch,  when  not  corrected 
l)y  training,  is  the  natural  characteristic  of  a  defence  essen- 
tially passive;  that  is,  of  a  defence  which  proposes  to  await 
the  approach  of  the  enemy  to  its  own  frontier,  be  tliat  land 
or  water.  Yet  it  scarcely  could  have  failed  soon  to  0(!cur  to 
men  of  Nelson's  and  St.  Vincent's  martial  capacities,  that  a 
different  disposition,  which  would  clearly  enable  them  to 
unite  and  intercept  either  one  of  the  enemy's  divisions,  must 
wreck  the  entire  project;  for  the  other  twenty  thousand  men 
alone  could  not  do  serious  or  lasting  injury.  The  mere  tak- 
ing a  position  favorable  to  such  concentration  would  be  an 
adequate  check.  The  trouble  for  them  undoubtedly  was  that 
Av])ich  overloads,  and  so  nullifies,  all  schemes  for  coast  defence 
resting  upon  popular  outcry,  Avhich  demands  outward  and 
visible  protection  for  every  point,  and  assurance  that  people 
at  war  shall  be  guarded,  not  only  against  broken  bones,  but 
against  even  scratches  of  the  skin. 

This  uneducated  and  weak  idea,   that   protection   is  only 


\i' 


oU\ 


TIIK   MFK  OF  NKLSOX 


;  li 


.adoqnato  wlicn  co-oxtonsivo  with  tlio  frontier  lino  tliroatenod, 
finds  its  natural  outconio  in  a  system  of  defence  by  very  small 
vessels,  in  [,'roat  numbers,  eapablo  of  minute  subdivision  and 
wide  dispersjil,  to  whicdi  an  ('(lual  tonnage  loeked  up  in  larger 
ships  cannofj  be  subjected.  Althouf,'h  St.  Vincent  was  at  tbe 
liead  of  the  Admiralty  wliich  in  1<S01  ordered  that  Nelson 
should  first  or<,'ani/.e  such  a  flotilla,  and  only  after  that  pro- 
ceed to  offensive  measures,  the  residts  of  his  experience  now 
were  to  form — or  at  the  least  to  confirm  in  him  —  the  con- 
clusion which  ho  enunciated,  and  to  which  he  persistently 
held,  during  the  later  truly  formidable  preparations  of  Na- 
poleon. **  Our  great  reliance  is  on  the  vigilance  and  activity 
of  our  cruisers  at  sea,  any  reduction  in  the  number  of  which, 
by  applying  them  to  guard  our  i)orts,  inlets,  and  beaches, 
would  in  my  judgment  tend  to  our  destruct'oii."  Very 
strangely,  so  far  as  the  author's  opinion  gxes,  Nelson  after- 
wards expressed  an  apparently  contrary  vie.v,  and  sustained 
Mr.  ]^itt  in  his  attack  upon  St.  Vincent's  administration  on 
this  very  point ;  an  attack,  in  its  tendency  and  in  the  moment 
chosen,  among  the  most  dangerous  to  his  country  ever  at- 
tempted by  a  great  and  sagacious  statesman.  Nelson,  how- 
ever, writing  in  May,  1804,  says :  *'  I  had  wrote  a  memoir, 
many  months  ago,  upon  the  propriety  of  a  flotilla.  I  had  that 
command  at  the  end  of  the  last  war,  and  I  know  the  necessity 
of  it,  even  had  you,  and  which  yon  ought  to  have,  thirty  or 
forty  sail  of  the  line  in  the  Downs  and  North  Sea,  besides 
frigates  &c.  ;  but  having  failed  so  entirely  in  submitHj.^  my 
mind  upon  three  points  I  was  disheartened."  This  INLemoir 
has  not  been  preserved,  but  it  will  be  noticed  that,  in  express- 
ing his  difference  from  St.  Vincent  in  the  words  quoted,  he 
assumes,  Avhat  did  not  at  any  time  exist,  thirty  or  forty  sail- 
of-the-line  for  the  North  Sea  and  the  Downs.  St.  Vincent's 
stand  was  taken  on  the  position  that  the  flotilla  could  not  be 
manned  without  diminishing  the  cruisers  in  commission,  which 
were  far  short  of  the  ideal  number  named  by  Nelson.  It  may 
be  believed,  or  at  least  hoped,  that  if  forced  to  choose  between 
the  two,  as  St.  Vincent  was,  his  choice  would  have  been  that 
of  the  great  Earl.  It  seems  clear,  however,  that  in  1804  ho 
believed  it  possible  that  the  Army  of  Invasion  vmjht  get  as 
far  as  the  shores  of  England  —  a  question  which  has  been 


! 


HIS   MILITAUY  CONCKITIONS 


517 


iii..jh  argued.  *'  I  am  very  uneasy,"  lio  then  wrote  to  Lady 
Ifaniilton,  "at  your  and  lloratia  being  on  the  coast:  for  you 
cannot  move,  it'  tlie  Freneh  make  the  atti'mpt." 

Whatever  weight  may  bo  attributed  to  this  criticism  on 
Xelson's  liastily  sketched  scheme,  there  can  scarcely  bo  any 
discord  in  the  note  of  admiration  for  the  tiro  that  begins  to 
i^low,  tlio  instant  he  in  thought  draws  near  the  enemy.  Tliere, 
iussuriHlly,  is  no  uncertain  sound.  Tliey  must  bo  met  as  soon 
as  possible;  if  not  strong  enough  to  attack,  they  must  be 
watched,  and  company  kept,  till  a  favorable  o])p()rtunity  offers. 
If  none  occur  till  they  draw  near  tho  beach,  then,  "  Whatever 
plans  may  bo  'adopted,  the  moment  they  touch  our  coast,  bo 
it  where  it  may,  they  are  to  bo  attacked  by  every  num  alioat 
and  on  shore  :  this  nnist  bo  perfectly  understood.  I^Iever  fear 
the  event."  The  resolution  shown  by  such  words  is  not  born 
of  carelessness  ;  and  the  num  who  api)roaches  his  work  in 
tluir  spirit  will  wring  success  out  of  many  mistakes  of  cal- 
culation —  unless  indeed  ho  stumble  on  an  enemy  of  equal 
determination.  The  insistence  ui)on  keeping  tho  enemy  under 
observation,  "  keepini;'  company  "  with  them,  however  superior 
ill  numbers,  may  al  o  be  protitably  noted.  This  inspired  his 
whole  ])urpose,  four  years  later,  in  the  pursuit  of  the  French 
to  the  West  Indies  —  if  the  odds  are  too  great  for  immediate 
attack,  "  We  won't  part  without  a  battle."  It  was  tho  failure 
to  hold  the  same  principle  of  action,  applicable  to  such  diverse 
cases,  that  ruined  Calder  in  the  same  campaign. 

With  the  general  views  that  have  been  outlined.  Nelson 
hastened  to  his  task.  His  commission  for  the  new  service 
was  dated  July  24,  three  weeks  after  his  return  from  the 
iJaltic.  On  the  2otli  he  presented  the  memorandum  of  oper- 
ations which  has  been  discussed,  on  the  26th  the  Admiralty 
issued  their  instructions,  and  on  the  27th  he  hoisted  his  tlag 
upon  the  ''Unite"  frigate  at  Sheerness.  "I  shall  go  on 
hoard  this  day,"  he  said,  "in  order  to  show  we  must  all  get 
to  our  posts  as  speedily  as  possible."  His  orders,  after  men- 
tioning the  general  reason  for  creating  the  "  Squadron  on  a 
Particular  Service,"  as  his  command  was  officially  styled, 
designated  the  limits  of  his  charge,  coastw^ise,  as  from  Orford- 
ness,  on  the  Suffolk  shore,  round  to  Beachy  Head,  on  the 
Channel.     On  the  enemy's  side  of  the  water,  it  extended  from 


\\    'd 


.r 


1 


'\^ 


v>      If 


i^ 


'I* 


•ill 


'L 


518 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


end  to  end  of  the  line  of  ports  from  which  the  especial  danger 
of  an  invasion  by  troops  might  be  supposed  to  issue  —  from 
Dieppe  to  Ostend;  but  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt  was  im- 
p.lcitly  included. 

The  district  thus  assigned  to  him  was  taken  out  of  the 
commands  hitherto  held  by  some  very  reputable  admirals, 
senior  to  himself,  who  otherwise  retained  their  previous 
c'larges,  surrounding  and  touching  his  own;  while  at  the 
Scheldt  he  trenched  closely  upon  the  province  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief in  the  North  Sea.  Such  circumstances  are 
f'xtr'imely  liable  to  cause  friction  and  bad  blood,  and  St.  Vin- 
cent, ^vho  with  all  his  despotism  was  keenly  alive  to  the  just 
susceptibilities  of  meritorious  officers,  was  very  careful  to 
explain  to  them  that  he  had  with  the  greatest  reluctance 
yielded  to  the  necessity  of  combining  the  preparations  for 
defence  under  a  single  flag-officer,  who  should  have  no  other 
care.  The  innate  tact,  courtesy,  and  thoughtful  consideration 
which  distinguished  Nelson,  when  in  normal  conditions,  re- 
moved all  other  misunderstandings.  "The  cielicacy  you  hi:.ve 
always  shown  to  senior  officers,"  wrote  St.  Vincent  to  him, 
"  ip  a  sure  presage  of  your  avoiding  by  every  means  in  your 
power  to  give  umbrage  to  Admiral  Dickson,  who  seems  dis- 
posed to  judge  favourably  of  the  intentions  of  us  all :  it  is,  in 
trutli,  the  most  difficult  card  we  have  to  play."  "  Happy 
should  I  be,"  he  said  at  another  time,  "to  place  the  whole 
of  our  offensive  and  defensive  war  under  your  auspices,  but 
you  are  well  aware  of  the  difficulties  on  that  head."  From 
first  to  last  tliore  is  no  trace  of  a  serious  jar,  and  Nelson's 
instructions  to  his  subordinates  were  such  as  to  obviate  the 
probability  of  any.  "  I  feel  myself,  my  dear  Lord,"  he  w^ote 
St.  Vincent,  relative  to  a  projected  undertaking  on  the  Dutch 
coast,  "as  anxious  to  get  a  medal,  or  a  step  in  the  peerage 
as  if  I  had  never  got  either.  If  I  succeeded,  and  burnt  the 
Dutch  fleet,  probably  medals  and  an  earldom.  I  must  have 
had  every  desire  to  try  the  matter,  regardless  of  the  feelings 
of  others ;  but  I  should  not  have  been  your  Nelson,  that 
wants  not  to  take  honours  or  rewards  from  any  man  ;  and  if 
ever  I  feel  great,  it  is,  my  dear  Lord,  in  never  having,  in 
thought,  word,  or  cJeed,  robbed  any  man  of  his  fair  fame." 

He  was  accompanied  from  London  by  a  young  commander, 


itaiices  are 


HIS  TACT  AND  ACTIVITY 


51& 


Edward  Parker,  who  seems  first  to  have  become  known  to 
him  in  the  Baltic,  and  who  now  acted  as  an  additional  aide. 
The  latter  was  filled  with  the  admiration,  felt  by  most  of 
those  thrown  into  contact  with  .Nelson,  for  the  rapidity  with 
which  he  transacted  business,  and  set  all  about  him  in  move- 
ment. "  He  is  the  cleverest  and  quickest  man,  and  the  most 
zealous  in  the  world.  In  the  short  time  we  were  in  Sheer- 
ness,  he  regulated  :.iju  gave  orders  for  thirty  of  the  ships 
under  his  command,  made  every  one  pleased,  tilled  them  with 
emulation,  and  set  them  all  on  the  qui  vlve."  In  forty-eight 
hoars  he  was  off  again  for  the  Downs,  by  land,  having  to 
make  some  inquiries  on  the  way  as  to  the  organization,  and 
readiness  to  serve,  of  the  Sea  Fencibles,  a  large  body  of 
naval  reserves,  who  were  exempt  from  impressment  upon  the 
understanding  that  they  would  come  forward  for  coast  defence, 
in  case  of  threatened  invasion.  Concerning  their  dispositions 
he  received  fairly  flattering  assurances,  which  in  the  event 
were  not  realized.  If  the  men  were  ".ertified  that  they  would 
not  be  detained  after  the  danger  was  over,  it  was  said,  they 
certainly  would  go  on  boaid.  " This  service,  my  dear  Lord," 
he  wrote  to  St.  Vincent,  "  above  all  others,  would  be  terrible 
for  me :  to  get  up  and  harangue  like  a  recruiting  sergeant ; 
but  as  I  am  come  forth,  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  do  this  disagree- 
able service  as  well  as  any  other,  if  judged  necessary." 

Three  days  more,  and  he  was  off  Boulogne  in  a  frigate  with 
some  bomb-vessels.  The  Freiu'h  admiral,  Latouche  Treville, 
had  moored  in  front  of  the  pier  a  line  of  gun-vessels,  twenty- 
four  in  number,  fastened  together  from  end  to  end.  At  these, 
and  at  the  shipping  in  the  small  port,  some  bombs  were 
thrown.  Not  much  injury  was  done  on  either  side.  Tre- 
vented  by  an  easterly  wind  from  going  on  to  Flushing,  as  he 
had  intended,  Nelson  returned  to  Margate  on  the  6th  of 
August,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Fencibles,  assuring  them 
that  the  French  undoubtedly  intended  an  invasion,  that  their 
services  were  absolutely  required  at  once  on  board  the  defence- 
ships,  and  that  they  could  rely  upon  being  returned  to  their 
homes  as  soon  as  the  danger  was  over.  Out  of  twenty-six 
hundred,  only  three  hundred  and  eighty-five  volunteered  to 
this  urgent  call.  "They  r.re  no  I'lore  willing  to  give  up  their 
occupations  than  their  superiors,"'  wrote  Nelson,  with  charac- 


I . .  I 


u 


-      V  I 

|l 

! 

i 

^p 

:^P 

■        1 
■l   \ 
■  ;'{  :l 
■|(; 

t';  ' 
•   1 

! 

t  I 


im 


. 


520 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


j(       I 


teristically  shrewd  insight  into  a  frame  of  mind  wholly  alien 
to  his  own  self-sacriticing  love  of  Country  and  of  glory. 

Hurrying  from  station  to  station,  on  the  shores,  and  in  the 
channels  of  the  Thames,  he  was  on  the  12th  of  August  back  at 
Margate,  evidently  disappointed  in  the  prospects  for  coast- 
defence,  and  more  and  more  inclining  to  the  deep-sea  cruising, 
and  to  action  on  the  enemy's  coast,  recommended  by  the  Ad- 
miralty, and  consonant  to  his  own  temper,  always  disdainful 
of  mere  defensive  measures.  "  Our  active  force  is  perfect," 
he  wrote  to  St.  Vincent,  "  and  possesses  so  much  zeal  that  I 
only  want  to  catch  that  Buonaparte  on  the  water."  He  has 
satisfied  himself  that  the  French  preparations  were  greatly 
exaggerated  ;  Boulogne  in  fact  could  not  harbor  the  needed 
vessels,  unless  enlarged,  as  afterwards  by  Napoleon.  "  Where 
is  our  invasion  to  come  from  ?  The  time  is  gone."  Never- 
theless, he  favors  an  attack  of  some  sort,  suggests  an  expedi- 
tion against  Flushing,  with  five  thousand  troops,  and  proposes 
a  consultation.  St.  Vincent  replied  that  he  did  not  believe  in 
consultations,  and  had  always  avoided  them.  "  I  disapprove 
of  unnecessary  consultations  as  much  as  any  man,"  retorted 
Nelson,  *'  yet  being  close  to  the  Admiralty,  I  should  not  feel 
myself  justified  in  risking  our  ships  through  the  channels  of 
Flushing  without  buoys  and  pilots,  without  a  consultation 
with  such  men  as  your  Lordship,  and  also  I  believe  you  would 
think  an  order  absolutely  necessary."  "  Lord  St.  Vincent  tells 
me  he  hates  councils,"  he  writes  rather  sorely  to  Addington. 
"  So  do  I  between  military  men ;  for  if  a  man  consults 
whether  he  is  to  fight,  when  he  has  the  power  in  his  own  hands, 
it  is  certain  that  his  opinion  is  a yainst  fighting ,  but  that  is  not 
the  case  at  present,  and  I  own  I  do  want  good  council. 
Lord  St.  Vincent  is  for  keeping  the  enomy  closely  blockaded ; 
but  I  see  they  get  alongshore  inside  their  sand  banks,  and 
under  their  guns,  which  line  the  coast  of  France.  Lord  Hood 
is  for  keeping  our  squadrons  of  defence  stationary  on  our  own 
shore  (except  light  cutters  to  give  information  of  every  move- 
ment of  the  enemy).  .  .  .  When  men  of  such  good  sense,  such 
great  sea-ofticeri>,  differ  so  widely,  is  it  not  natural  that  I 
shoiUd  wish  the  mode  of  defence  to  be  well  arranged  by  the 
mature  consideration  of  men  of  judgment?" 

Meanwhile  he  had  again  gone  off  Boulogne,  and  directed 


J'# 


j 


BOAT  ATTACK  OFF  BOULOGNE 


521 


an  attack  in  boats  upon  the  line  of  vessels  moored  outside. 
He  took  great  care  in  the  arrangements  for  this  hazardoi:s 
expedition,  giving  personal  supervision  to  all  details.  "  As 
you  may  believe,  my  dear  Emma,"  he  wrote  to  her  who  had 
his  closest  confidence,  "  my  mind  feels  at  what  is  going  for- 
ward this  night ;  it  is  one  thing  to  order  and  arrange  an 
attack,  and  another  to  execute  it;  but  I  assure  you  I  have 
taken  much  more  precaution  for  others,  than  if  I  was  to  go 
myself — then  my  mind  would  bo  perfectly  at  ease."  He 
professed,  and  probably  felt,  entire  confidence  in  the  result. 
Fifty-seven  boats  were  detailed  for  the  attack.  They  were 
in  four  divisions,  each  under  a  commander ;  Edward  Parker 
having  one.  Each  division  was  to  advance  in  two  columns, 
the  boats  of  which  were  secured  one  to  another  by  tow-ropes ; 
a  precaution  invaluable  to  keep  them  together,  though  render- 
ing progress  slower.  The  points  in  the  enemy's  line  which 
each  division  was  to  make  for  were  clearly  specified,  and 
special  boats  told  off  and  fitted  to  tow  out  any  vessels  that 
were  captured.  Simultaneous  with  this  onslaught,  a  division 
of  howitzer  flat-boats  was  to  throw  shot  into  the  port. 

At  half-past  eleven  on  the  night  of  August  15th,  the  boats, 
which  had  assembled  alongside  the  flag-frigate  "Medusa," 
shoved  off  together ;  but  the  distance  which  they  had  to  pull, 
with  the  strong,  uncertain  currents,  separated  them;  and,  as 
so  often  happens  in  concerted  movements^  attacks  intended 
to  be  simultaneous  were  made  disconnectedly,  while  the  French 
were  fully  prepared.  The  first  division  of  the  British  arrived 
at  half-past  twelve,  and  after  a  desperate  struggle  was  beaten 
off.  Commander  Parker  being  mortally  wounded.  Two  other 
divisions  came  up  later,  while  the  fourth  lost  its  way  alto- 
gether. The  affair  was  an  entire  failure,  except  so  far  as  to 
show  that  the  enemy  would  be  met  on  their  own  shores, 
'•ather  than  on  those  of  Great  Britain.  The  British  loss  was 
^)rty-four  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  wounded. 

Kelson  returned  to  the  Downs,  bitterly  grieved,  but  not 
greatly  discouraged.  The  mishap,  he  said,  was  due  to  the 
boats  not  arriving  at  the  same  moment ;  and  that,  he  knew, 
was  caused  by  conditions  of  currents,  which  would  ever  pre- 
vent the  dull  flat-boats  of  the  enemy  moving  in  a  concert  that 
the  cutters  of  ships  of  war  had  not  attained.     "  The  craft 


i  'U 


^  m 


i  IV 


;^\ 


i   II 


ni 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


u 


I,  t 


i  I 


which  I  have  seen,"  he  wrote,  "  I  do  not  think  it  possible  to 
row  to  England ;  and  sail  they  cannot."  As  yet,  however,  he 
had  not  visited  Flushing,  and  he  felt  it  necessary  to  satisfy 
himself  on  that  point.  On  the  24th  of  August,  tuking  some 
pilots  with  liim,  he  went  across  and  inspected  the  ground, 
where  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  British  observing  squadron 
was  confident  something  might  be  eiicctcd.  Nelson,  however, 
decided  otherwise.  "  I  cannot  but  admire  Captain  Owen's 
zeal  in  his  anxious  desire  to  get  at  the  enemy,  but  I  am  afraid 
it  lias  made  him  overleap  sand-banks  and  tides,  and  laid  him 
aboard  the  enemy.  I  could  join  most  heartily  in  his  desire ; 
but  we  cannot  do  impossibilities,  and  I  am  as  little  used  to 
find  out  the  impossibles  as  most  folks ;  and  I  think  I  can 
discriminate  between  the  impracticable  and  the  ^air  prospect 
of  success."  By  the  27th  of  August  he  had  returned  to  the 
Downs,  where,  with  a  brief  and  unimportant  intermission,  he 
remained  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities  with  France  in 
October. 

Satisfied  that  invasion  was,  for  that  year  at  least,  an  empty 
menace,  Nelson  fell  again  into  the  tone  of  angry  and  fretful 
complaint  which  was  so  conspicuous  in  the  last  weeks  of  his 
stay  in  the  Baltic.  To  borrow  the  words  of  a  French  admirer, 
"  He  filled  the  Admiralty  with  his  caprices  and  Europe  with 
his  fame."  Almost  from  his  first  contact  with  this  duty,  it 
had  been  distasteful  to  him.  "  There  is  nothing  to  be  done 
on  the  great  scale,"  he  said.  "I  own,  my  dear  Lord,"  he  told 
St.  Vincent,  "that  this  boat  warfare  is  not  exactly  congenial 
to  my  feelings,  and  I  find  I  get  laughed  at  for  my  j)uny  mode 
of  attack."  As  usual,  he  threw  himself  with  all  his  might 
into  what  he  had  to  do,  but  the  inward  friction  remained. 
"  Whilst  I  serve,  I  will  do  it  actively,  and  to  the  very  best  of 
my  abilities.  I  have  all  nig^lit  had  a  fever,  which  is  very 
little  abated  this  morning;  my  mind  carries  me  beyond  my 
strength,  and  will  do  me  up  ;  but  such  is  my  nature.  I  require 
nursing  like  a  child." 

That  he  was  far  from  well  is  as  unquestionable  as  that  his 
distemper  proceeded  largely  from  his  mind,  if  it  did  not 
originate  there.  "  Our  separation  is  terrible,"  he  writes  to 
Lady  Hamilton ;  "  my  heart  is  ready  to  flow  out  of  my  eyes. 
I  am  not  unwell,  but  I  am  very  low.     I  can  only  account  for 


JEALOUSY  OF  TUOUBRIDGE 


523 


it  by  my  absence  from  all  I  hold  dear  in  this  world."  From 
the  first  he  had  told  St.  Vincent  that  he  could  not  stay  longer 
than  September  14th,  that  it  was  beyond  his  strength  to  stand 
the  e(iuinoctial  weather.  The  veteran  seaman  showed  towards 
him  the  same  delicate  consideration  that  he  always  had,  using 
the  flattering  urgency  which  Nelson  himsolf  knew  so  well 
liow  to  employ,  in  eliciting  the  hearty  co-operation  of  others. 
"The  public  mind  is  so  much  tranquillised  by  your  being  at 
your  post,  it  is  extremely  desirable  that  you  should  continue 
there :  in  this  opinion  all  His  Majesty's  servants,  with  Sir 
Thomas  Troubridge,  agree.  Let  me  entreat- your  Lordship  to 
persevere  in  the  measures  you  are  so  advantageously  em 
ployed  in,  and  give  up,  at  least  for  the  present,  your  inten- 
tion of  returning  to  town,  which  would  have  the  worst 
possible  effect  at  this  critical  juncture.  The  dispositions  you 
liave  made,  and  are  making,  appear  to  us  all  as  the  most 
judicious  possible."  "  I  hope  you  will  not  n  linquish  your 
situation  at  a  moment  when  the  services  of  every  man  are 
called  for  by  the  circumstances  the  Country  is  placed  in.  so 
imperiously  that,  upon  reflection,  I  persuade  myself  you  will 
think  as  I,  and  every  friend  you  have,  do  on  this  subject." 
Nelson  admitted,  in  a  calmer  moment,  that  "altho'igh  my 
whole  soul  is  devoted  to  get  rid  of  this  command,  yet  I  do 
not  blame  the  Earl  for  wishing  to  keep  me  here  a  little 
longer."  "  Pray  take  care  of  your  health,"  the  latter  says 
again,  "  than  which  nothing  is  of  so  much  consequence  to  the 
Country  at  large,  more  particularly  so  to  your  very  affectionate 
St.  Vincent."  "  Your  health  is  so  precious  at  all  times,  more 
particularly  so  at  this  crisis." 

St.  Vincent  tried  in  vain  to  conjure  with  the  once  beloved 
name  of  Troubridge,  whom  Nelson  used  to  style  the  "Non- 
pareil," whose  merits  he  had  been  never  weary  of  extolling, 
and  whose  cause  he  had  pleaded  so  vehemently,  when  the 
accident  of  his  ship's  grounding  deprived  him  of  his  share  in 
the  Battle  of  the  Nile.  From  the  moment  that  he  was  chosen 
bv  St.  Vincent,  who  called  him  the  ablest  adviser  and  best 
executive  officer  in  the  British  Navy,  to  assist  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Admiralty,  Nelson  began  to  view  him  jealously. 
"  Our  friend  Troubridge  is  to  be  a  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  and 
I  have  a  sharp  eye,  and  almost  think  I  see  it.    No,  poor 


;  i   M 


fV 


ti  { 


624 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


I     if, 


fellow,  I  hope  I  do  him  injustice ;  ho  cannot  surely  forget  my 
kindness  to  him."  Kut  when  the  single  eye  has  become 
double,  suspicion  thrives,  and  when  tortured  by  his  desire  to 
return  to  Lady  Hamilton,  Nelson  saw  in  every  obstacle  and 
every  delay  the  secret  hand  of  Troubridge.  "  I  believe  it  is 
all  the  plan  of  Troubridge,"  ho  wrote  in  one  such  instance, 
"but  I  have  wrote  both  him  and  the  Earl  my  mind."  To 
8t.  Vincent,  habit  and  professional  admiration  enabled  him 
to  submit,  if  grudgingly,  and  with  constant  complaints  to 
his  confidante  ;  but  Troubridge,  though  now  one  of  the  lioard 
that  issued  his  orders,  was  his  inferior  in  grade,  and  h'*  re- 
sented the  imagined  condition  of  being  baffled  in  his  wishes 
by  a  junior.  The  latter,  quick-tempered  and  rough  of  speech, 
but  true  as  his  sword,  to  use  St.  Vincent's  simile,  .luist  have 
found  himself  put  to  it  to  uphold  the  respect  due  to  his 
present  position,  without  wronging  the  affection  and  rever- 
ence which  he  undoubtedly  felt  for  his  old  comrade,  and 
which  in  the  past  he  had  shown  by  the  moral  courage  that 
even  ventured  to  utter  a  remonstrance,  against  the  infatuation 
that  threatened  to  stain  his  professional  honor. 

Such  straining  of  personal  relations  constantly  accompanies 
accession  i;o  office;  many  are  the  friendships,  i*"  they  can  bo 
called  such,  which  cannot  endure  the  experiezivie  that  official 
action  may  not  always  be  controlled  by  them.  If  such  is  to  be 
noted  in  Nelson,  it  is  because  he  was  no  exception  to  the  com- 
mon rule,  and  it  is  sad  that  a  man  so  great  should  not  in  this 
have  been  greater  than  he  was.  St.  Vincent  felt  it  necessary 
to  tell  him,  with  reference  to  the  difficulty  of  granting  some 
requests  for  promotion,  "  Encompassed  as  I  am  by  applications 
and  presumptuous  claims,  I  have  nothing  fr>r  it  but  to  act  upon 
the  defensive,  as  your  Lordship  will  be  compelled  to  do,  when- 
ever you  are  placed  in  the  situation  I  at  present  fill."  This 
Nelson  contents  himself  with  quoting;  but  of  Troubridge  he 
says :  "  Troubridge  has  so  completely  prevented  my  mention- 
ing any  body's  service,  that  I  am  become  a  cypher,  and  he  hus 
gained  a  victory  over  Nelson's  spirit.  Captain  Somerville  has 
been  begging  me  to  intercede  with  the  Admiralty  again  ;  but 
I  have  been  so  rebuffed,  that  my  spirits  are  gone,  and  the 
great  Troubridge  has  what  we  call  cowed  the  spirits  of  Nel- 
son ;  but  I  shall  never  forget  it.     He  told  me  if  I  asked  any- 


RENEWED  DEPKESSION  OF  MIND 


525 


thing  more  that  I  should  get  nothing.  No  wonder  I  airx  not 
well." 

The  refusal  of  the  Admiralty  to  give  him  leave  to  come  to 
London,  though  founded  on  alleged  mo  ives  of  state,  he  thinks 
absurd.  "  They  are  beasts  for  their  pai'is,"  he  says  ;  "  it  was 
only  depriving  me  of  one  day's  comfort  and  hai)piness,  for 
which  they  have  my  hearty  prayers."  His  spleen  breaks  out 
in  oddly  comical  ways.  "  I  have  a  letter  from  Troubridge, 
recommending  me  to  wear  flannel  shirts.  Does  he  care  for 
me  ?  No;  but  never  mind."  "  Troubridge  writes  me,  ihat  as 
the  weather  is  set  in  fine  again,  he  hopes  I  shall  get  walks  on 
shore.  He  is,  I  suppose,  laughing  at  me;  but,  ne^sr  mind." 
I'etulant  words,  such  as  quoted,  and  others  much  more  harsh, 
used  to  an  intimate  friend,  are  of  course  to  be  allowed  for  as 
indicating  mental  exasperation  and  the  excitement  of  baffled 
longings,  rather  than  expressing  permanent  feeling;  but  still 
they  illustrate  mental  conditions  more  faithfully  than  do  the 
guarded  utterances  of  formal  correspondence.  Friendship 
rarely  regains  the  ground  lost  in  them.  The  situation  did 
undoubtedly  become  exasperating  towards  the  end,  for  no 
one  pretended  that  any  active  service  could  be  expected,  or 
thot  his  function  was  other  than  that  of  a  signal  displayed, 
indicating  that  Great  Britain,  though  negotiating  for  peace, 
was  yet  on  her  guard.  Lying  in  an  open  roadstead,  with  a 
heavy  surf  pouring  in  on  the  beach  many  days  of  the  week, 
a  man  with  one  arm  and  one  eye  could  not  easily  or  safely 
get  back  and  forth ;  and,  being  in  a  small  frigate  pitching  and 
tugging  at  her  anchors,  he  was  constantly  seasick,  so  much 
so  "  that  I  cannot  hold  up  my  head,"  ainii^ted  with  cold  and 
toothache,  —  "  but  none  of  them  cares  a  d — n  for  me  and 
my  sufferings." 

In  September  the  Hamiltons  came  to  Deal,  off  which  the 
ship  was  lying,  and  remained  for  a  fortnight,  during  which 
he  was  happy ;  but  the  reaction  was  all  the  more  severe  when 
they  returned  to  town  on  the  20th.  "  I  came  on  board,  but 
no  Emma.  No,  no,  my  heart  will  break.  I  am  in  silent  dis- 
traction. .  .  .  My  dearest  wife,  how  can  I  bear  our  separation  ? 
Good  God,  what  a  change !  I  am  so  low  that  I  cannot  hold 
up  my  head."  His  depression  was  increased  by  the  condi- 
tion of  Parker,  the  young  commander,  who  had  been  wounded 


•  t/1 


I'u;  if 


!l 


1^ 


II  I 


ft 


THE  Li^E  OF  NELSON 


off  Boulogne,  and  had  since  then  hovered  between  life  and 
death.  The  thigh  had  been  shattered  too  far  up  for  amputa- 
tion, and  the  orly  faint  hope  had  been  that  the  bones  might 
reunite.  The  day  that  the  Hamiltons  left,  the  great  artery 
burst,  and,  after  a  brief  deceitful  rally,  he  died  on  the  27th  of 
September.  Nelso.-),  who  was  tenderly  attached  to  him,  fol- 
lowed him  to  the  grave  with  emotion  so  deep  as  to  be  noticeable 
to  the  bystanders.  "  Thank  God,"  he  wrote  that  afternoon, 
"  the  dreadful  scene  is  past.  I  scarcely  know  how  I  got  over 
it.  I  could  not  suffer  much  more  and  be  alive."  "I  own,"  he 
had  written  to  St.  Vincent  immediately  after  the  repulse,  "I 
shall  never  bring  myself  again  to  allow  any  attack  to  go  for- 
ward, where  I  im  not  personally  concerned ;  my  mind  suffers 
much  more  than  if  I  h^.d  a  leg  shot  off  in  this  late  business." 
The  Admiralty  refusing  any  allowances,  much  of  the 
expense  of  Parker's  illness  and  or  his  funeral  fell  upon  Is  el- 
son,  who  assumed  all  his  debts.  It  was  but  one  instance 
among  many  o?.  a  liberality  in  mone}'  matters,  which  kept  him 
constantly  embarrassed.  To  the  surgeon  who  had  attended 
the  wounded,  and  to  the  captain  of  thci  "Medusa,"  a  much 
ric'  '>r  man  than  he  was,  but  who  had.  shown  him  kindness,  he 
gave  handsome  remembrances  of  the  favors  which  he  was 
plensed  to  consider  done  to  himself  personally.  In  a  like 
spirit  he  wrote  some  months  afterwards,  concerning  a  proposed 
monument  to  Captain  Ralph  Willett  Miller,  who  had  fought 
under  his  flag.  "  I  much  doubt  if  all  the  admirals  and  cap- 
tains will  subscribe  to  poor  dear  Miller's  monument;  but  1 
have  told  Davison,  that  whatever  is  wanted  to  make  up  the 
sum,  I  shall  pay.  I  thought  of  Lord  SI.  Vincent  and  myself 
paying  £50  each  ;  some  other  admirals  may  give  something, 
and  I  thought  about  £12  each  for  the  captains  who  had  served 
with  him  in  the  actions  off  Cape  St.  Vincent  and  the  Nile. 
The  spirit  of  liberality  seems  declining;  but  when  I  forget 
an  old  and  dear  friend,  may  I  cease  to  bo  your  affectionato 
Nelson  and  Bronte."  Yet  at  Miis  period  he  f^lt  it  advisable 
to  sell  the  diamonds  from  the  presents  given  him  by  foreign 
sovereigns.  He  was  during  Uiese  weeks  particularly  p-^essed, 
because  in  treaty  for  a  house  which  he  bought  at  Merlon  in 
Surrey,  rnd  for  which  he  had  difficulty  in  raising  funds.  In 
this  his  friend  Davison  helped  him  by  a  generous  and  un- 


!  i 


PEACE   WITH   FRANCE,   1801 


527 


limited  offer  of  a  loan.  "  The  Baltic  expedition,"  wrote  Nel- 
son in  his  letter  of  thanks,  "cost  me  full  A! 2,000.  Since  I 
left  London  it  has  cost  me,  for  Nelson  cannot  be  like  others, 
near  £1,000  in  six  weeks.  If  I  am  continued  here,  ruin  to 
my  finances  must  be  the  consequence." 

On  the  1st  of  October  the  Preliminaries  of  Peace  with 
France  were  signed,  and  on  the  9th  news  of  their  ratification 
reached  Nelson  on  board  his  ship.  "Thank  God!  it  is  peace," 
he  exclaimed.  Yet,  while  delighted  beyond  measure  at  the 
prospect  of  release  from  his  present  duties,  and  in  general 
for  the  repose  he  now  expected,  he  was  most  impatient  at  the 
exuberant  demonstrations  of  the  London  populace,  and  of 
some  military  and  naval  men.  "  Let  the  rejoicings  be  proper 
to  our  several  stations  —  the  manufacturer,  because  he  will 
have  more  markets  for  his  gocds,  —  but  seamen  and  soldiers 
ought  to  say,  *  Well,  as  it  is  peace,  we  lay  down  our  arms ; 
and  are  ready  again  to  take  them  up,  if  the  French  are 
insolent.'  There  is  no  person  in  the  world  rejoices  mo'-e  in 
the  peace  than  I  do,  but  I   would  burst  sooner  than    et  a 

d d  Frencnii^an  know  it.    We  have  made  peace  with  the 

French  despotism,  and  we  will,  I  hope,  adhere  to  it  whilst  the 
French  continue  in  due  bounds  ;  but  whenever  they  overstep 
that,  and  usurp  a  power  which  would  degrade  Europe,  then  I 
trust  we  shall  join  Europe  in  crushing  her  ambition;  then  I 
would  with  pleasure  go  forth  and  risk  my  life  for  to  pull 
down  the  overgrown  detestable  power  of  France."  When  the 
mob  in  London  dragged  the  carriage  of  the  French  ambassa- 
dor, his  wrath  quite  boiled  over.  "Caa  you  cure  madness?" 
he  wrote  to  his  physician ;  "  for  I  am  mad  to  read  that  our 

d d  scoundrels  dragged  a  Frenchman's  carriage.     I  am 

ashamed  for  our  Country."  "  I  hope  never  more  to  be  dragged 
by  such  a  degenerate  set  of  people,"  he  tells  Lady  Hamilton. 
"  Would  our  ancestors  have  done  it  ?  So,  the  villains  would 
have  drawn  Buonaparte  if  he  had  been  able  to  get  to  London 
to  cut  off  the  King's  head,  and  yet  all  our  Royal  Family  will 
employ  Frenchmen.  Thanks  to  the  navy,  they  could  not." 
Nelson's  soul  was  disturbed  without  cause.  Under  the 
ephemeral  efxervescence  of  a  crowd  lay  a  purpose  as  set  as  his 
own,  and  of  which  his  present  emotions  were  a  dim  and 
unconscious  prophecy. 


p 

1    ^    Jf 

•i    ^5 

' 

1 

i 

S28 


THE   LIBT.  OF  NELSON 


On  the  15th  of  October  he  received  official  notification  for 
the  cessation  of  hostilities  with  the  Frencli  llepublic,  the  pre- 
cise date  rt  which  they  were  to  be  considered  formally  at  an 
end  having  been  fixed  at  the  22d  of  the  month.  The  Admi- 
ralty declined  to  allow  him  to  leave  his  station  until  that  day 
ai-.ved.  Then  he  had  their  permission  to  take  leave  of 
absence,  but  not  to  haul  down  his  fiag.  "  I  heartily  hope  a 
little  rest  will  soon  set  you  up,"  wrote  St.  Vincent,  "  but  until 
the  definitive  treaty  is  signed,  your  Lordship  must  continue  in 
pay,  although  we  may  not  have  occasion  to  require  your  per- 
sonal services  at  the  head  of  the  squadron  under  your  orders." 
In  accordance  with  this  decision.  Nelson's  flag  continued  to 
fly  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  a  Squadron  of  ships  "  on  a  par- 
ticular service,"  throughout  the  anxious  period  of  doubt  and 
suspicion  which  preceded  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens, 
on  the  2of.h  of  March,  1802.  It  was  not  till  the  10th  of  the 
following  7\  pril  that  he  received  the  formal  orders,  to  strike 
his  flag  and  come  on  shore. 

On  the  22d  of  October,  1801,  he  left  the  flagship  and  set  off 
for  his  new  home  in  Surrey. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Uklkase    FiioM    AcrivK    Skkvick    uuHiNd    TMK    Pkack    ok    Amikns,  — 

IIOMK    LiFK  AT   MeKTON. —  TUULKJ   IncIOKNTS. 

October,  1801-May,  1803.     A(je,  43-44. 

DURING  tlie  brief  interval  between  his  return  from  the 
lialtic,  July  1,  1801,  and  his  taking  coniuiand  of  tlio 
Squadron  on  a  Particular  Service,  on  the  27th  of  the  same 
month,  Nelson  had  made  his  home  in  England  witli  the  Ham- 
iltons,  to  whose  house  in  Piccadilly  he  went  immediately  upou 
his  arrival  in  London.  Whatever  doubt  may  have  remained 
in  his  wife's  mind,  as  to  the  finality  of  their  parting  in  the 
previous  January,  or  whatever  trace  of  hesitation  may  then 
have  existed  in  his  own,  had  been  definitively  removed  by 
letters  during  his  absence.  To  her  he  wrote  on  the  4th  of 
March,  immediately  before  the  expedition  sailed  from  Yar- 
mouth :  "  Josiah  ^  is  to  have  another  ship  and  to  go  abroad,  if 
the  Thalia  cannot  soon  be  got  ready.  I  have  done  all  for  him, 
and  he  may  again,  as  he  has  often  done  before,  wish  me  to 
break  my  neck,  and  be  abetted  in  it  by  his  friends,  who  are 
likewise  my  enemies ;  but  I  have  done  my  duty  as  an  honest, 
generous  man,  and  I  neither  want  or  wish  for  anybody  to  care 
what  becomes  of  me,  whether  I  return,  or  am  left  in  the  Baltic. 
Living,  I  have  done  all  in  my  power  for  you,  and  if  dead,  you 
will  find  I  have  done  the  same  ;  therefoie  my  only  wish  is,  to 
be  left  to  myself :  and  wishing  you  e^'-ery  happiness,  believe 
that  I  am,  your  affectionate  Nelson  and  Bronte."  Upon  this 
letter  Lady  Nelson  endorsed:  "This  is  My  Lord  Nelson's 
Letter  of  dismissal,  which  so  as<"  -"^od  me  that  I  imme- 
diately sent  it  to  Mr.  Mauric"    ,.  .ison,'*  who  was  sincerely 

^  Josiah  Nisbet,  her  son. 

2  Nelson's  eldest  brother.  There  appear  to  have  been  two  copies  of  this 
letter  in  Nelson's  hand.  One,  of  which  the  latter  half  only  remains,  is  in  the 
British  Museum.  It  bears  the  endorsement  of  Lady  Nelson,  as  given.  The 
other  copy,  entire,  is  in  the  Alfred  Morrison  collection  —  Number  536.  Nel- 
son probably  sent  a  copy  to  Lady  Hamilton  to  satisfy  her  exigencies  that  the 

34 


I ,  if 


t^ 


in 


630 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


attached  to  me,  for  his  advice,  llo  desired  me  not  to  take  the 
least  notice  of  it,  as  his  brother  seemed  to  have  forgot  himself." 
A  separation  preceded  and  caused  by  such  circumstances  as 
this  was,  could  not  fail  to  bo  attended  with  bitterness  on  both 
sides;  yet  one  could  have  wished  to  see  in  a  letter  which  is 
believed,  and  probably  was  intended,  to  bo  the  last  ever  ad- 
dressed by  him  to  her,  some  recollection,  not  only  of  what  he 
himself  had  done  for  his  step-son,  but  that  once,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  "  the  boy  "  had  "  saved  liis  life ; "  and  that,  after 
all,  if  he  was  under  obligations  to  Nelson,  he  would  have  been 
more  tlian  youth,  liad  no  intemperance  of  expression  mingled 
with  the  resentment  he  felt  for  the  slights  offered  his  mother 
in  the  face  of  the  world.  With  Nelson's  natural  temperament 
and  previous  habits  of  thought,  however,  it  was  imperative, 
for  his  peace  of  mind,  to  justify  his  course  of  action  to  him- 
self; and  this  he  could  do  only  by  dwelling  upon  the  wrong 
done  him  by  those  who,  in  the  eyes  of  men  genei'ally,  seemed, 
and  must  still  seem,  the  wronged.  Of  what  passed  between 
himself  and  Lady  Nelson,  we  know  too  little  to  apportion  the 
blame  of  a  transaction  in  which  she  appears  chiefly  as  the  suf- 
ferer. Nisbct,  except  in  the  gallantry  and  coolness  shown  by 
liim  at  Teneriffe,  has  not  the  same  claim  to  consideration,  and 
his  career  had  undoubtedly  occasioned  great  and  legitimate 
anxiety  to  Nelson,  whose  urgency  with  St.  Vincent  was 
primarily  the  cause  of  a  premature  promotion,  which  spoiled 
the  future  of  an  officer,  otherwise  fairly  promising.^    If  the 

breach  was  final.     Tlic  two  correspond,  word  for  word,  —  as  far,  that  is,  as 
the  former  remains.     Maurice  Nelson  died  in  April,  1801. 

^  Nelson  several  times  spoke  of  Nisbct's  curly  promise.  The  author  is 
indebted  to  Mrs.  V.  II.  B.  Kecks,  Nisbet's  granddaughter,  for  a  copy  of  the 
following  letter  from  St.  Vincent  to  his  sister  Mrs.  Ricketts:  — 

London,  January  22, 1807. 
My  dkau  Sister,  —  Upon  reflexion  it  appears  best  to  send  you  tlie  only 
letters  I  can  find  relative  to  Captain  Nisbet,  and  to  authorize  you  to  assert  in 
my  name  that  Lord  Nelson  assured  mo  that  he  owed  his  life  to  the  resolution 
and  admirable  conduct  of  his  stepson,  when  wounded  at  Teneriffe,  and  that 
he  had  witnessed  many  instances  of  his  courage  and  enterprise. 

Yours  most  affectionately, 

St.  Vincent. 

This  letter  explains  how  St.  Vincent,  feeling  the  value  of  Nelson's  life  to 
the  country,  granted,  in  the  still  warm  memories  of  Teneriffe,  a  promotion 
which  must  have  been  sorely  against  his  judgment. 


FINAL  BREACH  WITH   HIS   WIFE 


531 


relations  between  the  two  liad  not  been  so  soon  strained  by 
Nelson's  attentions  to  Lady  Hamilton,  things  might  have 
turned  out  better,  tlirough  the  influence  of  one  who  rarely 
failed  to  make  the  most  of  those  under  his  command. 

The  annual  allowance  made  to  Lady  Nelson  by  her  husband, 
after  their  separation,  was  Jii  1,800;  which,  by  a  statement  he 
gave  to  the  Prime  Minister,  two  years  later,  when  asking  an 
increase  of  pension,  appears  to  have  been  about  half  of  his 
total  income.  On  the  23d  of  April,  1801,  when  daily  expecting 
to  leave  the  Baltic  for  England,  he  sent  her  a  message  through 
their  mutual  friend  Davison :  "  You  will,  at  a  proper  time,  and 
before  my  arrival  in  England,  signify  to  Lady  N.  that  I  expect, 
and  for  which  I  have  made  such  a  very  liberal  allowance  to 
her,  to  be  left  to  myself,  and  without  any  inquiries  from  her; 
for  sooner  than  live  the  unhappy  life  I  did  when  last  I  came 
to  England,  I  would  stay  abroad  for  ever.  My  mind  is  fixed 
as  fate :  therefore  you  will  send  my  determination  in  any  way 
you  may  judge  proper."  ^  To  Lady  Hamilton  he  wrote  about 
the  same  time,  assuring  her,  under  the  assumption  of  mystery 
with  which  he  sought  to  guard  their  relations  against  discovery 
through  the  postal  uncertainties  of  the  day,  that  he  had  no 
communication  with  his  wife  :  "  Thomson  '^  desires  me  to  say 
he  has  never  wrote  his  aunf  since  ho  sailed,  and  all  the 
parade  about  a  house  is  nonsense.  He  has  wrote  to  his  father, 
but  not  a  word  or  message  to  her.  He  does  not,  nor  cannot, 
care  about  her ;  he  believes  she  has  a  most  unfeeling  heart."  * 

His  stay  with  the  Hamiltons  in  Piccadilly,  though  broken 
by  several  trips  to  the  country,  convinced  Nelson  that  if  they 
were  to  live  together,  as  he  wished  to  do,  it  must  be,  for  his 
own  satisfaction,  in  a  house  belonging  to  him.  It  is  clear 
tliat  the  matter  was  talked  over  between  Lady  Hamilton  and 
himself ;  for,  immediately  upon  joining  his  command  in  the 
Downs,  he  began  writing  about  the  search  for  a  house,  as  a 
matter  already  decided,  in  which  she  was  to  act  for  him. 

1  Nicolas,  vol.  vii.  AJflenda,  p.  ccix.  In  a  letter  to  Lady  Hamilton  of 
the  same  date,  Nelson  says:  '*  Read  the  enclosed,  and  send  it  if  you  approve. 
Who  should  I  consult  but  my  friends  ? "  (Morrison,  vol.  ii.  p.  142. )  "Whether 
the  enclosed  was  this  letter  to  Davison  cannot  bo  said;  but  it  is  likely, 
Compare  foot-note,  page  529. 

2  Nelson.  ^  Lady  Nelson. 

*  Morrison,  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


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632 


THE  LITE   OF  NELSON 


M 


"  Have  you  heard  of  any  house  ?  I  am  very  anxious  to  have 
a  home  where  my  friends  might  be  made  welcome."  As  usual, 
in  undertakings  of  every  kind,  he  i\afed  under  delays,  and  he 
was  ready  to  take  the  first  that  seemed  suitable.  "  I  really 
wish  you  would  buy  the  house  at  Turnham  Green,"  he  writes 
her  within  a  week.  The  raising  of  the  money,  it  is  true,  pre- 
sents some  difficulty,  for  he  has  in  hand  but  £3,000.  "  It  is,  my 
dear  friend,"  he  moralizes,  *'  extraordinary,  but  true,  that  the 
man  who  is  pushed  forward  to  defend  his  country,  has  not 
from  that  country  a  place  to  lay  his  head  in;  but  never  mind, 
happy,  truly  happy,  in  the  estimation  of  such  friends  as  you, 
I  care  for  nothing." 

Lady  Hamilton,  however,  was  a  better  business-man  than 
himself,  and  went  about  his  purchase  Avith  the  deliberation  of 
a  woman  shopping.  At  the  end  of  three  weeks  lie  was  still 
regretting  that  he  could  not  "  find  a  house  and  a  little  piece  of 
ground,  for  if  1  go  on  much  longer  with  my  present  command, 
I  must  be  ruined.  I  think  your  perseverance  and  manage- 
ment will  at  last  get  me  a  home."  By  the  20th  of  August 
she  was  suited,  for  on  that  date  he  writes  to  her,  "I 
approve  of  the  house  at  ^Merton ; "  and,  as  the  Admiralty 
would  not  consent  to  his  leaving  his  station  even  for  a  few 
days,  all  the  details  of  the  bargain  were  left  in  her  hands.  "  I 
entreat,  my  good  friend,  manage  the  affair  of  the  house  for 
me."  He  stipulates  only  that  everything  in  it  shall  be  his, 
"  to  a  book  or  a  cook,"  or  even  "  to  a  pair  of  sheets,  towels, 
&c."  ''  I  entreat  I  may  never  hear  about  the  expenses  again. 
If  you  live  in  Piccadilly  or  Merton  it  makes  no  difference,,  and 
if  I  was  to  live  at  Merton  I  must  keep  a  table,  and  nothing 
can  cost  me  one-sixth  part  which  it  does  at  present."  "  You 
are  to  be,  recollect.  Lady  Paramount  of  all  the  territories  and 
waters  of  Merton,  and  we  are  all  to  be  your  guests,  and  to 
obey  all  lawfid  commands." 

In  this  way  were  conducted  the  purchase  and  preparation  of 
the  only  home  of  liis  own  on  English  ground  that  Nelson  ever 
possessed,  where  he  passed  his  happiest  hours,  and  from  which 
he  set  out  to  fight  his  last  battle.  The  negotiation  was  con- 
cluded three  days  before  the  rumors  of  the  peace  got  abroad, 
therefore  about  the  27th  of  September,  1801;  and  in  conse- 
quence, so  Sir  William  Hamilton  thought,  the  property  was 


PURCHASE  OF  MERTON 


633 


acquirtnl  a  thousand  pounds  cheapcsr  than  it  otherwise  might 
have  been  —  a  piece  of  Hnaneial  good  luck  rare  in  Nelson's 
experience.  *'  We  have  now  inliabited  your  Lordsliip's  prem- 
ises some  days,"  continued  the  okl  kniglit,  "  and  1  can  now 
speak  with  some  certainty.  I  have  lived  with  our  dear  Emma 
several  years.  I  know  her  merit,  have  a  great  opinion  of  the 
head  and  heart  tliat  God  Almighty  has  been  pleased  to  givt; 
her ;  but  a  seaman  alone  could  have  given  a  fine  wonuin  full 
power  to  chuse  and  tit  up  a  residence  lor  him  without  seeing 
it  himself.  You  are  in  luck,  for  in  my  conscience  1  verily 
believe  that  a  place  so  suitable  to  your  views  could  not  have 
been  found,  and  at  so  cheap  a  rate.  Tiie  proximity  to  the 
capital," — Nelson  found  it  an  hour's  drive  from  Hyde  Park 
—  "and  the  perfect  retirement  of  this  place,  are,  for  your 
Lordship,  two  points  beyond  estimation  ;  but  the  house  is 
so  comfortable,  the  furniture  clean  and  good,  and  I  never 
saw  so  many  conveniences  united  in  so  small  a  compass.  You 
have  nothing  but  to  come  and  enjoy  immediately  ;  you  have  a 
good  mile  of  pleasant  dry  walk  around  your  own  farm.  It 
would  make  you  laugh  to  see  Emma  and  her  mother  fitting  up 
pig-sties  and  hen-coops,  and  already  the  Canal  is  enlivened 
with  ducks,  and  the  cock  is  strutting  with  his  hens  about  the 
walks." 

As  time  passed,  Sir  William  did  not  realize  the  comfort  ho 
had  anticipated  from  surroundings  so  pleasant  as  those  he 
described.  Pie  was  troubled  in  money  matters,  fearing  lest 
he  might  be  distressed  to  meet  the  current  expenses  of  the 
house.  "  If  we  had  ^iveu  up  the  house  in  Piccadilly,"  he 
lamented  to  Greville,  *'the  living  here  woidd  indeed  be  a 
great  saving ;  but,  as  it  is,  we  spend  neither  more  nor  less 
than  we  did."  Why  he  did  not  give  it  up  does  not  appear. 
As  Lady  Paramount  over  the  owner  of  the  place,  Lady  Hamil- 
ton insisted  upon  entertaining  to  a  degree  consonant  to  the 
taste  neither  of  Lord  Nelson,  who  was  oidy  too  pleased  to 
humor  her  whims,  nor  of  her  husband,  Avho  had  an  old  man's 
longing  for  quiet,  and,  besides,  was  not  pleased  to  find  him- 
self relegated  to  a  place  in  her  consideration  (juite  secondary 
to  that  of  his  host.  *'  It  is  but  reasonable,"  he  wrote  to 
Greville,  in  January,  1<S02,  '« after  having  fagged  all  my  life, 
that  my  last  days  should  pass  off  comfortably  and  quietly. 


1 

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634 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Nothing  '  t  present  disturbs  me  but  my  debt,  and  the  nonsense 
I  am  obiigod  to  submit  to  here  to  avoid  coming  to  an  exjilo- 
sion,  which  would  be  attended  with  many  disagreeable  effects, 
and  would  totally  destroy  the  comfort  of  the  best  man  and 
tlie  best  friend  I  have  in  the  world.  However,  I  am  deter- 
mined that  my  quiet  shall  not  be  disturbed,  lt\  the  nonsensi- 
cal world  go  on  as  it  will." 

Neither  the  phlegm  on  which  he  prided  himself,  nor  liis 
resolutions,  were  sufficient,  however,  to  keep  the  peace,  or  to 
avoid  undignitied  contentions  with  his  wife.  Some  mouths 
later  he  addressed  her  a  letter,  which,  although  bearing  no 
date,  was  evidently  written  after  a  prolonged  experience  of 
the  conditions  entailed  upon  himself  by  this  odd  partnership; 
for  partnership  it  was,  in  form  at  least,  the  living  expenses 
being  divided  between  the  two.*  In  their  quiet  reasonable- 
ness, his  words  are  not  without  a  certain  dignified  pathos, 
and  they  have  the  additional  interest  of  proving,  as  far  as 
words  can  prove,  that,  battered  man  of  the  world  though  he 
was,  he  had  no  suspicion,  within  a  year  of  his  death,  that  the 
relations  between  his  host  and  his  wife  were  guilty  towards 
himself. 

"  I  have  passed  t.'ie  last  40  years  of  my  life  in  tlie  hurry  &  bustle 
that  must  necessarily  be  attendant  on  a  publick  character.  I  am 
arrived  at  the  age  when  some  repose  is  really  necessary,  &  I  promised 
myself  a  quiet  home,  &  aitlio'  I  was  sensible,  &  said  so  when  I  mar- 
ried, that  I  sIjou  it  be  superannuated  when  my  wife  wou'd  be  in  her 
full  beauty  and  vigour  of  youth.  That  time  is  arrived,  and  we  nmst 
make  the  best  of  it  for  the  comfort  of  both  parties.  Unfortunately 
our  tastes  as  to  the  manner  of  li\Ing  are  very  different.  I  by  no 
means  wish  to  live  in  solitary  retreat,  but  to  have  seldom  less  than 
12  or  14  at  table,  and  those  varying  continually,  is  coming  b.ack  to 
what  was  become  so  irksome  to  me  in  Italy  during  the  latter  years 
of  my  residence  in  that  country.  1  have  no  connections  out  of  my 
own  family.  I  have  no  complaint  to  make,  but  I  feel  that  the  whole 
attention  of  my  wife  is  given  to  Ld.  N,  and  his  interest  at  Merton. 
1  well  know  the  purity  of  Ld.  N.'s  friendship  for  Ennua  and  mc, 
and  I  know  how  very  uncomfortable  it  wou'd  make  his  Lp,  our  best 
friend,  if  a  separation  shou'd  take  place,  &  am  therefore  determined 
to  do  all  in  my  power  to  prevent  such  an  extremity,  which  wou'd  be 

1  0»  the  21st  of  September,  1802,  six  months  before  Hamilton's  death,  he 
was  still  £1,200  iu  Nelson's  debt.     (Morrison,  vol.  ii.  p.  404.) 


HOME  LIFE  AT  MERTON 


535 


essentially  detrimental  to  all  parties,  but  wouM  be  more  sensibly  felt 
by  our  dear  friend  than  by  us.  I'rovided  that  our  expences  in  house- 
keeping do  not  encrease  beyond  measure  (of  which  i  nunt  own  I  see 
some  danger),  I  am  willing  to  go  on  upon  our  present  footing;  but 
as  I  cannot  expect  to  live  many  years,  every  moment  to  me  is  pre- 
cious, &  I  iiope  I  may  be  allow'd  sometimes  to  be  my  own  master, 
&  pass  my  time  according  to  my  own  inclination,  either  by  going  my 
fishing  parties  on  the  Thames  or  by  going  to  London  to  attend  the 
Museum,  R.  Society,  the  Tuesday  Club,  &  Auctions  of  jnctures.  I 
mean  to  have  a  light  chariot  or  post  chaise  by  the  nu)nth,  that  I  may 
make  use  of  it  in  Lo'ulon  and  run  bickwards  and  forwards  to  Mertou 
or  to  Shepperton,  &c.  This  is  m  •  phin,  and  we  miglit  go  on  very 
well,  but  I  am  fully  determined  not  to  have  more  of  the  very  silly 
altercations  that  happen  but  too  often  between  as  and  embitter  the 
present  moments  exceedingly.  If  realy  one  cannot  live  comfortably 
together,  a  wise  and  well  concerted  separation  is  preferable;  but  I 
think,  considering  the  probability  of  my  not  troubling  any  party  long 
in  this  world,  the  best  for  us  all  wou'd  be  to  bear  those  ills  we  have 
rather  than  flie  to  those  we  know  not  of.  I  have  fairly  stated  what 
I  have  on  my  mind.  There  is  no  time  for  nonsense  or  trifling.  I 
know  and  admire  your  talents  &  many  excellent  qualities,  but  I  am 
not  blind  to  your  defects,  and  confess  having  many  myself  ;  therefore 
let  us  bear  and  forbear  for  God's  sake."  * 

There  are  other  accounts  by  eye-witnesses  of  the  home 
life  at  Merton,  in  which  participated,  from  time  to  time,  not 
only  the  many  outside  guests,  of  whose  burden  Hamilton 
complained,  but  also  most  of  the  members  of  the  Nelson 
family.  Lord  Minto,  who  had  returned  to  England  from 
Vienna,  and  whose  personal  friendship  to  Nelson  never  slack- 
ened, wrote  to  his  wife,  in  March,  1802:  '*!  went  to  Lord 
Nelson's  on  Saturday  to  dinner,  and  returned  to-day  in  the 
forenoon.  The  whole  establishment  and  way  of  life  are  such 
as  to  make  me  angry,  as  well  as  melancholy ;  but  I  cannot 
alter  it,  and  I  do  not  think  myself  obliged,  or  at  liberty,  to 
quarrel  with  him  for  his  weakness,  though  nothing  shall  ever 
induce  me  to  give  the  smallest  countenance  to  Lady  Hamilton. 
She  looks  ultimately  to  the  chance  of  marriage,  as  Sir  William 
will  not  be  long  in  her  way,  and  she  probably  indulges  a  hope 
that  she  may  survive  Lady  Nelson;  in  the  meanwhile  she 
and  Sir  William,  and  the  whole  set  of  them,  are  living  with 

^  Morrison,  No.  684. 


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THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


If  '(i 


him  at  his  expense.  She  is  in  high  looks,  but  more  immense 
than  ever.  The  love  she  makes  to  Nelson  is  not  only  ridicu- 
lous, but  disgusting  :  not  only  the  rooms,  but  the  whole  house, 
staircase  and  all,  are  covered  with  nothing  but  pictures  of 
her  and  him,  of  all  sizes  and  sorts,  and  representations  of  his 
naval  actions,  coats-of-arms,  pieces  of  plate  in  his  honour,  the 
flag-staff  of  L'Orient,  &c.  —  an  excess  of  vanity  '.vhich  coun- 
teracts its  own  purpose.  If  it  was  Lady  Hamilton's  house 
there  might  be  a  pretence  for  it;  to  make  his  own  house  a 
mere  looking-glass  to  view  himself  all  day  is  bad  taste. 
Braham,  the  celebrated  Jew  singer,  performed  with  Lady 
Hamilton.  She  is  horrid,  but  he  entertained  me  in  spite  of 
her."  Of  this  same  period,  but  a  year  later,  at  the  time  of 
Hamilton's  death,  Minto  wrote  :  "  Lady  Hamilton  talked  very 
freely  [to  me]  of  her  situation  with  Nelson,  and  the  construc- 
tion the  world  may  have  put  upon  it,  but  protested  that  their 
attachment  had  been  perfectly  pure,  which  I  declare  I  can 
believe,  though  T  am  sure  it  is  of  no  consequence  whether  it 
be  so  or  not.  The  shocking  injury  done  to  Lady  Nelson  is 
not  made  less  or  greater,  by  anything  that  may  or  may  not 
have  occurred  between  him  and  Lady  Hamilton." 

On  the  Gth  of  November,  1861,  Mr.  Matcham,  a  nephew  of 
Lord  Nelson,  wrote  for  the  "  Times  "  some  reminiscences  of 
the  great  admiral,  as  be  had  known  him  in  private  life,  both 
at  this  period,  and  three  years  later,  just  before  Trafalgar. 
His  letter  was  elicited  by  the  publication  of  the  "Remains  of 
Mrs.  Trench."  In  this  had  apoeared  extracts  from  her  jour- 
nal, when  Mrs.  St.  George,  containing  statements  derogatory 
to  Nelson's  conduct  in  Dresden,  when  on  the  journey  from 
Trieste  to  Hamburg  in  he  year  1800;  some  of  which  have 
been  quoted  already  in  this  work.^  Mr.  Matcham's  words,  so 
far  as  they  relate  to  Nelson  hi.nself,  are  here  given  in  full:  ^ 


'H 


I  too  Sir,  as  well  as  "  the  Lady,"  had  some  knowledge  of  that  per- 
son, so  much  honoured  and  so  much  maligned;  and  although  I  do 
not  defend  his  one  great  error  (though  in  that,  with  some  palliation, 
there  were  united  elements  of  a  generous  and  noble  nature),  I  venture 
to  say  that  whoever  forms  a  notion  of  his  manners  and  deportment 

1  yf ?>/<?,  p.  441. 

■■'  F.-oTfi  Mr.  G.  Lnthom  Browne's  "  Nelson  ; 
London,  1891,  ]\  412. 


His  Public  and  Private  Life," 


^ 


V 


JOME  LIFE  AT  MERTON 


637 


in  private  life  from  this  account  of  liin,  will  labour  under  a  very  great 
delusion. 

I  visited  my  uncle  twice  during  the  short  periods  in  which  he  was 
on  shore  —  once  in  1802,  during  his  journey  to  Wales,  when  he  was 
received  at  Oxford  and  other  places;  and  the  second  time  at  his  house 
at  Merton,  in  1805,  for  three  weeks  preceding  the  loth  of  September, 
when  he  left  to  embark  at  Portsmouth  to  return  no  more ;  and  I  can 
assert  with  truth  that  a  more  complete  contrast  between  this  lady's 
portrait  and  my  thorough  recollection  of  him  could  not  be  forced  on 
my  mind.  Lord  Nelson  in  private  life  was  remarkable  for  a  de- 
meanour (luitt,  sedate,  and  unobtrusive,  anxious  to  give  pleasure  to 
every  one  about  him,  distinguishing  each  in  turn  by  some  act  of 
kindnesiL,  and  chietly  those  who  seemed  to  require  it  most. 

During  his  few  intervals  of  l^^'sure,  in  a  little  knot  of  relations  and 
friends,  he  delighted  in  quiet  conversation,  through  which  occasionally 
ran  an  undercurrent  of  pleasantry,  not  unmixed  with  caustic  wit. 
At  his  table  he  was  the  least  hjard  among  the  company,  and  so  far 
fiom  being  the  hero  of  his  own  tale,  I  never  heard  him  voluntarily 
refer  to  any  of  the  great  actions  of  his  life. 

I  have  knowii  him  lauded  by  the  great  and  wise;  but  he  seemed  to 
me  to  waive  the  homage  with  as  little  attentioii  as  was  consistent 
with  civility.  Nevertheless,  a  mind  like  his  was  necessarily  won  by 
attention  from  thoso  who  could  best  estimate  his  value. 

On  his  return  from  his  last  interview  with  Mr.  Pitt,  being  asked 
in  what  manner  he  had  been  received,  he  replied  that  he  had  reason 
to  be  griatified  with  his  reception,  and  concluded  with  animation, 
"  Mr.  Pitt,  when  I  rose  to  go,  left  the  room  with  me,  and  attended 
me  to  the  carriage  "  —  a  spontaneous  mark  of  respect  and  admira- 
tion from  the  great  statesman,  of  which,  indeed,  he  might  well  be 
proud. 

it  would  have  formed  an  amusement  to  the  circle  at  Merton,  if 
intemperance  were  set  down  to  the  master  of  the  house,  who  always 
so  prematurely  cut  short  the  sederunt  of  t!ie  gentlemen  after  dinner. 

A  man  of  more  temperate  habits  could  not,  T  am  persuaded,  have 
been  found.  It  appears  that  the  person  of  Lord  Nelson  (although  he 
was  not  as  described,  a  little  man,  but  of  the  middle  height  and  of 
a  frame  adapted  to  activity  and  exertion)  did  not  find  favour  with  the 
lady  ;  and  I  presume  not  to  dispute  her  taste,  but  in  his  i)lain  suit  of 
l)lack,  in  which  he  alone  recurs  to  my  memory,  he  always  looked  what 
he  was  —  a  gentleman.  Whatever  expletives  of  an  objectionable 
kind  may  be  ascribed  to  him,  I  feel  persuaded  that  such  rarely  en- 
tered into  his  conversation.  He  was,  it  is  true,  a  sailor,  and  one  of 
a  warm  and  generous  disposition  ;  yet  I  can  safely  affirm  that  I  never 
heard  a  coarse  expression  issue  from  his  lips,  nor  do  I  recollect  one 
word  or  action  of  his  to  which  even  a  disciple  of  Chesterfield  could 


'    1 


'*     1. 

I; 


ii:t 


! 


1  i 


538 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


\V, 


reasonably  object.  If  such  did  arise,  it  would  be  drawn  forth  when 
a  friend  was  attacked,  or  even  an  enemy  unjustly  accused ;  for  his 
disposition  was  so  truly  noble,  that  it  revolted  against  all  wrong  and 
oppression.  Hi  heart,  indeed,  was  as  tender  as  it  was  courageous. 
Nor  do  I  think,  Sir,  that  it  is  a  necessary  concession  to  truth  that 
you  or  others  should  lower  your  conception  of  this  popular  personage, 
on  account  of  the  exaggeri'.ted  colours  in  which  he  is  here  drawn. 
Those  who  best  knew  the  man  the  most  estimated  his  value,  and 
many  who  like  myself  could  not  appreciate  his  professional  superior- 
ity, would  yet  bear  witness  to  his  gentleness,  kindness,  good-breeding, 
and  courtesy. 

lie  was  not  "  a  rude  and  boisterous  captain  of  the  sea."  From  his 
early  years,  by  the  introduction  of  his  uncle,  the  Comptroller  of  tlie 
Navy,  ho  was  associated  witli  the  elite  of  his  own  profession ;  and  the 
influences  of  his  own  paternal  home,  and  his  acquaintance  with 
the  first  families  of  his  native  county,  to  many  of  whom  he  was  re- 
lated, would  not  allow  a  man  of  his  intelligence  and  proper  pride  to 
foster  v;oarseness  beyond  the  habits  of  his  age. 

It  .appears  to  me  that,  however  flattering  or  consolatory  the  recital 
of  the  follies  or  foibles  of  great  men  may  be  to  that  mediocrity  which 
forms  the  mass  of  mankind,  the  person  who  undertakes  to  cater  for 
mere  an^usement  withdraws  something  from  the  common  stock  of 
his  country.  The  glory  of  Great  Britain  depends  as  much  on  the 
heroes  she  has  produced,  as  on  her  wealth,  her  influence,  and  her 
possessions;  and  the  true  patriot  and  honourable  man,  if  he  can- 
not add  to  their  lustre,  will  at  least  refrain  from  any  premeditated 
act  which  may  dim  their  fame,  and  diminish  that  high  estimation  of 
them  which  expedience,  nationality,  and  gratitude  should  alike  con- 
tribute to  sustain. 

A  Nepiikw  of  Admiral  Loud  Nelson. 


A  glimpse  of  tlie  family  life  at  Merton,  and  of  the  society 
which  gathered  there,  lias  been  casually  preserved  for  us. 
It  presents  not  only  an  interesting  group  of  the  admiral's  as- 
sociates, but  also  the  record  of  a  conversation  concerning  him, 
under  his  own  roof,  transmitted  by  one  of  the  parties  to  it; 
particularly  instructive,  because  showing  tlie  contradictory 
traits  which  illustrated  his  character,  und  the  impression 
made  by  him  upon  his  contemporaries  and  intimates,  —  men 
who  had  seen  him  upon  all  kinds  of  occasions,  both  great  and 
small.  It  corroborates,  too,  the  report  of  these  superficial 
inconsistencies  made  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  on  a  later 
occasion.    The  narrator,  Lieutenant  Layman,  was  the  same 


HOME  LIFE  AT  MERTON 


630 


le  same 


who  had  recently  been  with  Nelson  in  the  Baltic,  and  who 
has  before  been  quoted  in  connection  with  that  expedition. 
Sir  Alexander  Ball  will  be  reniciubered  as  one  of  his  chief 
supports  during  the  long  chase  that  precedeu  the  Battle  of 
the  Nile,  as  well  as  in  the  action,  and  afterwards  during  the 
protracted  operations  around  Malta.  Hood  was  also  a  Nile 
captain. 

"During  the  temporary  peace,  Mr.  Layman  spent  some 
days  at  Merton,  with  Sir  Alexander  Ball  and  Sir  Samuel 
Hood.  One  day,  after  tea  in  the  drawing-room.  Lord  Nelson 
was  earnestly  engaged  in  conversation  with  Sir  Samuel.  Mr. 
Layman  observed  to  Sir  Alexander,  that  Lord  Nelson  was  at 
work  by  his  countenance  and  mouth,  that  he  was  a  most  ex- 
traordinary man,  possessing  opposite  points  of  character ; 
little  in  little  things,  but  by  far  the  greatest  man  in  great 
things  he  ever  saw :  that  he  had  seen  him  petulant  in  trifles, 
and  as  cool  and  collected  as  a  philosopher  when  surrounded 
by  dangers,  in  which  men  of  common  minds,  with  clouded 
countenance,  would  say,  *AhI  what  is  to  be  done?'  It  was 
a  treat  to  see  his  animated  and  collected  countenance  in  the 
heat  of  action.  Sir  Alexander  remaiked  this  seeming  incon- 
sistency, and  mentioned  that,  after  the  Battle  of  the  Nile, 
the  captains  of  the  squadron  were  desirous  to  have  a  good 
likeness  of  their  lieroic  chief  taken,  and  for  that  purpose 
employed  one  of  the  most  eminent  painters  in  Italy.  The 
plan  was  to  ask  the  painter  to  breakfast,  and  get  him  to  be- 
gin immediately  after.  Breakfast  being  over,  and  no  prepara- 
tion being  made  by  the  painter,  Sir  Alexander  was  sclented 
by  the  other  captains  to  ask  him  when  he  intended  to  begin  ; 
to  which  the  answer  was,  'Never.'  Sir  Alexander  said,  he 
stared,  and  they  all  stared,  but  the  artist  continued :  *  There 
is  such  a  mixture  of  humility  with  ambition  in  Lord  Nelson's 
countenance,  that  I  dare  not  risk  the  attempt.' "  ^ 

Tliere  is  yet  another  casual  mention  of  the  Merton  home  life, 
illustrative  of  more  than  one  feature  of  Nelson's  native  char- 
acter. Many  years  later  the  daughter  of  the  Vicar  of  the 
parish,  when  transmitting  a  letter  to  Sir  Harris  Nicolas,  added : 
"  In  revered  affection  for  the  memory  of  that  dear  man,  I  cannot 
refrain  from  informing  you  of  his  unlimited  charity  and  good- 
*  Naval  Cliroiiiclc,  vol.  xxxvii,  p.  445. 


I 


IIV 


.   i 


•vV 


'     ! 


540 


THE  LIFK  OF  NELSON 


!      t 


ness  during  liis  residence  at  Merton.  His  frequenily  expressed 
desire  was,  tliat  none  in  that  [)lace  shounl  want  or  sUiJor  aftiic- 
tion  that  he  could  alleviate ;  and  tliis  I  know  he  did  with  a 
most  liberal  hand,  always  desiring  that  it  should  not  be  known 
from  whence  it  came.  His  residence  at  Merton  was  a  continue 
course  of  cliarity  and  goodness,  setting  such  an  example  oi 
propriety  and  regularity  that  there  are  lew  who  would  not  be 
benefited  oy  following  it."  His  thoughtfulness  and  generosity 
to  those  about  him  was  eqnally  shown  in  his  charges  to  h>' 
agents  n^  I'ronte,  for  the  welfare  of  the  Sin'l'.„ii  peasantiy 
•  pen  li  es"T.te.  In  the  regularity  and  propriety  of  observ- 
uiH.^j  V;  ich  impressed  the  clergyman's  daughter,  he  carried 
out  Viw.  i-  al  he  had  proposed  to  Lady  Hamilton.  "Have  we 
a  uir.' chm  '  at  Merton?  We  will  set  au  example  of  good- 
ness to  the  uuu  "ir  parishioners." 

Whatever  of  censure  or  of  allowance  may  be  pronounced  upon 
the  life  he  wa^"  living,  there  was  in  the  intention  just  quoted 
no  effort  to  conciliate  the  opinion  of  society,  which  lie  was 
resolute  in  braving;  nor  was  it  inconsistent  with  the  general 
tenor  of  his  thoughts.  In  the  sense  of  profound  recognition 
of  the  dependence  of  events  upon  God,  and  of  the  obligation 
to  manifest  gratitude  in  outward  act,  Nelson  was  from  first  to 
last  a  strongly  religious  man.  To  his  sin  he  liad  contrived  to 
reconcile  his  conscience  by  fallacies,  analogies  to  which  will 
be  supplied  by  the  inward  experience  of  many,  if  they  will  be 
honest  with  themselves.  The  outcome  upon  character  of  such 
dealings  with  one's  self  is,  in  the  individual  case,  a  matter  to 
which  man's  judgment  is  not  competent.  During  the  last  two 
years  and  a  half  of  Nelson's  life,  the  chaplain  of  the  "  Victory  " 
wr  s  associated  with  him  in  close  intimacy  as  confidential  sec- 
retary, witli  whom  he  talked  freely  on  many  matters.  "  He 
was,'' said  this  gentlaman,  "a  thorough  clergyman's  son  —  I 
should  think  he  never  went  to  bed  or  got  up  without  kneeling 
down  to  say  his  prayers."  He  often  expressed  his  attachment 
to  the  chur(!h  in  which  he  had  been  brought  u[),  and  showed 
the  sincerity'  of  his  words  by  the  regularity  and  respect  with 
which  he  always  had  divine  service  performed  on  board  the 
"Victory,"  whenever  the  weather  permitted.  After  the  ser- 
vice he  had  generally  a  few  words  with  the  chaplain  on  the 
subject  of  the  sermon,  either  thanking  him  for  its  being  a  good 


!' 


THE  COI'KXIIAGKN  CONTUOVKUSV 


Wl 


one,  or  remarking  that  it  was  not  so  well  adapted  as  usual  to 
the  crew.  More  than  once,  on  such  occasions,  lie  took  down  a 
volume  of  sermons  in  his  own  cabin,  with  the  page  already 
marked  at  some  discourse  which  he  thought  well  suited  to 
such  a  congregation,  and  re(piested  Dr.  Scott  to  preach  it  on 
thi3  following   Sundf^y.* 

On  the  29th  of  0  ;oaber,  1801,  just  one  week  after  he  left  the 
Downs,  Nelson  took  his  scat  in  the  House  of  Lords  as  a  Vis- 
count, his  former  coramander-in-ehief,  Hood,  who  was  of  the 
Si.iue  rank  in  the  peerage,  being  one  of  those  to  presiMit  hiiu. 
While  ill  England  he  spoke  from  time  to  time  on  professional 
subjects,  or  those  connected  with  the  external  policy  of  the 
country,  on  which  he  held  clear  and  decided  opinions,  based, 
nati'^ally,  upon  naval  exigencies.  His  lirst  speech  was  a 
warr^  and  generous  eulogy  of  Sir  James  Sauin  .  ■  once  second 
to  himself  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  an  officer  vi*^  A'hom  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  he  was  not  in  close  per  nal  ; apathy,  as 
he  had  been  with  Troubridge,  but  who  1 '•  1  ■  st  fought  two 
desperate  squadron  actions  under  conditions  "•'  singular  diffi- 
culty, out  of  which  he  had  wrenched  a  success  that  was  both 
signal  and,  in  tlie  then  state  of  the  warr.  '  iv.^otiations,  most 
opportune,  "  Sir  James  Saumarez's  action,"  said  Lord  St. 
Vincent,  "  has  put  us  upon  velvet." 

Nelson's  own  thirst  for  glory  made  him  keenly  appreciative 
of  the  necessity  to  be  just  and  liberal,  in  distributing  to  those 
who  had  achieved  great  deeds  the  outward  tokens  of  distin- 
guished service,  which  often  are  the  sole  recompense  for  dan- 
gers run  and  hardships  borne.  Scarcely  had  he  retired  from 
his  active  command  in  the  Channel  when  he  felt  impelled  to 
enter  upon  a  painful  and  humiliating  controversy,  on  behalf 
of  those  who  had  shared  with  him  all  the  perils  of  the  des- 
perate Battle  of  Copenhagen  ;  for  which,  unlike  himself,  they 
had  received  no  reward,  but  from  whom  he  refused  to  be 
dissociated  in  the  national  esteem  and  gratitude. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1801,  the  City  of  London  voted 
its  thanks  to  the  divisions  of  the  Army  and  the  Navy,  whose 
joint  operations  during  the  previous  summer  had  brought  to 
an  end  the  French  occupation  of  Egyi)t,  begun  by  IVmaparto 
in  1798.  Nelson  had  for  some  time  been  uneasy  that  no  such 
1  Life  of  Rev.  A.  T.  Si-ott,  D.D.,  \>.  IDl. 


I 


. 


n 


I  M 


i  i 


648 


TlIK  LIFK  OF  NKI.SON 


:     l| 


I      t 


notice  liad  been  taken  of  the  Battle  of  Copenhagen,  for  tlie 
custom  of  the  Corporation  of  the  chief  city  ol  the  Empire,  thus 
to  honor  the  great  achievements  of  their  armed  forces,  was, 
he  asserted,  invariable  in  his  experience ;  consequently,  the 
omission  in  the  case  of  Copenhagen  was  a  deliberate  slight, 
the  implication  of  which,  ho  thought,  could  not  bo  disre- 
garded. Delay,  up  to  the  time  then  present,  might  .k;  attrib- 
uted to  other  causes,  not  necessarily  offensive,  although,  from 
a  letter  to  his  friend  Davison,  he  seems  to  have  feareil  neglect; 
but  the  vote  of  thanks  to  the  two  Services  for  their  su(!C(!8ses 
in  Egypt  left  no  room  to  doubt,  that  the  failure  to  take  similar 
acti»)n  iji  the  case  of  Copenhagen  was  intentional. 

This  Nelson  regarded,  and  justly, as  an  imputation  upon  the 
transactions  there.  Where  a  practice  is  invariable,  omission 
is  as  significant  as  oommission  can  be.  Either  the  victory  was 
doubtful,  or  of  small  consequence,  or,  for  some  other  reason, 
not  creditable  to  the  victors.  Ho  wrote  at  once  to  the  Lonl 
Mayor.  After  recalling  the  facts,  he  said :  "  If  T  wore  only 
personally  concerned,  I  should  bear  tho  stignui,  now  first 
attempccd  to  be  placed  upon  my  brow,  with  humility,  lint, 
my  Lord,  I  am  tho  natural  guardian  of  tho  characters  of  tho 
Officers  of  tho  Navy,  Army,  and  Marines,  who  fought,  and  so 
profusely  bled,  under  my  command  on  that  day.  .  .  .  Wiion  I 
am  called  upon  to  speak  of  the  merits  of  the  Captains  of  liis 
Majesty's  ships,  and  of  the  officers  and  men,  whether  seamen, 
marines,  or  soldiers,  T  that  day  had  the  happiness  to  command, 
I  say,  that  never  was  the  glory  of  this  country  upheld  with 
more  determined  bravery  than  upon  that  occasion,  and  more 
important  service  was  never  rendered  to  our  King  and  Coun- 
try. It  is  my  duty  to  prove  to  the  bravo  fellows,  my  compan- 
ions in  dangers,  that  /  have  not  failed,  at  every  pioper  jdace,  to 
represent,  as  well  as  I  am  able,  their  bravery  and  meritorious 


services. 

rii 


J> 


This  matter  was  tho  occasion  of  bringing  him  into  collision 
with  the  Admiralty  and  the  (Jovernmcnt  on  tho  same  subject. 
Although  his  private  representations,  soon  after  his  return  to 
Englanil,  had  obtained  from  Lord  St.  Vincent,  as  he  thought, 
a  promise  that  medals  should  bo  issued  for  the  battle,  no 
steps  thereto  had  been  tuken.  He  now  enclosed  to  the  Trime 
Minister  and  to  the  First  Lord  a  copy  of  his  letter  to  the 


MISUNDKIlsrANDlNO   WITH  ST.   VINCKNT 


M'.\ 


Lor<l  Mayor;  and  to  both  lie  alliulod  to  tho  assuranco  lio  be- 
lieved had  been  made  him.  **  I  have,"  ho  said,  "  bet'ii  exj^'ct- 
ingthe  medals  daily  since  the  King's  return  Ironi  Weymoutii." 
St.  Vincent's  reply  was  prompt  as  himsidf.  With  referenci! 
to  tho  former  matter,  lio  confined  himself  to  drily  thanking 
N»dson,  without  comment,  "  for  communicating  the  letter  ^ou 
have  judged  fit  to  write  to  tho  Lord  Mayor;"  but  as  to  the 
medals,  ho  wrote  a  separate  note,  telling  him  that  he  had 
"  given  no  encouragement,  but  on  tho  contrary  had  explained 
to  your  Lordship,  and  to  Mr.  Addington,  the  inipro[)riety  of 
.such  a  measure  being  recommended  to  tho  King." 

Nelson,  to  uso  his  own  word,  was  "thunder-struck"  by  this 
statement.  "  I  own,"  ho  said,  *'  1  considered  tho  words  your 
Lordship  used  as  conveying  an  assurance.  It  was  an  apology 
for  their  not  being  given  before,  which,  I  understood  you,  .hey 
would  have  been,  but  for  tho  dilKculty  of  fixing  who  was  to 
liavo  them.  ...  I  have  never  failed  assuring  the  Cai)tains, 
that  I  have  seen  and  communicated  with,  that  they  might 
depend  on  receiving  them.  ...  I  could  not,  my  dear  Lord, 
have  had  any  interest  in  misunder.standing  you,  and  represent- 
ing that  as  an  intended  Honour  from  the  King  which  you 
considered  as  so  improper  to  be  recommended  to  the  King: 
therefore  I  must  beg  that  your  Lordship  will  reconsider  our 
conversation — to  me  of  tho  very  liighest  concern,  and  think 
tliat  I  could  not  but  believe  that  wo  would  liavo  medals.  I 
am  truly  made  ill  by  your  letter."  St.  Vincent  replied  briefly, 
"  That  you  have  perfectly  mistaken  all  that  passed  between  us 
in  the  conversation  you  allude  to,  is  most  certain.  At  tho 
.same  time  I  am  extremely  concerned  that  it  should  have  liad 
so  material  an  effect  upon  your  health,"  etc.  "Either  Lord 
St.  Vincent  oi*  myself  are  liars,"  wrote  Nelson  to  Davison. 
The  conclusion  is  not  inevitable  to  those  who  liavo  had  ex- 
perience of  human  misunderstandings;  but,  recalling  l^fr. 
Hose's  interview  with  St.  Vincent  in  April,'  it  seems  likely 
tliat  in  July  the  mind  of  the  latter  was  still  undecided,  and 
that  consequently  Nelson's  recollection  of  what  he  then  said 
was  correct. 

The  Prime  Minister  took  a  week  to  re^dy.     When  ho  did, 
he  deprecated   tho   sending  of   any  letter  to  the  Mayor,  for 

1  Ante,  i>.  4.89. 


n 


f>44 


TIIK   MKK  OK   NKLSON 


:ii 


!   I 


i 


1 1 


1 1; 


!• 


reasons,  lio  siiitl,  "not  merely  of  a  public  n.ituro,  but  connected 
with  the  interest  I  shall  ever  take  in  your  well-earned  fame." 
These  reasons,  ho  added,  he  would  be  ready  to  give  him  in  a 
private  interview.  Nelson  had  asked  his  opinion  upon  the 
terms  of  the  letter;  but,  impatient  after  waiting  three  days, 
had  already  sent  it  in  when  this  answer  canu;.  Probably,  witii 
his  usual  promptness,  ho  called  at  once;  for  on  tlie  same  day, 
November  28,  that  ho  received  Addington's  letter  ho  withdrew 
that  to  the  ^Fayor.^  "  liy  tho  advice  of  a  friend,  I  have  now 
to  request  that  your  Lordship  will  consider  my  letter  as  with- 
drawn, (IS  the  disrusslon  of  the  questinn  mmj  briny  fonrard 
chiiractcrs  whivh  had  beffrr  rest  tjulef."^  In  short,  honors, 
due  to  those  who  fought,  were  withheld  out  of  consideration 
to  those  who  hud  not  fouglit.  Nelson  himself  recognized  the 
difficulty.  "  They  are  not  Sir  Hyde  Parker's  real  friends  wiio 
wish  for  an  inquiry,"  ho  had  written  to  Davison  before  leav- 
ing tho  Baltic.  "  His  friends  in  the  fleet  wish  everything  of 
this  fleet  to  be  forgot,  for  we  all  respect  and  lovo  Sir  Hyde; 
but  the  dearer  his  friends,  the  more  uneasy  they  have  been 
at  his  idleness,  for  that  is  the  truth  —  no  criminality."  But, 
as  he  characteristically  said  of  another  mutter  occurring  about 
this  time,  "I  was  told  the  difficulties  were  insurmountable. 
My  answer  was,  'As  the  thing  is  necessary  to  be  done,  the 
more  difficulties,  the  more  necessary  to  try  to  remove  them.'" 
As  regards  the  soundness  of  Nelson's  grounds,  tuid  tho  pro- 
priety of  his  action  in  this  matter,  it  must,  first,  be  kept  iu 
mind,  tliat,  before  the  City  voted  its  thanks  to  the  Navy 
engaged  in  Egy])t,  he  liad  spoken  in  tho  House  of  Lords  in 
favor  of  the  thanks  of  the  Government  to  the. same  force, 
although,  as  a  whole,  it  had  there  played  a  subordinate  part; 
and  also,  that,  although  deprived  of  tho  medal  which  he  hoped 
to  get  in  common  with  others,  ho  had  himself  been  rewarded 
for  Copenhagen  by  promotion  in  the  peerage.^  This  separa- 
tion between  himself  and  the  mass  of  those  who  fought  under 
him,  necessarily  intensified  the  feeling  of  one  always  profusely 
generous,  in  praise  as  in  money ;  but  his  point  otherwise  Avas 
well  taken.  Tho  task  was  ungracious  and  unideasant,  it 
may   almost  bo   called   dirty  work   to   have   thus   to   solicit 

1  Nicolas,  vol.  iv.  p.  r.33. 

2  Ibiil.,  vol.  vii.  p.  ccx.     (Author's  itnlics.)  "  Ibitl.,  vol.  v.  p.  60. 


f-l 


HIS  DEVOTION  TO   HIS   FOLLOWKIIS 


54ft 


honors  and  distinction  for  deeds  in  which  one  has  borne  the 
principal  part ;  but  dirty  work  must  at  times  bo  done,  w  \th 
hands  or  words,  and  the  humiliation  then  rests,  not  with  him 
who  does  it,  but  with  them  wlio  make  it  necessary.  Had  tho 
victors  at  Copenhagen  fought  a  d('si)erato  tight,  and  were  they 
neglecited?  If  so,  and  the  outside  world  looked  indifferently 
on,  who  from  among  tliem  should  tirst  come  fortli  to  defend 
tiieir  glory  from  implication  of  some  undcHned  stain,  if  not 
their  Commander-in-Chief,  one  whose  great  renown  could  well 
spare  tho  additional  ray  of  lustre  which  he  demanded  for 
tliem.  Whether  underneath  lay  some  spot  of  self-seeking,  of 
the  secondary  motive  from  which  so  few  of  us  are  free,  mat- 
ters little  or  nothing.  The  thing  was  right  to  be  done,  and  he 
(lid  it.  If  the  Government  and  the  City  of  London,  by  calcu- 
lated omission,  proclaimed,  as  they  did,  that  these  men  had 
not  deserved  well  of  their  country,  it  became  him  to  say,  as 
he  did,  openly  to  the  City,  subordinately  to  his  superiors,  that 
they  had  done  men's  work  and  deserved  men's  reward. 

"If  Lord  Nelson  could  forget  the  services  of  those  who 
have  fought  under  his  command,  he  would  ill  deserve  to  be  so 
supported  as  he  always  has  been."  Thus  he  closed  his  last 
letter  to  the  Lord  Mayor  on  this  subject,  a  year  after  the  corre- 
spondence began.  It  was  such  noble  sympathy  with  all  beneath 
him,  the  lack  of  whinh  has  been  charged  against  the  great 
Commander  of  the  British  Army  of  this  period,  that  won  for 
Nelson  the  enthusiastic  affection  which,  in  all  parts  of  his 
command,  however  remote  from  his  own  eyes,  aroused  the 
ardent  desire  to  please  him.  No  good  service  done  him  es- 
caped his  hearty  acknowledgment,  and  he  was  unwearied  in 
upholding  the  just  claims  of  others  to  consideration.  In  the 
matter  of  Copenhagen,  up  to  the  time  he  left  the  country, 
eighteen  months  later,  he  refused  any  compromise.  He 
recognized,  of  course,  that  he  was  powerless  in  the  face  of  St. 
Vincent's  opposition  ;  but,  he  wrote  to  one  of  the  captains 
engaged,  "I  am  fixed  never  to  abandon  the  fair  fame  of  my 
companions  in  dangers.  I  have  had  a  meeting  with  Mr. 
Addiu;.  ton  on  the  subject ;  I  don't  expect  we  shall  get  much 
by  it,  except  having  had  a  full  opportunity  of  speaking  my 
mind."  The  Premier's  arguments  had  been  to  him  wliol'j'' 
inconclusive.     Oddly  enough,  as  things  were,  the  Sultan  sent 

35 


\n 


4' 

si- 


\l 


i 


ii 


Ui 


646 


Till-:   LIKK  OF  NKLSON 


him  a  decorition  for  Copenliagen.  Coming  from  a  foreign 
sovereign,  there  was,  in  accepting  it,  no  ineonsisteney  with  liis 
general  attitnde ;  Init  in  referring  the  qnestion  to  the  Govern- 
ment, as  was  neeessary,  he  tokl  tlie  I'riine  Minister,  "  If  I  can 
judge  the  feelings  of  others  by  myself,  there  ean  be  no  honours 
bestowed  iipon  me  by  foreigners  that  do  not  reneet  ten  times 
on  our  Sovereign  and  Countr}'."  ^ 

In  conformity  with  this  general  stand,  when  it  was  proposed 
in  June,  1802,  to  give  him  the  thanks  of  the  City,  for  taking 
command  of  the  force  destined  to  defend  it  against  invasion, 
he  wrote  to  request  that  the  motion  might  be  withdrawn,  on 
the  express  ground  that  no  thanks  had  been  given  those 
engaged  at  Copenhagen.  **I  should  feel  much  mortified, 
when  1  reflected  on  the  noblo  support  I  that  day  received,  at 
any  honour  which  could  separate  me  from  them."  He  alleged 
the  same  reason,  in  the  following  September,  for  refusing  to 
dine  with  the  Corporation.  *' Never,  till  the  City  of  London 
think  justly  of  the  merits  of  my  brave  companions  of  the  2il 
of  April,  can  I,  their  commander,  receive  any  attention  from 
the  City  of  London."'  A  like  refusal  was  sent  to  his  invitation 
for  Lord  !^^ayor's  day. 

After  the  interview  with  Mr.  Addington,  the  question  of 
medals  was  dropped.  He  had  explained  his  position  fully, 
and  felt  that  it  was  hopeless  to  attem;nt  more,  so  long  as 
the  Admiralty  was  against  him  ;  but  when  the  Adminis- 
tration changed,  in  T^Iav,  1.S04,  he  wrote  to  Lord  Melville, 
the  new  First  Lord,  enclosing  a  statement  of  facts,  includ- 
ing his  correspondence  with  St.  Vincent,  and  requesting  a 
reconsideration  of  the  matter.  "The  luedal,"  he  said,  is 
withheld,  "  for  what  reason  Lord  St.  Vincent  best  knows. 
I  hope,"  he  concluded,  "for  your  recommendation  to  his 
^[ajesty,  that  he  may  be  j^leased  to  bestow  that  mark  of 
honour  on  the  battle  of  Copenhagen,  which  his  goodness  has 

^  It  is  possible  that  Nelson  hero  iisod  the  word  "  reflect "  in  the  priniai  v 
sense  of  relleetinj.'  honor  ;  but  in  the  secondary  sense  of  being  a  reHeotinii 
upon  those  who  1.  A  denied  a  just  chiim,  tlie  phrase,  nmbignous  as  it  stamN, 
represented  accurately  his  feeliiiffs.  "  I  own,  my  dear  Sir,"  he  said  a^'aiii 
to  the  Premier,  witli  reference  to  this  decoration,  "  great  as  this  honour  will 
be,  it  will  have  its  alloy,  if  I  cannot  at  the  same  time  wear  the  medal  for  lln' 
Battle  of  Copenhagen,  the  greatest  and  most  lionourable  reward  in  the  powc  r 
of  our  Sovereign  to  bestow,  ns  it  marks  my  personal  services." 


THE  COPENHAGEN  CONTROVEllSY 


54t 


given  to  the  Battle  of  St.  Vincent,  the  First  of  June,  of 
Ciunperdown,  an<l  the  Nih'."  Melvilh',  in  a  very  ."nipatlietie 
and  courteons  letter,  deelined,  for  a  reason  wliose  veight 
must  be  admitted  :  "  When  badges  of  triumph  are  bestowed  in 
the  heat  and  conHict  of  war,  they  do  not  rankle  in  the  minds 
even  of  the  enemy,  at  whose  expense  they  are  bestowed ;  but 
the  feeling,  I  suspect,  would  be  very  ditterent  in  Denmark,  if 
the  present  moment  was  to  be  chosen  for  ojjcning  afresh 
wounds  which  are,  I  trust,  now  healed,  or  in  the  daily  prog- 
ress of  being  so."  So  it  resulted  that  no  mark  of  public 
recognition  was  conferred,  during  Nelson's  life,  ujwn  the 
most  difHcult,  the  most  hazardous,  and,  at  the  moment,  ])er- 
liaps  the  most  critically  important  of  his  victories,  which  he 
liimself  considered  the  greatest  of  his  achievements. 

This  unfortunate  and  embittering  controversy  was  the 
most  marked  and  characteristic  incident  of  his  residence  at 
Merton,  between  October,  1801.  when  he  first  went  there,  and 
i\[ay,  1803,  when  he  departed  for  the  Mediterranean,  upon  the 
renewal  of  war  with  France.  Living  always  witii  the  i Tamil- 
tons,  the  most  copious  stream  of  j)rivate  eorrespoiidence  was 
cutoff;  and  being  uneniployed  after  Apiil,  ISOU,  his  official 
letters  are  confined  to  subjects  connected  rather  with  the  past 
than  with  the  then  present  time.  Upon  general  naval  ques- 
tions he  had,  however,  something  to  say.  A  trip  to  Wales 
suggests  a  memorandum  to  the  Vrime  Minister  concerning 
the  cultivation  and  preservation  of  oak  timber  in  the  Forest 
of  Dean.  He  submits  to  him  also  his  views  as  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  Malta,  in  case  the  provision  of  the  Treaty  of  Amiens, 
which  re-established  there  the  Order  of  the  Knights  under 
the  guarantee  of  the  six  great  Powers,  should  fail,  owing  to  the 
refusal  of  Russia  to  join  in  the  pro[)Osed  guarantee.  At  the 
time  he  wrote,  —  Deceniber,  1802,  —  the  (piestion  was  become 
burning,  threatening  the  rupture  of  the  existing  peace  between 
i'rance  and  (xreat  Britain ;  a  res\dt  which,  in  fact,  soon 
followed,  and  turned  mainly  upon  this  point.  The  essential 
aim  in  the  provision,  he  observed,  was  that  neither  of  the  two 
countries  should  have  the  island.  If  the  Order  could  not  be 
restored,  then  it  ought  to  go  to  F.iples,  again  under  the 
guarantee  of  the  Powers.  Tt  was  useless  to  England,  for 
operations   against   France ;  and  in  the  hands  of  the  latter 


<ii| 


,■; 


'I'  • 


I  i> 


m 


MHI 


m 


li 


1' ' 


548 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


"■f 


was  a  direct  menace  to  Sicily.  This  arrangement  would  accord 
with  the  spirit  of  the  treaty ;  but  if  it  also  was  impracticable, 
(treat  Britain  had  no  choice  but  to  keep  Malta  herself.  It 
would  cost  i^300,000  annually,  but  anything  was  better  than 
to  chance  its  falling  again  into  the  hands  of  France. 

In  like  manner  he  submitted  to  the  Admiralty  plans  for  the 
more  certain  manning  of  the  Navy,  and  for  the  prevention  of 
desertion.  The  material  conditions  of  seamen  while  in  tho 
service,  the  pay  and  provisions,  were,  he  considered,  all  that 
could  be  desired;  but  still  there  was  great  indisposition  to 
enlist,  and  the  desertions  in  the  last  war,  1793-1801,  rose  to 
the  enormous  figure  of  forty-two  thousand.  The  remedy  he 
outlined  was  a  Kegistracion  of  seamen,  and  of  certificates  to 
be  given  them,  bearing  a  personal  description  by  which  they 
could  be  identified,  and  on  which  their  character  and  services 
would  appear.  For  lack  of  such  papers,  seamen  by  hundreds 
were  in  London  in  distress,  although  large  amounts  of  money 
were  due  them  at  prize  agencies,  where  the  agent  feared  to 
pay  for  want  of  identification.  A  certificate  showing  five 
years'  faithful  service  should  entitle  the  holder  to  an  annual 
bounty  of  two  guineas,  to  be  increased  by  further  periods. 
Such  provisions  were  well  eakulated  to  appeal  to  men  accus- 
tomed to  entertain  prudential  considerations,  and  to  create 
gradually  a  class  with  whom  they  would  weigh,  and  who  would 
by  them  he  retained  in  permanent  employment.  In  meetinj; 
the  case  of  desertions,  caused  by  the  heedlessness  and  weak- 
ness of  seamen,  Nelson  became  more  vague.  The  nature  of  the 
trouble  he  rec(;gnized  clearly  enough,  but  there  is  a  lack  of 
definiteness  in  the  remedy  he  proposed  to  meet  an  evil  whicli 
still  exists.  "The  mainspring  of  all  my  plan  is,  that  of 
Certificates  fully  descriptive  of  the  persons ;  the  very  greatest 
good  must  result  from  it.  Something  should  be  attempted  at 
these  times  to  make  our  seamen,  at  the  din  of  war,  fly  to 
our  Navy,  instead  of  flying  from  it."  His  plan  is  substan- 
tially that  now  adopted. 

Closely  connected  with  the  discontent  of  seamen  was  the 
subject  of  prize-money,  in  the  receipt  and  distribution  of 
which  great  irregiilra'ities  and  abuses  existed  among  tlio 
agents,  to  remove  which  also  he  made  particular  and  detailed 
suggestions;  and  he   strongly  supported,   though   with  dis- 


'     i 


INTEREST  IN  PUBLIC   AFFAIRS 


540 


criminating  criticism,  the  Bill  for  au  Inquiry  into  Naval 
Abuses,  which  embodied  the  most  prominent  of  St,  Vincent's 
administrative  measures  while  at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty. 
But,  though  thus  supporting  the  Earl  in  his  policy  of  investi- 
gation, and  retaining  his  respect  for  him  as  a  sea-ofticer,  he 
was  utterly  dissatisfied  with  the  general  conduct  of  the  Ad- 
miralty and  with  its  attitude  towards  himt^elf  in  particular. 
*'  I  attribute  none  of  the  tyrannical  conduct  of  the  late  Board 
to  Lord  St.  Vincent,"  he  wrote  two  years  later.  "For  the 
Earl  I  have  a  sincere  regard,  but  he  was  dreadfully  ill-advised, 
and  I  fear  the  Service  has  suffered  much  from  their  conduct." 
It  would  seem  as  if  he  did  not,  after  the  first  moments  of 
annoyance,  forget  the  irritation  he  felt  against  Troubridge  at 
being  retained  in  the  Downs  against  his  will,  and,  as  he 
thought,  without  necessity.  "  I  thank  you,"  he  wrote  to 
Captain  Murray,  "for  taking  the  trouble  of  driving  seven 
miles  to  make  me  a  visit;  for,  could  you  believe  it,  there  are 
those  who  I  thought  were  my  firm  friends,  some  of  near 
thirty  years'  standing —  who  have  never  taken  that  trouble !  " 
This  may  not  refer  to  Troubridge,  but  the  description  an- 
swers to  him,  and  it  appears  that  in  the  Nelson-Hamilton 
circle  his  name  now  stood  as  a  type  of  ingratitude.* 

AV^riting  to  Davison  in  September,  1802,  after  a  trip  of  six 
weeks  made  to  Wales,  in  company  with  the  llamiltons,  he 
says:  "Our  tour  has  been  very  Kne  and  interesting,  an  I 
the  way  in  which  I  have  been  everywhere  received  most 
Hattering  to  my  feelings ;  and  although  some  of  the  higher 
powers  may  wish  to  keep  me  down,  yet  the  reward  of  the 
general  approbation  and  gratitude  for  my  services  is  an  ample 
reward  for  all  I  have  done  ;  but  it  makes  a  roitiiKirison  Hy  up  to 
my  mind,  not  much  to  the  credit ».!  some  in  the  higher  Uttices 
of  the  State."  Ho  seems  to  have  felt  tiiat  neither  in  his 
influence  with  the  Admiralty,  nor  in  reference  to  his  opinions 
(in  foreign  topics,  did  he  receive  the  recognition  that  his  dis- 
tinguished services,  abilities,  and  experience  claimed.  "  Hav- 
ing failed  entirely  in  submitting  my  thoughts  on  tliret;  points" 
—  those  just  cited,  manning,  desertion,  and  prize-money  — 
'•  I  was  disheartened  ; "  and  to  this  he  attributes  his  not  send- 


1  See  Pettigiew,  vol.  ii.  \).  225  ;  Moidsoii,  vol.  ii.  p.  176. 


550 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


ing  in  a  memoir  which  he  had  prepared  upon  the  subject  of 
the  Flotilla  for  Coast  Defence. 

But,  while  he  resented  this  neglect,  it  did  not  greatly  in- 
terfere with  his  happiness,  which  was  at  this  time  wellnigh 
complete.  He  comidaiiis  of  ill  health,  it  is  true,  from  time 
to  time,  and  his  mean?  were  insutticient  duly  to  keep  up  the 
two  establishments  —  Lady  Nelson's  and  Merton  —  for  which 
he  was  pecuniarily  responsible.  Under  this  embarrassment 
he  chafed,  and  with  a  sense  of  injustice  which  was  not  un- 
founded ;  for,  if  reward  be  proportioned  to  merit  and  to  the 
importance  of  services  rendered,  Nelson  had  been  most  in- 
adequately repaid.  F.  •  the  single  victories  of  St.  Vincent 
and  Camperdown,  each  commander-in-chief  had  received  a 
pension  of  £3,000.  The  Nile  and  Copenhagen  together  had 
brought  him  no  more  than  £2,000  ;  indeed,  as  he  had  already 
been  granted  £1,000  a  year  fur  St.  Vincent,  another  thousand 
may  be  said  to  have  been  all  he  got  for  two  of  the  greatest 
victories  of  the  war.  In  submitting  a  request  for  an  increase, 
he  asked  pertinently,  "  Was  it,  or  not,  tlie  intention  of  his 
Majesty's  Government  to  place  my  rewards  for  seivices 
lower  than  Lord  St.  Vincent  ur  Lord  Duncan  ?  "  There  was, 
of  course,  the  damaging  circumstance  that  the  conditions 
under  which  he  chose  to  live  made  him  poorer  than  he 
needed  to  be ;  but  with  this  the  Government  had  no  concern. 
Its  only  care  should  have  been  that  its  recompense  was  com- 
mensurate with  his  deserts,  and  it  is  revolting  to  see  a  man 
like  Nelson,  naturally  high-toned  and  always  liberal,  forced 
to  the  undigniHed  position  of  urging  —  and  in  vain  —  for  the 
equal  remuneration  that  should  have  been  granted  sponta- 
neously long  before. 

In  his  criticisms  of  the  Admiralty's  general  course,  it  does 
not  appear  wiiether  Nelson,  who  was  hereafter  to  be  the 
greatest  sufferer  from  St. Vincent's  excessive  economies;  realized 
as  yet  the  particular  injury  being  done  by  them  tc  the  material 
of  the  Navy.  In  his  passion  for  reform,  the  veteran  seaman 
obstinately  shut  his  eyes  to  the  threatening  condition  of  the 
political  atmosphere,  and  refused  to  reciognize  the  imminent 
danger  of  a  renewal  of  the  war,  because  it  necessarily  would 
[lostjtono  his  projected  innovations.  Assuming  the  con- 
tinuance  of   peace  with  all   the  violence  of  a  prejudice,  ho 


If!    ■fl 


INSTABILITY  OF   EXISTING   CONDITIONS 


551 


permitted  the  strength  and  resources  of  the  Navy  to  de- 
teriorate rapidly,  both  by  direct  action  and  by  omission  to  act. 
"Lord  St.  Vincent,"  wrote  Minto  in  November,  1802,  *'is 
more  violent  than  anybody  against  the  wiir,  and  has  declared 
that  he  will  resign  if  ministers  dare  go  to  war.  His  principal 
reason  is,  I  believe,  that  the  ships  are  so  much  out  of  repair 
as  to  be  unfit  for  service."  "Lord  Nelson,"  lie  ai^ys  at  the 
same  period,  "has  been  witii  me  a  lon^  time  to-day.  He 
seems  much  of  my  mind  on  material  points,  but  esi)eciaHy  on 
the  necessity  of  being  better  prepared  than  we  now  are."  The 
admiral's  own  letters  at  this  time  make  little  allusion  to 
the  measures,  or  the  neglects,  which  were  rapidly  undermining 
the  efficiency  of  the  fleet ;  but  a  year  after  leaving  Ent'land 
he  wrote,  "With  all  my  personal  regard  for  Lord  St.  Viiw.-'it, 
[  am  sorry  to  see  that  he  has  been  led  astray  Ijy  tli*!  opinion  of 
ignorant  people.  There  is  scarcely  a  thing  he  has  done  since 
he  has  been  at  the  Admiralty  that  I  have  not  heard  him 
reprobate  before  he  came  to  the  Board." 

Much  as  he  enjoyed  his  home  and  desired  peace,  Nelson 
liad  never  felt  assured  of  its  continuance.  Like  Great  Ihitaiu 
herself  during  this  repose,  he  restetl  with  his  arms  at  his  side, 
ready  for  a  call.  Tlie  Prime  Minister,  Addington,  has  trans- 
mitted a  curious  story  of  the  manner  in  which  he  exemplified 
his  ideas  of  the  proper  mode  of  negotiating  with  Boiutjiarte. 
'•  It  matters  not  at  all,"  he  said,  taking  up  a  poker,  '•  in  what 
way  I  lay  this  poker  on  the  floor.  But  if  Bonaparte  should 
say  it  7nn.st  be  placed  in  this  direction,"  suiting  the  action  to 
the  word,  "we  must  instantly  insist  upon  its  being  laid  in 
some  other  one."  At  the  same  time  Bonapai!.e,  across  the 
Channel,  was  illustrating  in  almost  identical  phrase  the  iu- 
tlomitable  energy  that  was  common  to  th»',se  two  men,  the 
exponents  of  the  two  opposing  and  irreconci  le  tendencies 
of  their  age.  "  H  the  British  ministry  sho.i 
there  was  anything  the  First  Consul  had  • 
lie  was  prevented  from  doing  it,  that  instai.' 
"  You  have  proved  yourself  too  true  a  pro[' 
casional  correspondent  to  Nelson,  "for  ' 
since  the  peace  that  it  could  not  be  of  h  ig 
after  jar,  as  Bonaparte  drove  his  triumplial  chariot  over  the 
prostrate   continent,    announced    the    instab'lity    of   existing 


intimate  that 

done,  because 

e  would  do  it." 

t,"  wrote  an  oc- 

have  said  ever 

duration."     Jiir 


!. 

1 

■ 

u 

1 

: 

f 

i 

d  I 


I       *     1 


!  i 


\i 


<  h 


i 


l)> 


...  s 


,  I; 


'i^ 

■ 

i:?i 

1 

i' 

ll 

11 

t 

i 

Ivi 


''  I* 


552 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


conditions  ,  and  the  speech  from  the  throne  on  the  16th  of 
November,  1802,  was  distinctly  ominous,  if  vague.  Nelson 
then  seconded  the  address  in  the  House  of  Peers,  in  words 
so  characteristic  of  his  own  temper,  and  of  that  then  prevail- 
ing in  the  nation,  that  they  serve  to  explain  the  strong  ac- 
cord between  him  and  it,  and  to  show  why  he  was- so  readily 
and  affectionately  distinguished  as  its  representative  hero. 
They  are  thus  reported  :  — 

"  I,  my  L'jrds,  have  in  different  countries,  seen  much  of  the  miser- 
ies of  war.  T  am,  therefore,  in  my  inmost  soul,  a  man  of  peace.  Yet 
I  would  not,  for  the  sake  of  any  peace,  however  fortunate,  consent  to 
sacrifice  ojie  jot  of  England's  honour.  Our  honour  is  inseparably 
combined  with  our  genuine  interest.  Hitherto  there  has  been  nothing 
greater  known  on  the  Continent  than  the  faith,  the  untainted  honour, 
the  generous  public  sympathies,  the  high  diplomatic  influence,  the 
commerce,  the  grandeiu',  the  resistless  power,  the  unconquerable 
valour  of  the  British  nation.  Wherever  I  have  served  in  foreign 
countries,  1  have  witnessed  these  to  be  sentiments  with  which  Britons 
were  regarded,  'i  he  advantages  of  such  a  reputation  are  not  to  be 
lightly  brought  into  hazard.  I,  for  one,  rejoice  that  his  Majesty  has 
signified  his  intention  to  pay  due  regard  to  the  connection  between 
the  interests  of  this  country  and  the  preservation  of  the  liberties  of 
Europe.  It  is  satisfactory  to  know,  that  the  preparations  to  main- 
tain our  dignity  in  peace,  are  not  to  be  neglected.  Those  supplies 
which  his  Majesty  shall  for  such  purposes  demand,  his  people  will 
most  earnestly  grant.  The  nation  is  satisfied  that  the  Government 
seeks  in  peace  or  war  no  interest  separate  from  that  of  the  people  at 
large ;  and  as  the  nation  was  pleased  with  that  sincere  spirit  of  peace 
with  which  the  late  treaty  was  negotiated,  so,  now  that  a  restless  and 
luijust  ambition  in  those  with  whom  we  desired  sincere  amity  has 
given  a  new  alarm,  the  country  will  rather  prompt  the  Government 
Uj  r  sert  its  honour,  than  need  to  be  roused  to  such  measures  of  vig- 
orous defence  as  the  exigency  of  the  times  may  reijuire." 

During  <.he  winter,  Bonaparte,  resentful  of  Great  Britain's 
claim  t(»  a  voice  in  the  politics  of  the  Continent,  became  more 
and  more  distinctly  menacing  in  deed  and  word.  On  the  20th 
of  February,  1803,  in  a  message  to  the  legislature,  he  made 
the  imprudent,  because  useless,  vaunt,  "This  government 
says  wilh  just  pride,  England,  alone,  cannot  to-day  contend 
against  Fruuce.'*  Two  days  later  Minto,  who  was  in  opposi- 
tiouj  was  told  by  Nelson,  *'  in  strict  ponHdence,"  that  for  ,some 


DESIRKS  CONTINUANCE  OF  PEACE 


553 


time  back  there  had  been  great  doubts  between  peace  and 
war  in  the  ministry.  "One  measure  in  contemplation  has 
been  to  send  him  to  the  Mediterranean,  by  way  of  watching 
the  armament  and  being  ready  if  wanted.  He  says  that  lie 
is  thought  the  fitter  for  that  delicate  service,  as  on  the  one 
hand  he  wishes  the  continuance  of  peace,  and  therefore  is  not 
likely  to  precipitite  matters,  and  on  the  other  hand  Bonaparte 
knows  that  if  he  hoists  his  flag  it  will  not  be  in  joke."  It 
had  for  some  time  been  arranged  that,  if  war  came,  he  was 
to  have  the  Mediterranean  command. 

On  the  8th  of  March,  1803,  the  King  sent  a  message  to 
Parliament,  that,  in  consequence  of  military  preparations 
going  on  in  the  ports  of  France  and  Holland,  he  judged  ex- 
pedient to  adopt  additional  measures  of  precaution  for  the 
security  of  his  dominions.  While  this  was  under  discussion 
in  the  Upper  House,  Nelson,  impressed  with  the  idea  that 
war  must  come,  left  his  seat,  and  wrote  to  the  Prime  Minister 
the  following  line:  "Whenever  it  is  necessar)',  I  am  your 
Admiral."  Yet  he  felt  the  tug  at  his  heart-strings  as  he  never 
had  before.  "War  or  Peace  ?"  he  writes  to  his  old  flag-cap- 
tain, Berry.  ''Every  person  has  a  different  opinion.  1  fear 
perhaps  the  former,  as  I  hope  so  muc'  f  n:  latter."  Only  with 
large  reservations  would  he  now  have  repeated  the  rule  Cod- 
rington  tells  us  he  inculcated,  ~  "  that  every  man  became  a 
bachelor  after  passing  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar,  and  he  was  not 
very  tardy  in  showing  that  he  practised  what  he  preached. 
Honour,  glory  and  distinction  were  the  whole  object  of  his 
life,  and  that  dear  domestic  happiness  never  abstracted  his 
attention."  He  did,  indeed,  rail  at  marriage  ^  during  his  last 
cruise,  now  fast  approaching ;  but  his  passionate  devotion  to 
Lady  Hamilton,  and  his  yearning  for  home,  knew  no  abate- 
ment. Yet,  through  all  and  over  all,  the  love  of  glory  and 
the  sense  of  honor  continued  to  the  last  to  reigri  supreme. 
'*  Government  cannot  be  more  anxious  for  ni}'^  departure,"  he 
tells  St.  Vincent,  "  than  I  am.  if  a  war,  to  go." 

Meantime  the  necessary  pj^'parations  were  quietly  progress- 
ing, while  the  diplomatic  discussions  with  France  became 
more  and  more  bitter  and  hopeless,  turning  mainly  on  the 

1  This  habit  is  mentioned  by  Captain  Janivs  Hillyar,  for  extracts  from 
whose  journals  the  author  i«  imiobted  to  Admiral  Sir  W.  R.  Mends,  O.  C.  B. 


>(!; 


W-' 


)■■ 


rM 


THE  UFE  OP  NKLSON 


I  I 


I 


in 


qiH'sticMi  of  M.'iltii,  thougli  thot  root  of  the  trouble  lay  far 
deeper.  The  "  V^ietory,"  of  a  huiHlred  guns,  was  named  for 
Nelson's  Haj,',  her  ottieers  appointed,  and  the  ship  commis- 
sioned. On  the  (>th  of  May  he  received  orders  to  prepare  for 
departure.  On  the  ll*th  the  British  ambassador  left  Paris, 
having  handed  in  the  (Government's  ultimatum  and  demanded 
his  ])assj)orts.  On  the  ICth  Great  Britain  declared  war  against 
France,  and  the  same  day  Nelson  at  the  Admiralty  received 
his  commission  as  commander-in-chief  in  the  Mediterranean. 
Within  forty-eighi.  hours  he  joined  the  "  Victory  "  at  Ports- 
jnouth,  and  on  the  2()th  sailed  for  his  station. 

Thus  ended  the  longest  period  of  retirement  enjoyed  by 
Nelson,  from  the  opening  of  the  war  with  France,  in  179.'}, 
until  his  death  in  1805.  During  it,  besides  the  separation 
from  Lady  Nelson,  two  great  breaks  occurred  in  his  personal 
ties  and  surroundings.  One  was  the  death  of  his  father,  on 
the  26th  of  April,  1802,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  There 
had  been  no  breach  in  the  love  between  the  two,  but  it  seems 
to  the  author  impossible  to  overlook,  in  the  guarded  letters  of 
the  old  man  to  liis  famous  son,  a  tinge  of  regret  and  disapproval 
for  the  singular  circumstances  under  which  he  saw  lit  to  live. 
That  he  gladly  accepted  the  opinion  professed  by  many  friends, 
naval  and  others,  and  carefully  fostered  by  the  admiral,  that 
his  relations  with  Lady  Hamilton  were  perfectly  innocent, 
is  wholly  probable;  but,  despite  the  usual  silence  concerning 
his  own  views,  observed  by  himself  and  Nelson,  two  clues  to 
his  thought  and  action  appear  in  his  letters.  One  is  the  re- 
mark, already  quoted,  that  gratitude  required  him  to  spend 
some  of  his  time  with  Lady  Nelson.  The  other,  singular  and 
Siiggestive,  is  the  casual  mention  to  Nelson,  on  ()('toi)er  8. 
1801,  that  he  had  received  an  anonymous  letter,  containing 
"  severe  reproaches  for  my  conduct  to  3'ou,  which  is  such,  it 
seems,  as  will  totally  separate  us."  *  In  whose  interest  would 
such  a  letter  most  likely  be  penned  ?  On  the  17th  of  October 
he  wrote  Lady  Nelson  that  he  ought  to  be  able  to  stay  with 
her  without  offending  his  children ;  but  she,  with  great  mag- 
nanimity, for  his  countenance  meant  nuich  to  her,  advised  a 
separation,  because  the  deprivation  of  seeing  his  own  family 
was  cruel.  In  the  event,  he  visited  Merton  in  November,  and 
>  Morrison  Collpction.  No.  C32,  October  8,  1801. 


DKATH  OF   HAMILTON 


r,',n 


it  lias  beon  said,  upon  the  antliority  ol'  Lady  Hamilton,  that 
he  intended  to  make  it  his  homo;  bnt  .sj^oing  to  Jiiith  for  the 
winter,  he  t'^ere  died.  Nelson  mourned  him  sineoroly,  but 
was  prevented  by  illness  from  being  ])resent  at  the  funeral. 
He  is  a  man  known  to  us  only  by  his  letters,  which  are  marked 
l)y  none  of  the  originality  that  distinguishes  the  professional 
utterances  of  the  admiral,  and  cannot  be  said  to  rise  much 
;d)ove  the  commonplace;  but  they  show  a  strong  and  un- 
jitfected  piety,  and  a  cheerful,  resolute  accei) ,  ince  of  the  infirm- 
ities of  protracted  old  age,  which  possess  cl;arm  and  inspire 
respect.  There  is  also  a  clear  indication  of  the  firmness  that 
characterized  Nelson  himself,  in  the  determination,  amid  all 
the  feebleness  of  age,  and  notwithstanding  his  pride  and  love 
tor  his  famous  son,  upon  whom,  too.  he  was  partially  depend- 
ent, that  he  would  not  abandon  the  wife,  to  whom  he  con- 
tinued to  write.  His  attitude  ii»  this  ngard,  as  far  as  can  be 
inferred  from  his  letters,  commands  sympathy  and  admiration. 
A  year  later,  on  the  (Jth  of  April,  1803,  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton also  died,  "in  Lady  Hamilton's  and  my  arms,"  wrote 
Nelson,  "  without  a  sigh  or  a  struggle.  The  world  never  lost 
a  more  upright  and  accomplished  gentleman."  liady  Hamil- 
ton, with  ready  tears,  recorded  :  "  Unhapjiy  day  for  the  forlorn 
ICnima.  Ten  minutes  past  ten  dear  Idessed  Sir  William 
left  me."  The  grouping  of  figures  and  emotions  at  that  death- 
bed was  odd  almost  beycnd  comprehension ;  one  of  the  most 
singular  studies  which  human  nature  has  presented  to  itself 
III'  its  powers  of  self-cajolement.  A  man  systematically  de- 
ceived, yet  apparently  sincerely  regarded,  and  affectionately 
tended  to  the  last  by  his  betrayers,  one  of  whom  at  least 
l)vided  himself,  and  for  the  most  part  not  unjustly,  upon  his 
tidolity  to  his  friends.  Hamilton,  alone  among  the  three, 
seems  to  have  been  single-minded  —  to  have  viewed  their 
mutual  relations  to  the  end,  not  with  cynical  indifference,  but 
with  a  simplicity  of  confidence  hard  to  be  understood  in  a  man 
of  his  antecedents.  It  may  have  been,  however,  that  he 
recognized  the  inevitable  in  the  disparity  of  years  and  in  his 
wife's  early  training,  and  that  he  chose  to  cover  her  failings 
with  a  self-abnegation  which  was  not  without  nobility.  Upon 
such  a  tacit  affirmation  he  set  a  final  seal  in  a  codicil  to  his 
will,  well  calculated  to  silence  those  who  saw  scandal  in  the 


11 


» 


.It 


11 


'( 


• 


li 


s       I 


'..\ 


•  i  i 


,( 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


>  I 


a.ss(i(!iatioii  between  liis  wile  and  his  friend.  "The  copy  of 
Madam  Le  lirunn's  picture  of  Kiinna,  in  enamel,  by  lione,  I 
give  to  my  dearest  friend  Lord  Nelson,  Duke  of  Hront(^,  a  very 
small  token  of  the  great  regard  I  have  for  his  Lordship,  tlir 
most  virtuous,  loyal,  and  truly  brave  character  I  ever  rai  t, 
>vith.  God  bless  him,  and  shame  fall  on  those  who  do  not  say 
anion." 

Sir  William's  death,  by  withdrawing  the  husband's  coun- 
teiiance  to  Nelson's  remaining  under  the  same  roof,  might 
have  complicated  matters  for  the  two  lovers,  but  the  outbreiik 
of  war  necessitated  the  ajliniral's  departure  a  month  later. 
When  he  returned  to  England  for  the  last  time,  in  August, 
1805,  he  was,  deservedly,  the  object  of  sucdi  wide-spread 
popular  devotion,  and  his  stay  was  so  short,  that  the  ^oice  of 
censure  was  hushed  aujid  the  general  murmur  of  affectionatf 
admiration.  The  noble  qualities  of  the  n»an,  the  exalted  spii  it 
of  self-sacrifice  and  heroic  aspiration  that  breathed  in  his 
utterances,  and  was  embodied,  not  only  in  his  brilliant  deeds, 
but  in  the  obscure,  patient  endurance  of  tlie  last  two  years, 
evoked  a  sentiment  which  spread  over  him  and  her  a  haze  of 
tender  sympathy  that  still  survives.  In  the  glory  of  Trafalgar, 
in  his  last  touching  commendation  of  her  and  his  child  to  the 
British  Government,  in  the  general  grief  of  the  nation,  there 
was  justly  no  room  to  remember  their  fault;  both  acquaintance 
and  strangers  saw  in  her  only  the  woman  whom  he  loved  to 
the  end.  The  sisters  of  Nelson,  women  of  mature  years  and 
irreproachable  character,  maintained  a  correspondence  witli 
Lady  Hamilton  during  their  lives ;  long  after  his  death,  and 
the  departure  of  his  influence,  removed  any  interested  motive 
for  courting  her  friendship.  Between  them  and  Lady  Nelson. 
on  the  other  hand,  the  breach  was  final.  Their  occasional 
mention  of  her  is  unfriendly,  and  upon  the  whole  contemptu- 
ous; while  she,  as  far  as  can  be  judgcnl  from  their  letters, 
returned  to  them  an  ec^ual  measure  of  disdain. 


"'     PTER  XIX. 
('ijmmandkk-in-Ciiikk    in    tiik   Mkditkiiisankan.  —  TiiK    Lmno   Watch 

OFK   ToULuN.  •      OccUrATIUNN   OK   A    C'oMMANDKK-r N-ClUKK. 

Mav,  1803-Januauy,  1805.    AiiK,  45-40. 

WHEN  Nelson,  ufter  a  three  years'  absence,  returned  to 
the  Mediterranean  in  I8O0,  he  found  the  conditions, 
upon  which  the  military  balance  of  power  there  depended, 
L;i'eatly  altered  from  those  he  had  known  during  the  period  of 
liis  previous  service.  He  had  been  present,  indeed,  almost 
au  eye-witness,  at  the  tremendous  reverse  associated  with  the 
name  of  Marengo,  for  that  battle,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
fought  while  he  was  at  Legliorn  on  his  return  to  England ; 
Itut  Marengo,  and  the  conventions  following  it,  were  at  the 
moment  only  the  beginning  of  an  end  which  tlieu  could  not 
he  foreseen. 

The  most  signilieant  token  of  the  entire  change  of  condi- 
tions  —  of  the  predominant,  far-reaching,  and  tirmly  fastened 
grip  oi'  France  on  the  land  —  was  the  presence  of  an  army 
corps  of  tifteeu  thousand  men  in  the  extreme  southeast  of 
Italy,  occupying  the  Kingdom  of  Naples  from  the  river 
Ufanto,  on  the  Adriatic  coast,  round  to  the  liradano  on  the 
Irulf  of  Taranto,  and  including  the  useful  ports  of  Brindisi 
and  Taranto.  This  distant  and  ex-centric  extension  of  the 
arms  of  the  llepublic  bespoke  Bonaparte's  contidence  in  the 
solidity  of  his  situation  in  the  South  of  Europe;  for  under 
previous  circumstances,  even  after  his  victorious  campaign  of 
1796,  he  had  always  deprecated  an  occupation  of  Naples,  and 
ri'lied  upon  threats  and  a  disjjlay  of  force  to  insure  the  quies- 
cence of  that  state.  That  one  of  his  first  steps,  upon  the 
renewal  of  war  with  Great  Britain,  should  have  been  to  place 
a  large  body  of  troops  in  a  position  he  once  consitler'^d  so  ex- 
posed, shows  the  fulness  of  his  conviction  that  upon  the  Con- 
tinent he  had,  for  the  moment,  nothing  to  fear  from  the  other 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  USaO 

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THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Great  Powi  xs.  Strongly  stirred  as  they  had  been  by  his  high- 
handed aggressions,  none  as  yet  ventured  to  call  him  directly 
to  account.  Great  Britain,  the  least  immediately  affected,  had 
stepped  into  the  lists,  and  demanded  not  only  that  aggression 
should  cease,  but  that  the  state  of  the  Continent  should  hv. 
restored  as  it  existed  when  she  signed  the  treaty  of  Amiens. 
With  this  requirement  she  maintained  the  war,  single-handed, 
from  May,  1803,  to  the  autumn  of  1805. 

It  was  not  without  reason  that  Bonaparte  reckoned  upon 
the  inaction  of  the  Continent.  Austria,  although  profoundly 
discontented  by  much  he  had  done  since  the  peace  of  Lune- 
ville,  in  1801,  was  too  thoroughly  disheartened  and  exhausted 
by  the  unsuccessful  and  protracted  struggle  which  preceded 
it,  to  be  ready  to  renew  the  strife.  Limited  as  she  now  was, 
by  the  treat}^,  to  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Adige,  there  was  in 
Northern  Italy  no  force  to  threaten  the  French  communica- 
tions, between  their  divisions  in  the  valley  of  the  Po  and  the 
one  at  the  heel  of  the  peninsula.  Prussia,  playing  a  double 
part  for  years  back,  seeking  from  day  to  day  the  favor  of  the 
most  powerful,  was  wholly  committed  for  the  time  to  the 
First  Consul ;  while  Russia,  although  her  youthful  sovereign 
had  abandoned  the  anti-British  policy  of  his  predecessor,  re- 
mained undecided  as  to  the  general  course  she  should  pursue 
amid  the  ever-shifting  perplexities  of  the  day.  Less  fantastic 
in  imagination  than  his  insane  father,  Alexander  I.  inherited 
a  visionary  tendency,  which  hindered  practical  action,  and 
showed  itself  in  plans  too  vast  and  complicated  for  realiza- 
tion, even  when  two  rulers  of  the  overwhelming  power  of 
himself  and  Napoleon,  at  a  later  date,  set  their  hands  to  tho 
task.  Swayed,  alternately,  by  sympathy  with  the  ancient 
order  of  things,  which  Great  Britain  for  the  moment  repre- 
sented, and  by  prospects  of  Kussian  aggrandizement,  which 
Bonaparte  dangled  before  his  eyes,  the  Czar  halted  between 
two  opinions,  pleasing  himself,  meanwhile,  in  weaving,  Avith 
associates  of  his  own  age,  schemes  for  a  general  reorganization 
of  Europe.  In  these  the  interests  of  Kussia  naturally,  and 
quite  properly,  had  a  leading  part,  and  not  least  in  those  seas 
and  regions  that  fell  within  the  limits  of  Nelson's  command. 

Tlio  power  of  the  great  states  which  lay  to  the  northward 
and  eastward  of  him  being  thus  neutralized,  Bonaparte  found 


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riJLlTICAL   CONDITIONS,   1803 


550 


upou  the  laud  nothing  to  oppose  his  will,  or  to  contest  his 
influence,  in  the  smaller  and  weaker  nations  to  the  southward 
and  westward,  close  to  his  own  doors,  but  isolated  from  the 
rest  of  Europe,  except  by  sea  —  a  weighty  exception.  Spain, 
reduced  to  virtual  vassalage  in  the  previous  war,  no  longer 
even  pretended  to  dispute  his  orders.  She  was  not  engaged 
in  the  present  hostilities,  simply  because  it  suited  hiiu  better 
to  take  a  money  tribute  from  her,  and  to  enjoy  for  French 
ships  the  benevolent  neutrality  of  Spanish  ports,  more  neces- 
sary to  them  than  to  the  British.  IMoreover,  if  Spain  joined 
in  the  war,  Minorca,  restored  to  her  at  the  peace,  would  be  at 
the  mercy  of  Great  Britain,  and  Port  IVlahon,  the  fine  haven 
of  that  island,  was  always  a  menace  to  Toulon.  The  harbors 
of  remote  Portugal,  where  Lisbon  formerly  had  given  power- 
ful support  to  the  British  fleet,  were  now  closed  to  it  for 
offensive  operations ;  and  Kelson,  within  whose  command  its 
seaboard  lay,  was  strictly  enjoined  to  refrain  from  any  such 
use  of  them,  even  from  sending  in  prizes,  except  under  stress 
of  weather.  In  Italy,  Piedmont  had  been  incorporated  with 
B'rance,  while  the  Italian  and  Ligurian  (Genoa)  Republics  in 
the  North  were  so  identified  with  her  in  action,  and  so  sub- 
missive to  her,  that  the  capture  of  the  latter's  ships  was  at 
once  ordered  by  Nelson  ;  and  he  recommended  to  his  Govern- 
ment that  a  formal  blockade  should  be  proclaimed  of  her 
ports,  as  well  as  of  Leghorn,  where  the  French  flag  was  flown 
on  the  same  staft"  as  the  Tuscan.  The  States  of  the  Pope,  in- 
termediate between  these  tributaries  of  Bonaparte  in  the 
North  and  his  garrisoned  province  in  Naples,  enjoyed  only 
such  precarious  independence  as  he  from  day  to  day  allowed. 
But,  mighty  as  was  the  growth  of  French  ascendency,  as 
shown  by  these  changes,  the  very  advantages  accruing  to 
France  from  her  advanced  maritime  positions  laid  her  further 
open  to  the  Sea  Power  of  Great  Britain.  The  neutrality  of 
Genoa  and  Tuscany  could  no  longer  embarrass  the  British 
admiral,  as  it  had  Nelson  in  1795  and  179G.  Oftensive  opera- 
tions against  them  were  now  merely  a  (question  of  adequate 
force,  and  the  South  of  France  depended  greatly  ujjon  free 
access  to  their  ports.  Taking  Piedmont  from  the  King  of 
Sardinia,  too,  relieved  any  scruples  the  British  might  have 
concerning  their  use  of  the   island  of  Sardinia  injuring  a 


fill 


11  'i 


500 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


II  I 


'I 


friendly   monarch,   a  consideration   which  kept  them  away 
from  Sicily. 

Nelson,  instructed  by  the  experience  and  observation  of  the 
recent  past,  and  by  a  certain  prescient  sagacity  which  was  at 
once  native  and  cultivated  in  him,  recognized  that  tho  Medi- 
terranean, with  its  immense  indented  coast  line,  its  positions 
of  critical  importance,  —  such  as  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  and 
the  Bosphorus,  Egypt  and  Malta,  —  and  its  comparatively 
short  water  distances,  was  the  field  of  operations  to  which  the 
maritime  ambitions  of  lionaparte,  debarred  a  wider  flight  by 
the  sea-power  of  Great  Britain,  must  inevitably  incline.  To 
this  contributed  also  its  remoteness  from  England,  as  well  as 
its  nearness  to  France  and  to  the  ports  subject  to  her  influence 
in  Italy  and  Spain ;  while  the  traditional  ambitions  of  French 
rulers,  for  three  centuries  back,  had  aspired  to  control  in  the 
Levant,  and  had  regarded  Turkey  for  that  reason  as  a  natural 
ally.  It  was,  therefore,  not  merely  as  magnifying  his  own 
ofiice,  uor  yet  as  the  outcome  of  natural  bias,  resulting  from 
long  service  in  its  waters,  that  Nelson  saw  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean the  region  at  onco  for  defence  and  otfence  against 
Bonaparte ;  where  he  might  be  most  fatally  checked,  and 
where  also  he  might  be  induced  most  surely  to  steps  exhaus- 
tive to  his  strength.  This  conviction  was,  indeed,  rather  an 
instance  of  accurate  intuition  than  of  formulated  reasoning. 
Clear,  ample,  and  repeated,  as  are  his  demonstrations  of  the 
importance  of  the  various  positions  at  stake,  and  of  the  meas- 
ures necessary  to  be  taken,  they  rather  apply  to  the  necessities 
of  the  moment  than  indicate  a  wide  scheme  of  policy,  which 
should  divert  the  energies  of  the  enemy  to  the  South  of 
Europe,  and  so  provide  the  best  of  defences  against  his  pro- 
jected invasion  of  England.  Yet  even  of  such  broader  view 
tokens  are  not  wanting.  "  To  say  the  truth,"  he  writes  to 
the  Queen  of  Naples,  "  I  do  not  believe  we  had  in  the  last 
war,  and,  according  to  all  appearance,  we  shall  not  have  in 
the  present  one  either,  plans  of  a  sufiiciently  grand  scale  to 
force  France  to  keep  within  her  proper  limits.  Small  meas- 
ures produce  only  small  results.  The  intelligent  mind  of  your 
Majesty  will  readily  comprehend  the  great  things  which  might 
be  effected  in  the  Mediterranean.  On  thi.s  side  Buonaparte  is 
the  most  vulnerable.     It  is  from  here  that  it  would  be  the 


'.    I' 


MILITARY  CONDITIONS,    18();J 


501 


most  easy  to  mortify  his  pride,  and  so  far  huinble  him,  as  to 
make  him  accept  roasonablo  conditions  of  peace." 

It  cannot  be  claimed,  however,  that  there  entered  into  Nel- 
son's thoughts,  for  Italy,  any  such  diversion  as  that  by  wliich 
the  Spanish  Peninsular  War  some  years  later  drained  the  life 
blood  of  France.  The  time,  indeed,  was  not  yet  ripe,  nor 
would  the  scene  have  been  in  any  way  as  favoral)le  to  Great 
Britain ;  and,  moreover,  so  far  from  being  ready  to  threaten, 
her  energies  were  effectually  constrained  to  her  own  defence, 
by  the  superior  audacity  and  direct  threats  of  Bonaparte. 
Even  the  limited  suggestions  for  the  employment  of  troops 
in  the  Mediterranean,  made  by  Nelson  from  time  to  time, 
failed  to  receive  attention,  and  he  himself  was  left  to  struggle 
on  as  best  he  might,  with  inadequate  means  and  upon  a  bare 
defensive,  even  in  naval  matters.  Great  Britain,  in  short, 
had  stripped  herself,  incautiously,  so  bare,  and  was  so  alarmed 
by  the  French  demonstrations  of  invasion,  that  she  for  the 
moment  could  think  only  of  the  safety  of  her  territory  and  of 
her  home  waters,  and  her  offensive  operations  were  confined 
to  the  sea. 

Bonaparte  understood  as  fully  aa  Nelson  the  importance  of 
the  Mediterranean  to  him.  His  mind  was  set  upon  the  exten- 
sion of  France's  dominion  therein,  —  in  its  islands,  upon  its 
northern  and  southern  shores,  and  in  the  East ;  nor  was  he 
troubled  Avith  scruples  as  to  the  means  by  which  that  object 
might  be  attained.  During  the  short  peace  of  Amiens,  Lord 
Keith  had  felt  it  necessary  to  take  precautions  against  the  re- 
occupation  of  Corfu  by  the  French  troops ;  and  again  at  a 
later  date  had  stationed  a  ship  for  the  same  purpose  at  the 
Madalena  Islands,  belonging  to  Sardinia,  which  Nelson  after- 
wards made  a  rendezvous  for  his  fleet.  Algiers,  too,  had  at- 
tracted the  First  Consul's  attention.  "  Algiers  will  be  French 
in  one  year  after  a  peace,"  wrote  Nelson  in  August,  1804. 
"  You  see  it,  and  a  man  may  run  and  read ;  that  is  the  plan 
of  Buonaparte."  "  The  Ministers  of  the  Dey  must  know,  that 
an  armament  at  Toulon,  and  a  large  army,  after  the  peace 
with  Great  Britain,  was  intended  to  land  and  plunder  Algiers, 
which  they  doubtless  would  have  effected,  had  not  a  British 
fleet  been  placed  in  Oristan  Bay  [Sardinia]  to  watch  their  mo- 
tions."    These  and  similar  reasons  had  led  the  British  Gov- 

36 


i^i 


562 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


eminent  to  maintain  the  Mediterranean  S([uadrou  nearly  upon 
a  war  looting  during  the  peace.     l>ut,  ii  iJonaparte's  purpose 
was  fixed  to  control  the  Mediterranean  some  day,  it  now  was 
set   also   upon    the    invasion  of  England ;    and    although   iie 
looked  and  plotted  in  many  directions,  taking  long  views,  and 
neglecting  no  opportunity  to  secure  advanced  iootholds   lor 
future  uses,  he  had  not  yet  reached  the  stage  in  his  develop- 
ment when  he  would  divide  his  energies  between  two  gigantic 
undertakings.     One  at  a  time,  and  with  an  accumulaiiun  of 
force  abundantly  ade([uato  to  the  end  in  view,  was  his  policy 
all  the  days  of  Nelson.     The   Mediterranean  with  its  varied 
interests  was  to  him  at  this  time  one  of  several  nu'ans,  by 
which  he  hoped  to  distract  British  counsels  and  to  dissever 
British  strength ;  but  it  was  no  part  of  his  design  to  provoke 
Great  Britain  to  measures  which  would  convert  her  alarm  for 
the  Mediterranean  ]jeninsulas  into  open  war  with  them,  or  in 
them,  compelling  France  either  to  lecede  from  thence,  or  to 
divert  thither  a  fonje  that  might  weaken  his  main  effort.     His 
aim  was  to  keep  anxiety  keenly  alive,  and  to  cut  short  the 
resources  of  his  enemy,  by  diplomatic  pressure  upon  neutral 
states,  up  to  the  last  extreme  that  could  be  borne  without  war 
against  them  being  declared,  as  the  lesser  evil ;  and  the  nearer 
he  could  approach  tiiis  delicate  boundary  line,  without  cross- 
ing it,  the  greater  his  success.     "  I  do  not  think  a  Spanish 
war  [that  is,  a  declaration  by  Spain]  so  near,"  wrote  Nelson 
in  November,  180.'».     ''  "We  are  more  likely  to  go  to  war  with 
Spain  for  her  complaisance  to  the  French  ;  but  the  French  can 
gain  nothing,  but  be  great  losers,  by  forcing  Spain  to  go  to 
war  with   us;    therefore,  I  never  exj)ect   that  the  Spaniards 
will  begin,  uidess  Buonaparte  is  absolutely  mad,  as  many  say 
he  is.     I  never  can  believe  that  he  or  his  counsellors  are  such 
fools  as  to  force  Spain  to  begin." 

The  course  instinctively  advocated  by  Nelson,  transpiring 
through  occasional  utterances,  was  directly  contrary  to  Bona- 
parte's aims  and  would  have  marred  his  game.  "  We  never 
wanted  ten  thousand  troops  more  than  at  this  moment,"  Nel- 
son wrote  shortly  after  he  had  reached  the  station  and  become 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  affairs.  "They  might  save 
Naples,  Sicily,  the  ]\Iorea  and  Egypt,  by  assisting  and  giving 
confidence  to  the   inhabitants."     "It  has  been  my  plan  to 


NELSON'S   MILllAUY    NIKWS,    1SU;J 


&♦« 


have  10,000  dispo.siiblu  trou[)s  in  tliu  Ah-diti'iTuneiiu,"  luj  wrote 
to  Acton  ;  and  he  regretted  to  the  JNlini.stry  that  they  shouhl 
have  \v'»^hd"iiwn  all  tlie  line  army  which  hail  rej^aineil  Kgypt 
in  I8O1.  *•  Tlie  sending  tlieni  home,"  he  remarked  to  an  oiv 
easional  correspondent,  "  was  a  very  inconsiderate  measure,  to 
say  nothing  lurtlier  of  it."  J  lis  idea  was  to  garrison  Gaeta 
and  Naples  on  the  coast  ol'  tlie  mainhiml,  and  Messina  in 
Sicily;  and  to  throw  a  icrce  into  the  mountains  of  (Jahd)ria, 
whi(di  should  sustain  an  I  give  colu'sion  to  the  insurrection 
that  he  contidently  expecteil  would  follow.  AVith  the  Hritisii 
fleet  covering  the  approaches  by  water,  and  sustaining  and 
reinforcing  garrisons  in  the  ports,  there  would  be  imposed 
upon  the  enemy,  unless  he  chost;  to  abandon  Southern  Italy,  a 
scene  of  operations  in  a  distant,  ditticult  country,  with  a  long 
and  narrow  line  of  comnniidcations,  Hankeil  throughout  by  the 
sea,  and  particularly  by  the  two  fortified  harbors  which  he 
proposed  to  occupy.  "  The  peasantry  would,  1  believe,  defend 
their  mountains,  and  at  least  it  would  give  a  check  to  the 
movements  of  the  French,  and  give  us  time  to  get  a  fleet  into 
the  Mediterranean."  That  the  attempt  would  have  been 
ultimately  successful,  against  such  power  as  Napoleon  then 
Avielded,  cannot  be  athrmed  ;  but,  until  put  down,  it  neces- 
sarily would  have  engaged  a  force  very  disproi)ortionate  to  its 
own  numbers,  drawing  off  in  great  part  the  army  dt;;,tined 
against  England,  as  it  was  diverted  two  years  later  by  Austria, 
and  giving  opportunity  for  changes  in  the  political  conditions, 
even  to  the  formation  of  a  new  Coalition. 

Nelson,  therefore,  was  not  far  from  right  in  reasoning  that 
the  Mediterranean  should,  and  therefore  wouhl,  be  the  chief 
scene  of  operations.  In  Bonaparte's  eyes,  to  invade  Britain 
was,  justly,  the  greatest  of  all  ends,  the  compassing  of  which 
would  cause  all  the  rest  to  fall.  Nelson,  weighing  the  diffi- 
culties of  that  enterprise  more  accurately  than  could  be  done 
by  one  unaccustomed  to  the  sea,  doubted  the  reality  of  the 
intention,  and  thought  it  more  consonant  to  the  true  policy  of 
France  to  seize  control  of  the  ^Mediterranean,  by  a  sudden  con- 
centration of  lier  fleets,  and  then  to  transport  her  troops  by 
water  to  the  heel  of  Italy,  to  the  Ionian  Islands,  to  the  Morea, 
to  Egypt.  So  stationed,  with  fortified  stepping-stones  rising 
at  short  intervals  from  the  deep,  future  movements  of  troops 


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664 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


and  supplies  from  point  to  point  would  be  but  an  affair  of 
coasters,  slipping  from  batter}'  to  battery,  such  as  he  had 
experienced  to  his  cost  in  the  Riviera.  In  this  project  he 
thought  it  likely  that  France  could  secure  the  co-operation  of 
Kussia,  by  allowing  the  latter  her  share  of  the  sj)oils  of  Tur- 
key, especially  in  Constantinople.  He  saw,  indeed,  that  the 
partition  would  involve  some  difficulty  between  the  two  part- 
ners, and  in  his  correspondence  he  attributes  the  Morea  and 
the  islands,  now  to  one,  now  to  the  other ;  but  the  prediction, 
elicited  piece-meal  from  his  letters,  received  a  close  fulfilment 
four  years  later  in  the  general  tenor  of  the  agreements  of 
Tilsit,  nor  was  it  less  accurate  in  its  dim  prophecy  of  a 
disagreement. 

Such,  in  broad  outline,  were  the  prepossessions  and  views 
Nelson  took  with  him  from  England  in  1803,  as  modified  by 
the  information  he  received  upon  reaching  the  station ;  and 
such  the  counter-projects  of  Bonaparte,  to  whom  belonged, 
as  the  privilege  of  the  offensive,  the  choice  of  direction  for 
his  attack.  The  essential  difference  between  the  two  was, 
that  one  believed  the  invasion  of  England,  however  difficult, 
to  be  possible,  and  therefore  to  be  the  true  and  first  object  of 
his  efforts  ;  while  the  other,  without  pi^nouncing  that  attempt 
impossible,  saw  its  difficulties  so  clearly,  that  he  conceived  his 
enemy  must  be  aiming  for  the  Mediterranean  from  the  begin- 
ning. It  is  permissible  to  remark  that  Bonaparte,  after  the 
failure  of  the  invasion,  first  busied  himself  in  reducing  Aus- 
tria, Prussia,  and  Ilussia,  successively,  to  the  state  of  inaction 
in  which  they  were  in  1803 ;  next  came  to  an  understanding 
with  the  latter,  such  as  Nelson  had  foreseen ;  and  then  turned 
to  the  Mediterranean,  where  he  established  his  own  rule  in 
Naples,  in  the  Ionian  Islands,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Adriatic,  and  finally  in  the  Spanish  peninsula.  Beyond  that 
his  advance  was  stayed  by  the  Sea  Power  of  Great  Britain, 
which  at  last  wrought  his  ruin.  Thus  in  the  event  the 
predictions  of  the  British  admiral  were  postponed,  but  not 
falsified. 

Nelson's  characteristic  impatience  and  energy  hurried  him 
on  from  the  moment  he  took  up  his  command.  "I  cannot 
sail  before  to-morrow,"  he  said  repeatedly  in  Portsmouth, 
"andtliat's  an  age."     "If  tlie  Devil  stands  at  the  door,"  he 


PASSAGE  TO  MEDITERRANEAN,   ISO;? 


565 


tells  St.  Vincent,  "  we  shall  sail  to-morrow  forenoon."  The 
Admiralty,  in  its  primary  anxiety  about  IJrest,  im])0sed  upon 
him  a  delay  under  whieli  he  chafed  angrily.  He  was  directed 
to  meet  off  that  port  the  S(iuadron  of  Adniiral  Cornwallis,  in" 
order  that,  if  the  latter  wanted  tlie  "  Victory,"'  she  might  be 
left  there,  and  an  intimation  was  even  given  that  he  was  '"on 
no  account  to  pass  Admiral  Cornwallis,  so  as  to  run  any 
chance  of  his  being  deprived  of  the  services  of  the  Victory, 
if  he  should  judge  it  necessary  to  detain  her."  Nelson  re- 
sented the  implication  that  he  was  capable  of  evading  an 
order,  like  a  frigate-captain  parting  company  to  better  his 
chance  of  prize-money.  "  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  hold  it 
impossible  for  any  officer,  under  such  orders  as  their  Lordships' 
to  me,  to  designedly  miss  Admiral  Cornwallis  off  Brest." 

On  the  22d  of  ISIay  he  was  off  Ushant,  between  which  and 
Cornwallis's  rendezvous  he  passed  twenty-four  hours,  fuming 
and  fretting  over  a  de^.ay  that  was  losing  him  a  fresh,  fair, 
northerly  wind  ;  the  more  so,  that  he  was  satisfied  Cornwallis 
neither  needed  nor  wanted  the  ship.  '*  From  his  conduct,"  — 
not  being  on  his  rendezvous,  —  "I  am  Mear  there  can  be 
nothing  in  Brest  to  demand  his  attention."  On  the  23d,  how- 
ever, he  could  stand  it  no  longer.  "What  a  wind  we  are 
losing  !  "  "  If  the  wisdom  of  my  superiors  had  not  prevented 
me,"  he  growled,  "at  this  moment  I  should  have  been  off  the 
coast  of  Portugal.  I  am  aware  of  the  importance  of  my  get- 
ting to  the  Mediterranean,  and  think  I  might  safely  have  been 
allowed  to  proceed  in  the  Victory."  At  Gr.  m.  of  that  day. 
Con  wallis  not  turning  up,  he  tumbled  himself  and  his  suite 
on  !:»  'ird  the  frigate  "  Amphion,"  which  was  in  company,  and 
cor  craned  his  voyage,  going  out  in  all  the  discomfort  of  "a 
convict,"  to  use  St.  Vincent's  expression;  "seven  or  eight 
sleeping  in  one  cabin,"  as  Nelson  himself  described  it.  "  It 
is  against  my  own  judgment  but  in  obedience  to  orders,"  he 
told  the  Earl ;  while  to  the  Prime  Minister,  with  whom  he 
Avas  in  personal,  correspondence,  he  lamented  the  loss,  "  for  I 
well  know  the  weight  of  the  Victory  in  the  IVlediterranean." 
As  he  anticipated,  Cornwallis  did  not  want  the  ship,  and  she 
joined  Nelson  two  montns  afterwards  off  Toulon. 

Late  in  the  evening'  of  June  3d,  the  "  Amphion  "  anchored 
at  Gibraltar,  whither  she  brought  the  first  certain  news  of 


I . 


li^'r.' 


M  m 


,'l: 


500 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


W 


the  war,  though  it  liad  boon  declared  nearly  three  weeks  be- 
fore. The  next  day  was  actively  employed  in  giving  neces- 
sary instructions  to  the  yard  officials,  and  detailing  cruisers 
to  guard  the  entrance  to  the  Straits,  and  to  maintain  the 
commiinications  witli  the  Barbary  coast,  upon  Avhich  the  Hock 
depended  for  supplies  of  fresh  pi'ovisions.  At  4  r.  m.  the 
ship  again  sailed  for  IVFalta,  accompanied  by  the  frigate 
"  INFaidstone,"  to  which,  on  the  11th  of  June,  Avas  transferred, 
for  direct  passage  to  Naples  by  the  north  of  Sicily,  the  new 
liritish  minister  to  the  Two  Sicilies,  jNfv.  Elliot,  who  had  em- 
barked with  Nelson  on  board  the  ''Victory,"  and  afterwards 
gone  with  him  to  the  "  Amphion."  Throughout  the  following 
two  years  an  active  correspondence,  personal  and  diplomatic, 
was  maintained  with  this  gentleman,  who,  like  his  brother, 
Lord  Minto,  placed  the  utmost  dependence  upon  the  political 
sagacity  and  tact  of  the  admiral.  When  the  latter,  a  year 
later,  spoke  of  leaving  the  station  on  account  of  his  health, 
Elliot  wrote  to  him :  "  Where  such  great  interests  are  con- 
cerned, I  shall  not  presume  to  dwell  upon  my  own  feelings, 
although  I  cannot  but  recall  to  your  Lordship  that  I  only 
consented  to  depart  as  abruptly  as  I  did  from  England,  to 
undertake  this  arduous  and  ruinous  mission,  from  the  expec- 
tation that  my  efforts  to  direct  the  councils  of  this  Kingdom 
would  have  been  seconded  by  your  pre-eminent  talents  and 
judgment."  After  the  two  frigates  parted,  the  "  Amphion  " 
kept  on  to  Malta,  whore  she  arrived  on  the  15th  of  June. 

With  the  separation  of  the  "  Maidstone  "  Nelson  began  the 
extensive  diplomatic  correspondence,  which  employed  so  much 
of  his  time  during  this  command,  and  through  which  we  are 
made  familiar  Avith  the  Avorkings  of  his  mind  on  the  general 
j)olitical  conditions  of  the  Mediterranean.  She  carried  from 
him  letters  to  the  King  and  Queen  of  the  Sicilies,  to  their 
Prime  Minister,  A(!ton,  and  to  the  British  minister  to  the 
Court  of  Sardinia.  To  these  succeeded,  upon  his  arrival  in 
jSlalta,  —  as  a  bettor  point  of  departure  for  the  farther  East, 
now  that  the  French  held  the  west  coast  of  the  Adriatic,  — 
despatches  to  the  British  minister  to  the  Porte,  to  the  Grand 
Vizier  and  the  Capitan  Pacha,  to  the  Republic  of  the  Seven 
Islands,  as  the  group  of  Corfu  and  its  sisters  Avas  now  styled, 
and  to  the  British  representative  to  their  government. 


i; 


VIEWS   CONCERNING  NAPLES 


507 


All  t-lipse.  eoinmnnioalion.s  woro,  of  conrsp,  tentative,  based 
upon  a  yet  inipei'feot  knowledge  of  conditions.     For  the  most 
part  they  conveyed,  besides  the   notification   of   his  having 
taken  the  command,  chiefly  general  assurances  of  the  good- 
will of  the  writer's  government,  and  an  undefined  intimation 
that  all  had  best  be  on  tlieir  guard  against  French  scheming 
and  aggressions.     To  Naples  he  spoke   more  definitely,  and 
indicated  at  once  the  considerations  that  would  dictate  his 
course,  and,   he   intimated,  should    control   theirs   also.     He 
had  been  instructed,  he  said,  to  consider  the  welfare  of  the 
Two  Sicilies  as  one  of  the   first  of  liritish  objects,  and  liis 
Government   was   convinced   of  the   advantages   that   would 
a<^crue  both  to  Sicily  and  Naples,  if  their  neutrality  could  be 
maintained.     They  had  to  do,  however,  with  an  enemy  that 
was  not  only  powerful,  but  wily  and  unscrupulous;  one  whose 
action  would  be  governed  wholly  by  considerations  of  interest 
and  expediency,  not  by  those  of  right.     Great  Britain  could 
not,  probably,  keep  the  French  out  of  Naples,  but  she  could 
out  of  Sicily,  ])rovided,  and  only  provided,  Messina  was  ade- 
quately garrisoned  and   held.     If,   however,  there   was   any 
hasty  overt  action  taken,  looking  to  the  security  of  Sicily,  it 
might  merely  precipitate  the  seizure  of  Naples  and  the  entire 
conquest  of  the  King's  continental  dominions  ;  or,  "  ten  times 
more  humiliating,"  leave  him  "an  odious  commissary  to  raise 
contributions   from    liis    unhappy   subjects    for   the    French." 
On  the  other  hand,  if,  to  avert  suspicion,  there  was  too  much 
slackness  in  the  measures  to  guard  Sicil}-,  Messina  might  be 
suddenly  seized,  tlie  gates  of  the  island  thus  thrown  open, 
and,  Sicily  once  lost,  *•  Xitples  fdHs  of  course.'^     "It  is  a  most 
important  point,"  ho  Avrote  to  Elliot  soon  after,  "  to  decide 
when  Sicily  ought  to  bo  placed  in  a  state  of  security.     For 
the  present,  I  am  content  to  say  that  IMessina  need  not  be 
taken  possession  of ;  but  the  strictest  watch  must  be  kept  by 
Sir  John  Acton  that  we  are  not  lulled  into  a  fatal  security, 
and    thus   lose   both   Kingdoms.     To   save   for   the   moment 
Naples,  we  risk  the  two  Kingdoms,  and  General  Acton  must 
join  me  in  this  heavy  responsibility."     "  My  whole  opinion 
rests  in  these  few  words  —  that  ice  timst  not  risk  Sicily  too  for 
in  ti'jjing  to  nave  N'djdes :  therefore,   General   Acton,   yourself 
and  vii/self  irinst  keep  a,  good  lookout.'''' 


I;:  i 


'  .1  1 


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')  I 


668 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


)■'  1 


This  summed  up  the  conditions  for  Naples  during  the  long 
two  years  of  watching  and  waiting,  while  Bonaparte,  concen- 
trating his  purposes  upon  his  invasion  scheme,  was  content  to 
leave  things  quiet  in  the  South.  To  check,  as  far  as  might  be, 
the  designs  of  the  French  towards  IVforea  or  towards  Sicily, 
on  either  side  of  the  central  position  they  held  at  the  heel  of 
Italy,  Nelson  employed  a  proportionately  large  number  of 
cruisers  —  five  —  between  Messina  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Adriatic ;  while,  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  the  royal  family, 
he  kept  always  a  ship-of-the-line  in  the  Bay  of  Naples,  the 
British  minister  holding  orders  for  her  captain  to  embark 
them  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  take  them  to  Sicily.  "  I  have 
kept  everything  here  to  save  Ital}-,  if  in  my  power,"  he  wrote 
Elliot  two  months  later,  *'  and  you  know  I  was  ordered  to  send 
a  squadron  outside  the  Straits.  Fourteen  days  ago,  a  French 
seventy-four  got  into  Cadiz  from  Santo  Domingo,  and  two 
French  frigates,  with  some  merchant  ships.  What  will  they 
say  at  home  ?  However,  I  feel  I  have  done  right,  and  care 
not."  "I  must  place  a  squadron  between  Elba  and  Genoa," 
he  says  again,  "to  prevent  that  expedition  from  moving,  and 
also  send  some  ships  to  the  Straits'  mouth,  and  keep  enough 
to  watch  the  ships  in  Toulon.  These  are  all  important  objects, 
but  nothing  when  compared  to  the  security  of  the  Sicilies." 

Nelson's  anxiety  for  Sicily  threw  him  again  into  contact 
with  an  instance  of  that  rigid  and  blind  conformity  to  orders 
which  always  exasperated  him.  He  had  brought  out  direc- 
tions to  the  general  commanding  in  Malta,  to  hold  a  detach- 
ment of  two  thousand  British  troops  in  readiness  to  go  at  once 
to  Messina,  on  the  appearance  of  danger,  and  to  garrison  the 
works  there,  if  he  thought  they  could  be  spared  from  the  de- 
fence of  Malta.  Nelson  told  the  Prime  Minister  that  discre- 
tion, as  to  such  a  step,  Avas  a  responsibility  greater  than  the 
average  officer  could  bear,  and  would  certainly  defeat  the 
object  in  view  ;  for  he  would  never  feel  his  charge  secure 
enough  to  permit  such  a  diminution.  There  was  at  this  time 
in  Malta  a  body  of  Neapolitan  soldiers,  which  had  been  sent 
there  during  the  peace  of  Amiens,  in  accordance  with  a  stip- 
ulation of  the  treat3%  The  general  received  an  order  to  send 
them  to  Messina.  Nelson  had  pointed  out  to  him  that  if 
he  did  so,  in  the  divided  state  of  feeling  in  the  Neapolitan 


ANXIETY  ABOUT  SICILY 


Bred  to  send 


dominions,  and  with  the  general  character  of  Neapolitan 
officers,  for  both  efficiency  and  fidelity,  the  citadel  would  not 
be  safe  from  betrayal  at  their  hands.  "  I  have  requested  him 
to  keep  the  orders  secret,  and  not  to  send  them ;  for  if  they 
got  into  Messina,  they  would  certainly  not  keep  the  French 
out  one  moment,  and  it  would  give  a  good  excuse  for  not  ask- 
ing us  to  secure  Messina."  "If  General  Acton  sends  for 
them  we  must  submit  ;  but  at  present  we  need  not  find  means 
of  sending  them  away."  The  British  general,  however,  sent 
them  over,  and  then  the  Neapolitan  governor,  as  Nelson  fore- 
told, said  it  was  quite  unnecessary  for  any  British  to  come. 
"I  must  apprise  you,"  Avrote  Nelson  to  Addington,  "that 
General  Villettes,  although  a  most  excellent  officer,  will  do 
nothing  but  Avhat  he  receives,  '  You  are  hereby  required  and 
directed ; '  for  to  obey,  is  with  him  the  very  acme  of  discipline. 
With  respect  to  Sicily,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  French 
will  have  it.  My  former  reasons  for  inducing  General  Vil- 
lettes to  keep  the  Neapolitan  troops  in  Malta,  was  to  prevent 
what  has  happened ;  but,  in  a  month  after  my  back  was  turned, 
Villettes  obeyed  his  orders,  and  now  the  Governor  of  Messina 
says,  '  We  can  defend  it,  and  want  no  assistance.'  His  whole 
conduct,  I  am  bold  to  say,  is  either  that  of  a  traitor  or  a  fool."  ^ 
Upon  his  own  subordinates  Nelson  laid  a  distinct  charge, 
tliat  he  should  expect  them  to  use  their  judgment  and  act 
upon  it  with  independence,  sure  of  his  generous  construction 
and  support  of  their  action.  "We  must  all  in  our  several 
stations,"  he  tells  one  of  them,  "  exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost, 
and  not  be  nonsensical  in  saying,  '  I  have  an  order  for  this, 
that,  and  the  other,'  if  the  King's  service  clearly  marks  what 
ought  to  be  done.  I  am  well  convinced  of  your  zeal."  In 
accordance  with  this,  he  was  emphatic  in  his  expressions  of 
commendation  for  action  rightly  taken ;  a  bare,  cold  approval 
was  not  adequate  reward  for  deeds  which  he  expected  to  repro- 
duce his  own  spirit  and  temper,  vivifying  the  whole  of  his 
command,  and  making  his  presence  virtually  co-extensive  with 
its  utmost  limits.  No  severer  condemnation,  perhaps,  was 
ever  implied  by  him,  than  when  he  wrote  to  Sidney  Smith, 
unqualifiedly,  "  I  strictly  charge  and  command  you  never  to 

^  This  sentence  refers  to  the  governor  ;  not  to  Villettes,   as  the  construc- 
tion niis5ht  indicate. 


■r\  \ 


%.\ 


Mi: 


JUt» 


670 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


i'! 


m 


give  any  French  ship  or  man  leave  to  quit  Egypt."  To  deny 
an  officer  discretion  was  as  scathing  an  expression  of  dissatis- 
faction as  Nelson  could  utter;  and  as  he  sowed,  so  he  reaped, 
in  a  devotion  and  vigor  of  service  few  have  elicited  equally. 

In  Malta  Nelson  remained  but  thirty-six  hours.  Arriving 
at  4  p.  M.  on  the  evening  of  June  loth,  he  sailed  again  at 
4  A.  M.  of  the  17th.  He  had  expected  partly  to  find  the  fleet 
there ;  but  by  an  odd  coincidence,  on  the  same  day  that  he 
hoisted  his  flag  in  Portsmoutli,  it  had  sailed,  although  in 
ignorance  of  the  war,  to  cruise  between  Sicily  and  Naples; 
whence,  on  the  day  he  left  Gibraltar,  the  commanding  officer. 
Sir  Kichard  Bickerton,  had  started  for  Toulon,  —  "  very  judi- 
ciously," said  Nelson,  —  the  instant  he  heard  of  the  renewal 
of  hostilities. 

The  '*  Amphion  "  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Messina, 
and  within  sight  of  Naples,  carrying  Nelson  once  more  over 
well-known  seas,  and  in  sight  of  fondly  remembered  places. 
"  I  am  looking  at  dear  Naples,  if  it  is  what  it  was,"  he  wrote 
to  Elliot  from  off  Capri.  "  Close  to  Capri,"  he  tells  Lady 
Hamilton,  "  the  view  of  Vesuvius  calls  so  many  circumstances 
to  my  mind,  that  it  almost  overpowers  my  feelings."  *'l 
am  using  force  upon  myself  to  keep  away,"  he  had  already 
said  to  Acton  ;  "  for  I  think  it  likely,  was  I  to  fly  to  Naples, 
which  I  am  much  inclined  to  do,  that  the  French  might  turn 
it  to  some  plea  against  those  good  sovereigns."  In  his  anxiety 
to  join  the  fleet,  and  get  in  touch  of  the  French,  the  length  of 
the  passage,  three  weeks,  caused  him  great  vexation,  and 
deepened  his  convictions  of  the  uselessness  of  the  island  to 
his  squadron  off  Toulon.  '•  My  opinion  of  Malta,  as  a  naval 
station  for  watching  the  French  in  Toulon,  is  well  known ;  and 
my  present  experience  of  what  Avill  be  a  three  weeks'  passage, 
most  fully  confirms  me  in  it.  The  fleet  can  never  go  there,  if 
I  can  find  any  other  corner  to  put  them  in  ;  but  having  said  this, 
I  now  declare,  that  I  consider  IMalta  as  a  most  important  out- 
work to  India,  that  it  will  ever  give  us  great  influence  lu  the 
Levant,  and  indeed  all  the  southern  ])arts  of  Italy.  In  this 
view,  I  hope  we  shall  never  give  it  up."  "  JNEalta  and  Toulon 
are  entirely  different  services.  It  takes  upon  an  average  seven 
weeks  to  get  an  answer  to  a  letter.  When  I  am  forced  to  send 
^  ship  there,  I  never  see  her  under  two  months," 


MALTA  AN  IMPORTANT  BASE 


571 


With  Gibraltar,  however,  INIalta  gave  the  British  two 
impregnable  and  secure  bases  ol  operations,  within  reason- 
able distance  of  one  another,  and  each  in  close  proximity  to 
points  most  essential  to  control.  During  Nelson's  entire  com- 
mand, the  three  chief  centres  of  interest  and  of  danger  were 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  the  heel  of  Italy,  and  Toulon.  The 
narrowing  of  the  trade  routes  near  the  two  former  rendered 
them  points  of  particular  exposure  for  merchant  shipping. 
Around  them,  therefore,  and  in  dependence  upon  them, 
gathered  the  largest  bodies  of  the  cruisers  which  kept  down 
privateering,  and  convoyed  the  merchant  ships,  whose  pro- 
tection was  not  the  least  exacting  of  the  many  cares  that  fell 
upon  Nelson.  Upon  the  IVEalta  division  depended  also  the 
watch  over  the  mouth  of  the  Adriatic  and  the  Straits  of 
Messina,  by  which  Nelson  hoped  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the 
French,  in  small  bodies,  to  either  Sicily,  the  Morea,  or  the 
Ionian  islands.  Malta  in  truth,  even  in  Nelson's  time,  was 
the  base  for  operations  only  less  important  than  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Toulon  fleet.  The  latter  he  rightly  considered  his 
principal  mission,  success  in  which  would  solve  most  other 
maritime  difficulties.  "  My  tirst  object  must  ever  be  to  keep 
the  French  fleet  in  check ;  and,  if  they  put  to  sea,  to  have 
force  enough  with  me  to  annihilate  them.  That  would  keep 
the  Two  Sicilies  free  from  any  attack  from  sea." 

On  the  8th  of  July  the  "  Amphion "  joined  the  fleet  off 
Toulon.  It  numbered  then  nine  ships-of-the-line,  with  three 
smaller  cruisers.  "  As  far  as  outside  show  goes,"  he  reported  to 
St.  Vincent,  •'  the  ships  look  very  well ;  but  they  complain  of 
their  bottoms,  and  are  very  short  of  men."  The  fact  was,  as 
he  afterwards  explained,  that  before  the  war  came  they  had 
been  expecting  every  day  to  go  to  England,  and  consequently 
had  been  allowed  to  run  down  gradually,  a  result  which 
doubtless  had  been  hastened  by  St.  Vincent's  stringent  econo- 
mies. Gibraltar  and  Malta  were  both  bare.  Nelson  wrote  six 
months  later,  and  it  was  not  tlie  fault  of  the  naval  storekeepers. 
The  ships,  everywhere,  were  "distressed  for  almost  every 
article.  They  have  entirely  eat  up  their  stores,  and  their  real 
wants  not  half  complied  with.  I  have  applications  from  the 
different  line-of-battle-ships  for  surveys  on  most  of  their  sails 
and  running  rigging,  which  cannot  be  complied  with,  as  tiierQ 


I     i 


\    .'ll 


i« 


i  i 


ill  : 


^1: 


672 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


is  neither  cordage  nor  sails  to  replace  the  unserviceable  stores, 
and,  therefore,  the  evil  must  be  combated  in  the  best  manner 
possible."  As  the  whole  Navy  had  suffered  from  the  same 
cause,  there  was  no  reserve  of  ships  at  home  to  replace  thost! 
in  the  Mediterranean,  which,  besides  lacking  everything,  wero 
between  eight  and  nine  hundred  men  short  of  their  comple- 
ment, or  about  one  hundred  for  each  ship-of-the-line.  "Wc 
can  send  you  neither  ships  nor  men,"  wrote  St.  Vincent  as 
winter  drew  on ;  and  even  a  year  later,  the  administration 
which  followed  his  found  it  impossible  to  replace  the  "  crazy  " 
vessels,  of  which  Nelson  said  only  four  were  fit  for  winter 
cruising.  "It  is  not  a  storeship  a  week,"  he  declared,  "that 
would  keep  them  in  repair."  The  trouble  was  greater  be- 
(iause,  when  leaving  IVIalta,  they  had  anticipated  only  a  cruise 
of  three  weeks,  which  for  many  of  them  became  two  years. 

Despite  the  difficulties,  he  determined  that  the  fleet  as  a 
body  should  not  go  into  port ;  nor  should  the  individual  ships- 
of-the-line,  except  when  absolutely  necessary,  and  then  to 
Gibraltar,  not  Malta.  "  I  have  made  up  my  mind  never  tu  go 
into  port  till  after  the  battle,  if  they  make  me  wait  a  year, 
provided  the  Admiralty  change  the  ships  who  cannot  keep  the 
sea  in  winter ;  "  nor  did  the  failure  of  the  Admiralty  to  meet 
this  proviso  alter  his  resolution.  It  was  the  carrying  out  of 
this  decision,  with  ships  in  such  condition,  in  a  region  where 
winds  and  seas  were  of  exceptional  violence,  and  supplies  ot 
food  and  water  most  difficult  to  be  obtained,  because  sur- 
rounded in  all  directions  by  countries  either  directly  hostile, 
or  under  the  overmastering  influence  of  Bonaparte,  that  made 
the  exercise  of  Nelson's  command  during  this  period  a  triumph 
of  naval  administration  and  prevision.  It  does  not  necessarily 
follow  that  an  officer  of  distinguished  ability  for  handling  a 
force  in  the  face  of  an  enemy,  will  possess  also  the  faculty 
which  foresees  and  provides  for  the  many  contingencies,  upon 
which  depend  the  constant  efficiency  and  readiness  of  a  great 
organized  body ;  though  both  qualities  are  doubtless  essential 
to  constitute  a  great  general  officer.  For  tw^enty-two  months 
Nelson's  fleet  never  went  into  a  port,  other  than  an  open  road- 
stead on  a  neutral  coast,  destitute  of  supplies ;  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  when  the  need  arose  to  pursue  an  enemy  for  four 
thousand  mileSj  it  \yas  found  ^nassed,  and  in  all  respects  per- 


\n 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SUPPLIES 


673 


iectly  prepared  for  so  distiint  and  sudden  a  call.  To  <pioto 
his  own  words,  written  a  year  before  this  summons  in  reply  to 
an  intimation  from  the  Admiralty  to  be  on  his  guard  against 
Spain,  "  I  have  the  pleasure  to  accpiaitit  you  that  the  sfpiadron 
under  my  command  is  all  collected,  except  the  Gibraltar,* 
complete  in  their  provisions  and  stores  to  near  five  months, 
and  in  a  perfect  state  of  readiness  to  act  as  the  exigency  of 
the  moment  may  determine."  "  With  the  resources  of  your 
mind,"  wrote  St.  Vincent,  when  unable  to  reinforce  him,  "you 
will  do  very  well ; "  and  Nelson,  when  he  put  off  his  harness, 
might  have  boasted  himself  that  the  prediction  was  more  than 
fulfilled. 

Provisions,  water,  and  supplies  of  all  sorts  were  brought  to 
the  ships  on  their  station,  either  at  ooa,  or  in  unfrequevted 
roadsteads  within  the  limits  of  the  cruising  ground.  "  I  never 
could  have  spared  the  ships  to  go  to  Gibraltar  for  them,"  he 
wrote  to  St.  Vincent,  to  whom  he  expressed  his  satisfaction 
with  the  way  the  plan  worked.  He  soon  abandoned,  in  fact, 
the  method  of  sending  individual  ships  for  water,  because  of 
the  long  absence  thus  entailed.  When  water  could  not  be 
brought  in  transports,  or  rather  could  not  easily  be  transhipped 
owing  to  the  badness  of  the  season,  he  thought  it  better  to 
take  the  whole  fleet  to  the  nearest  watering-place  than  to 
divide  its  strength.  Fresh  provisions,  absolutely  indispensable 
to  the  health  of  the  ships'  companies,  constituted  the  greatest 
of  difficulties.  Opposition  to  furnishing  them  must  be  ex- 
pected wherever  French  influence  could  be  felt.  "  The  great 
distance  from  Malta  or  Gibraltar  renders  the  getting  such 
refreshments  from  those  places,  in  a  regular  manner,  abso- 
lutely impossible  ; "  and  from  the  Spanish  ports,  T'iarcelona  or 
Rosas,  which  were  near  his  cruising  ground,  they  could  be 
had  only  "clandestinely."  Government  Bills  wouM  not  be 
taken  there,  nor  in  Barbary  or  Sardinia,  where  bullocks  might 
be  got.  Hard  money  must  be  paid,  and  about  this  there  was 
some  routine  bureau  difficulty.  "  I  certainly  hate  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  management  of  money,"  he  wrote, 
"  but  I  submit  the  propriety  of  lodging  public  money  on  board 
the  fleet,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  for  fresh  beef  and  vege- 
tables, provided,  but  on  no  account  otherioise,  that  the  simple 
1  Unfit  for  sea,  and  kept  at  Naples  for  political  reasons. 


j  I 


I 


!     .; 


m\ 


vV 

^  V 

t 

«» 

;,/■ 

r 

V 

ji 

,    1  |. 

1 

i* 

!< 

?! 

1 


574 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


I    !l 


receipt  from  the  captain  of  the  sliip  may  be  a  sufficient 
vonohev  for  tlie  disburseniont  of  sucli  money."  Absolutely 
disposed  as  he  was  to  assume  political  or  military  responsi- 
bilities, he  was  not  willing,  even  for  the  health  of  the  fleet,  to 
incur  the  risk  of  pecuniary  imputations  for  himself  or  his 
captains. 

Great  dexterity  of  mana<,'ement  was  required  to  obtain  these 
supplies,  without  drawings  upon  those  who  gave  them,  such 
tokens  of  displeasure  from  lionaparte  as  might  result  in  their 
discontinuance.  Towards  Spain,  although  he  felt  for  her  per- 
plexities, Nejson  took  a  firm  tone.  She  was  nominally  neutral, 
and  enjoyed  privileges  as  such  ;  he  insisted  therefore  that  she 
should  deal  equal  measure  to  both  belligerents.  "  I  am  ready 
to  make  large  allowances  for  the  miserable  situation  Spain  has 
placed  herself  in  ;  but  there  is  a  certain  line  beyond  which  I 
cannot  submit  to  be  treated  with  disrespect."  That  line  of 
forbearance  was  dictated,  of  course,  less  by  indulgence  towards 
Spain  than  by  the  necessities  of  Great  Britain,  which  Nelson, 
however  indignant,  was  too  good  a  diplomatist  to  drop  out  of 
sight;  but  he  kept  up  a  pressure  which  secured  very  substan- 
tial assistance,  though  grudgingly  given.  "  Refreshments  we 
have  a  right  to  as  long  as  we  remain  at  peace,  and  if  this  goes 
on  "  — the  refusal,  that  is,  to  allow  provisions  to  be  bought  in 
quantities  —  "  you  may  acquaint  them  that  I  will  anchor  in 
Rosas  with  the  squadron,  and  receive  our  daily  supplies,  which 
will  offend  the  French  much  more  than  our  staying  at  sea." 

Towards  Naples,  as  secretly  friendly  to  Great  Britain,  he 
was  of  course  far  more  tender  ;  and,  while  he  rejected  no  sug- 
gestion witliout  considcvittion,  he  regarded  the  distance  as  too 
great  to  render  such  a  means  of  subsistence  certain.  The 
numerous  pri  i\ateers  that  haunted  every  port  would  intercept 
the  transports  and  render  convoys  necessary ;  it  was  not  worth 
while,  for  so  small  an  advantage,  to  involve  Naples,  in  its 
already  critical  state,  in  a  dispute  with  France.  An  occasional 
purchase,  however,  seems  to  have  been  made  there;  and  even 
France  herself  was  at  times  brought  to  contribute,  indirectly, 
to  the  support  of  the  squadron  which  was  watching  one  of  her 
principal  ports.  "Latterly  our  cattle  and  onions  have  been 
procured  from  France,"  wrote  Nelson  ;  "  but  from  the  apparent 
incivilities  of  the  Spaniards,  I  suppose  we  are  on  the  eve  of 


TMroIlTANCE  OF  SARDINIA 


r,7r. 


hoxuir,  shut  nut."  To  os(^apo  tho  notice  of  the  Frouch  agents,  it 
was  obviously  (losiral)l(^  to  distribute  us  widely  as  possible  the 
souroes  of  supply,  so  as  not  to  eoneentrate  observation  upon 
any  one,  or  upon  tlie  general  fact. 

It  was,  however,  upon  Sardinia  that  Nelson  in  the  end 
ehietiy  depended.  The  iiuportanee  of  this  island,  both  in  fact 
and  in  liis  estimation,  was  so  great,  that  it  may  be  said  to 
have  constituted  the  (diief  object  of  his  thought  and  anxiety, 
after  his  own  squadron  and  the  French,  which  also  he  at  times 
prophetically  spoke  of  as  his  own.  "  I  do  not  mean  to  use  the 
shells  you  have  sent  me  at  sea."  he  writes  to  General  Villettes, 
"  for  that  1  hope  to  consider  burning  our  oii-n  ships;  but  in 
case  they  run  ashore,  then  a  few  ])ut  into  their  sides  will  do 
their  business.''  In  addition  to  its  extremely  favorable  cen- 
tral position,  Sardinia,  as  compared  to  Sicily,  did  not  entail 
the  perplexity  that  its  use  by  the  IJritish  might  cause  a 
friendly  sovereign  the  loss  of  his  continental  dominions. 
Those  of  the  King  of  Sardinia  had  passed  already  nearly,  if 
not  wholly,  out  of  his  hands.  The  island  itself  was  so  wild, 
poor,  and  neglected,  that,  even  if  seized  by  the  enemy,  the 
King  would  lose  little.  The  net  revenue  derived  from  it  was 
only  .-€5,000. 

During  the  previous  war  Nelson's  attention  had  not  been  called 
much  to  Sardinia.  Up  to  the  withdrawal  from  the  Mediterra- 
nean in  1796,  Corsica  had  ^^".  a  sufficient,  and  more  suitable, 
base  for  the  operations  of  the  fleet,  which  until  then  had  been 
upon  the  Riviera  and  the  northern  coast  of  Italy.  When  he 
returned  in  1708.  even  after  the  Battle  of  the  Nile  and  the 
disasters  of  the  French  in  1700,  the  unsettled  condition  of 
Naples,  the  blockade  of  ^lalta,  and  the  affairs  of  Egypt,  had 
combined  to  keep  him  in  the  South ;  while  the  tenure  of  the 
idlies  in  Northern  Italy,  up  to  the  Battle  of  Marengo,  was 
apparently  so  secure  as  to  require  no  great  support  from  the 
fleet.  Irrespective  of  any  personal  influences  that  may  have 
swayed  him,  Sicily  was  better  suited  then  to  be  the  centre 
from  which  to  superintend  the  varied  duties  of  his  wide 
command. 

"When  he  returned  in  1803,  the  old  prepossessions  naturally 
remained.  In  a  survey  of  the  political  conditions  written  for 
the  Prime  Minister  when  on  the  passage  to  Toulon,  much  is 


.  '^ 


I! 


(i  .• 


W 


mH. 


1     ;,« 1 


I  I 


i 


57fl 


THK   LIFK  f>F  NKLSON 


'rt 


Siiid  of  Malta,  Sicily,  and  Naples,  l)ut  Sardinia  is  disnjissed 
with  a  passinj^  hope  that  tlm  Fronch  would  not  seize  it.  After 
joiniiij,'  the  floot  off  Toulon,  however,  ho  had  to  realize  that, 
if  it  was  to  remain  at  sea,  iis  he  pur[)oHed  and  effected,  and  yet 
be  kept  fully  provisioned  and  watered,  it  must  at  times  make 
an  anchorage,  which  should  be  so  far  convenient  an  to  keep  it, 
practically,  as  much  on  its  station  as  when  uiuler  way.  In 
this  dilemma  his  attejition  was  called  to  the  Madalena  Islands, 
a  group  off  the  northeast  eiul  of  Sardinia,  where  wood  and 
water  could  be  obtained.  IWftween  them  and  the  main  island 
there  was  a  good  harbor,  having  the  decisive  advantage  of 
two  entrances,  by  one  or  other  of  which  it  could  be  left  in 
winds  from  any  quarter.  A  survey  had  been  made  a  year 
before,  during  the  peace,  by  a  Captain  llyves,  now  command- 
ing a  ship  in  the  fleet.  As  winter  approached.  Nelson  decided 
to  examine  the  spot  himself,  which  he  did  in  the  last  days  of 
October,  taking  advantage  of  a  moonlight  week  when  the 
enemy  would  be  less  likely  to  leave  port.  He  found  it  admi- 
rably adapted  for  his  puri)Oses,  and  that  fresh  provisions, 
though  not  of  the  best  quality,  could  be  had.  "  It  is  certainly 
one  of  the  best  anchorages  I  have  met  with  for  a  fleet,"  he 
wrote,  "  but  I  suppose  the  French  will  take  it  now  we  have 
used  it."  This  they  did  not  attempt,  and  the  British  fleet 
continued  to  resort  to  it  from  time  to  time,  obtaining  water 
and  bullocks. 

Such  a  roadstead  as  an  occasional  rendezvous,  where  trans- 
ports could  discharge  their  stores  to  the  vessels,  and  ships  be 
refitted  and  supplied,  would  make  the  fleet  as  secure  of  hold- 
ing its  position  as  were  the  cruisers  that  depended  upon  Malta 
and  Gibraltar.  Its  being  two  hundred  miles  from  Toulon  was 
not  a  serious  drawback,  for  it  was  no  part  of  Nelson's  plan  to 
keep  the  fleet  close  to  Toulon.  When  he  took  command,  he 
found  it  so  stationed,  but  he  soon  removed  to  a  position  thirty 
to  forty  miles  west  of  the  harbor's  mouth,  which  seems  to 
have  been  his  general  summer  rendezvous.  "  Lord  Nelsor," 
wrote  a  young  officer  of  the  fleet,*  "pursues  a  very  different 
plan  from  Sir  Richard  Bickerton.  The  latter  kept  close  to 
the  harbour,  but  Lord  Nelson  is  scarce  ever  in  sight  of  the 
land,  and  there  is  but  one  frigate  inshore."     "I  chose  this 

1  The  Honourable  Mr.  Waldegrave,  afterwards  Admiral  Lord  Radstock. 


is  (lisiuisHcd 
ize  it.     After 

voali/e  that, 
ctftd,  and  yet 
;  times  make 
as  to  keep  it, 
ler  way.  In 
lena  Islands, 
ro  wood  and 

main  island 
advantage  of 
Id  be  left  in 
made  a  year 
i\v  command- 
elson  decided 

last  days  of 
»k  when  the 
Hind  it  admi- 
h  provisions, 
t  is  certainly 
•  a  fleet,"  he 
low  we  have 

British  fleet 
;aining  water 

where  trans- 
and  ships  be 
;ure  of  hold- 
1  upon  Malta 
1  Toulon  was 
son's  plan  to 
command,  he 
isition  thirty 
ich  seems  to 
lOrd  Nelsor," 
ery  different 
cept  close  to 
sight  of  the 
I  chose  this 
rd  Radstock. 


HAi^ 


OK  '*'*> 


MailjUaa  M«. 


Aainar 


Ms.  San  Petro 


rV-C.  Montr  Sant* 


V  rardtinarji 


iMAMVtrSAJSiDIii^ilA. 


Stnluto  Mil(*H 


o-Li  i  ninn 


lo       a       o 


Nuuhcnl  MileM 


rTT-fi  II  irr-Jir 


lO  5  O 


:J 


I  For  Life  of Xe  hoti.  I 


M 


1  II 


E 

m 

uL  If. ' 

W^*^'' 

ill 

m 

\  Mi". 

IMPORTANCE  OF  SARDINIA 


577 


position,"  Nelson  said,  "  to  answer  two  important  purposes : 
one  to  prevent  the  junction  of  a  Spanish  lieet  from  the  west- 
ward; and  the  other,  to  be  to  windward,  so  as  to  enable  me,  if 
the  northerly  gale  came  on  to  the  N.  N.  W.,  to  take  shelter  in 
a  few  hours  under  the  Hi^res  Islands,  or  if  N.  N.  E.,  under 
Cape  San  Sebastian."  "  It  is  not  my  intention  to  close-watch 
Toulon,  even  with  frigates,"  he  wrote,  and  his  dispositions 
were  taken  rather  with  a  view  to  encourage  the  enemy  to 
come  out ;  although,  of  course,  he  took  every  precaution  that 
they  should  not  get  far  without  being  observed,  and  assured 
himself  by  frequent  reconnoitring  that  they  had  not  left  port. 
"My  system  is  the  very  contrary  of  blockading,"  he  told 
Admiral  Pole.  "Every  opportunity  has  been  offered  the 
enemy  to  put  to  sea,"  he  says  again,  "for  it  is  there  we  ho[)e 
to  realize  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  our  Country."  There 
was  also  the  obvious  advantage  that,  if  habitually  out  of  sight, 
the  enemy  could  not  mow  his  movements,  nor  profit  by  his 
occasional  absences  in  any  direction. 

From  Madalena  he  extended  his  observations  over  the 
whole  island  of  Sardinia,  upon  the  holding  of  which  he 
thenceforth  laid  the  greatest  stress,  and  entertained  most 
anxious  fears  lest  the  French  should  snatch  it  out  of  his 
hands.  "If  we  could  possess  Sardinia,  we  should  want 
neither  Malta  nor  any  other.  It  is  the  most  important  island, 
as  a  naval  and  military  station,  in  the  Mediterranean.  It 
possesses  at  the  northern  end  the  finest  harbour  in  the  world 
[Madalena].  It  is  twenty-four  hours'  sail  from  Toulon  ;  it 
covers  Italy ;  it  is  a  position  that  the  wind  which  carries  the 
French  to  the  westward  is  fair  for  you  to  follow.  In  passing 
to  the  southward  they  go  close  to  you.  In  short,  it  covers 
Egypt,  Italy,  and  Turkey."  He  was  anxious  that  the  Britisli 
Cxovernment  should  buy  it.  "If  we,  from  delicacy,  or  com- 
miseration of  the  unfortunate  king  of  Sardinia,  do  not  get 
possession  of  that  island,  the  French  will.  If  I  lose  Sardinia, 
I  lose  the  French  fleet." 

His  apprehensions  were  not  verified ;   as  also  they  were 

not  during  his  command,  either  in  the  Morea,  in  Naples,  or 

in  Sicily.     Napoleon  took  no  active  steps  against  Sardinia, 

although  the  proceedings  there  did  not  escape  the  sharp  eyes 

of  the  French  agents,  but  elicited  from  them  vivacious  remon- 

37 


i      I 


i>-i. 


I  ■! 


6V8 


THE  LIFE  OP  NELSON 


straiices.  **Tlie  government  of  the  Kepublie,"  wrote  one, 
"has  a  right  to  coniphiiu  of  this  excessive  complaisance.  To 
give  regular  support  to  a  squadron  blockading  a  port,  to  re- 
victual  it,  in  one  word,  periodically,  is  to  tread  under  foot  the 
neutrality  which  is  professed.  1  shall  notify  my  government 
of  a  fact  which  demands  all  its  attention,  and  in  which  it  is 
painful  to  me  to  see  a  cause  of  misunderstanding  between 
France  and  his  Sardinian  Majesty."  It  is  singularly  confirm- 
atory of  the  reality  of  Bonaparte's  intention  to  attempt  the 
invasion  of  England,  that  he  confined  his  efforts  in  the  South 
—  in  the  Mediterranean  —  to  feints  and  demonstrations. 
What  he  did  there  looked  to  the  future,  not  to  the  present ; 
although,  doubtless,  he  stood  always  so  ready  that  no  oppor- 
tunity'' offering  advantage  would  have  passed  neglected.  The 
active  mind  of  Nelson,  condemned  to  the  uncertainties  of  the 
defensive  and  to  military  idleness,  however  it  may  have  been 
burdened  with  administrative  routine  and  ofiicial  correspond- 
ence, found  ample  time  to  speculate  on  the  designs  of  Bona- 
parte, and  the  latter  took  care  that  he  should  have  matter 
enough  to  occupy  him — and  if  possible  mislead  him  —  in 
rumor  and  in  movements.  "  At  Marseilles  they  are  fitting, 
as  reports  say,  eighty  or  ninety  gunboats,  and  intend  sending 
them,  by  the  canal  of  Languedoc  to  Bordeaux ;  but  I  ani  sure 
this  is  not  true.  They  are  to  go  alongshore  to  the  Heel  of 
Italy,  and  to  embark  and  protect  their  army  either  to  Sicily 
or  the  Morea,  or  to  both ;  and  the  Navy  of  Europe  can  hardly 
prevent  these  alongshore  voyages."  In  this  will  be  noticed 
the  recurrence  of  ideas  familiar  to  him  in  the  Riviera  eight 
years  before;  the  expectation  of  ex-centric  operations  into 
which  Bonaparte  was  rarely  betrayed. 

Frequent  stories  also  reach  him  of  projects  to  invade  and 
seize  Sardinia.  Vessels  are  fitting  for  that  purpose,  now  at 
Marseilles,  now  at  Yillefranche ;  now  the  expedition:  is  to 
come  from  Corsica  only.  "  A  light  linen  jacket,  trowsers,  rod 
cap,  and  a  pair  of  shoes,  is  the  whole  expense  of  Government ; 
the  plunder  of  the  Sardinian  Anglo-Sardes  is  held  out  as  the 
reward."  To  prevent  it  he  seeks  the  authority  of  his  Govern- 
ment and  of  the  King  of  Sardinia  to  garrison  Madalena.  The 
straits  of  Bonifacio  are  but  ten  miles  wide;  it  is  impossible 
therefore  for  a  cruiser  to  prevent  boats  passing.     If  the  at- 


wrote   one, 
isance.     To 
port,  to  re- 
ier  foot  the 
government 
which  it  is 
ng  between 
rly  con  firm- 
attempt  the 
11  the  South 
onstrations. 
he  present ; 
,t  no  oppor- 
Bcted.     The 
iities  of  the 
y  have  been 
correspond- 
ns  of  Bona- 
liave  matter 
id   him  —  in 
are  fitting, 
end  sending 
it  I  am  sure 
the  Heel  of 
er  to  Sicily 
can  hardly 
be  noticed 
iviera  eight 
rations  into 

invade  and 
jose,  now  at 
ditior.  is  to 
rowsers,  red 
rovernment ; 
d  out  as  the 
his  Govern- 
alena.  The 
impossible 
If  the  at- 


management  of  the  fleet 


579 


tempt  is  made,  no  scruples  about  the  neutrality  of  Sardinia 
shall  tie  his  hands.  "  1  have  directed  the  frigates  to  pursue 
tliem,  even  should  they  chase  into  Sardinia,  and  to  take  or 
destroy  them,  and  also  the  Corsican  troops;  for  if  I  wait  till 
the  island  is  taken  I  should  feel  deserving  of  reprobation.  Of 
course,  they  will  say  we  have  broken  the  neutrality,  if  we 
attack  them  in  the  ports  of  Sardinia  before  their  conquest, 
and  if  we  do  not  I  shall  be  laughed  at  for  a  fool.  Prevention 
is  better  than  cure."  With  his  usual  long-headed  circum- 
spection, however,  even  when  most  bent  en  an  extreme  step, 
he  warns  the  Prime  Minister,  to  whom  he  is  writing,  to  men- 
tion his  purpose  to  the  liussian  ambassador  — that  the  latter 
may  understand  the  apparent  breach  of  neutrality  ;  for  Russia 
has  constituted  herself  a  champion  of  the  Sardinian  monarch. 
"  I  mention  my  intention  that  idle  reports  may  not  be  at- 
tended to." 

As  the  winter  of  1803-4  approached,  and  it  became  evident 
that  Spain  was  to  persevere  in  her  neutrality,  Nelson  removed 
his  fleet  to  a  rendezvous  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Cape  San 
Sebastian,  on  the  Spanish  coast  —  the  Number  97  continually 
mentioned  in  his  official  letters  to  captains.  There  the  high- 
lands of  Spain  afford  some  shelter  from  the  furious  northerly 
gales,  which,  sweeping  over  France  from  the  Atlantic,  are 
compressed  as  in  a  funnel  between  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Alps, 
to  fall  with  redoubled  violence  on  the  (xulf  of  Ijyons.  Only 
the  utmost  care  and  the  mr  st  skilful  seamanship  could  pre- 
serve the  rickety  ships,  upon  whose  efficiency  so  much  de- 
pended, and  which,  if  damaged,  there  was  none  to  replace. 
I  "bear  up  for  every  gale,"  wrote  Nelson.  "I  must  not  in 
our  present  state  quarrel  with  the  northwesters  —  with  crazy 
masts  and  no  port  or  spars  near  us."  Even  in  September,  he 
writes,  there  are  "  three  days'  gale  of  severe  blowing  weather 
out  of  the  seven,  which  frequently  comes  on  suddenly,  and 
thereby  exposes  the  topmasts,  topsail  yards  and  sails,  to 
great  hazard,  under  every  care  and  attention ;  and  there  are 
no  topmasts  or  topsail  yards  in  store,  either  at  Gibraltar  or 
Malta."  "The  French  fleet  keep  us  waiting;  and  such  a 
place  as  all  the  Gulf  of  Lyons,  for  gales  of  wind  from  the 
N.  W.  to  N.  E.,  I  never  saw ;  but  by  always  going  away  large, 
we  generally  lose  much  of  their  force  and  the  hoavy  sea. 


I    *v 


;■■  ••    .  I*: 


^f 

iv' 

1 

ll 

;  1 

H 

; 


i 


I:' 


1  ; 


580 


THE  LTFK  OF  NELSON 


By  tlio  groat  caro  and  attention  of  every  captain,  we  have 
HufTered  niueli  leH.s  than  eould  have  boon  expected.  I  (h)  not 
believe  liOrd  St.  Vincent  woidd  have  kept  the  sea  with  Hxich 
ships.  Jlowever,  with  nursing  our  sliips,  we  liave  roughed 
it  out  better  than  could  liave  l)ecn  expected.  We  cither  run 
to  the  southward,  or  furl  all  the  sails  and  make  the  ships  as 
easy  as  possil)le."  Under  such  circumstances,  it  was  no  small 
nor  unworthy  boast  he  made  near  the  close  of  the  cruise,  when 
the  first  ineffectual  attempt  of  the  French  to  leave  Toulon 
ended  in  numerous  accidents.  "These  gentlemen  are  nf)t 
ac(!ustomed  to  a  Gulf  of  Lyons  gale,  wliich  wo  have  buffeted 
for  twenty-one  months,  and  not  carried  away  a  spar."  Nelson 
himself,  though  reckless  to  desp(!ration  when  an  adequatf; 
object  was  at  stake,  in  the  moments  of  repose  liusbanded  his 
m(!ans,  and  looked  to  the  eflieiency  of  his  instruments,  witli 
the  diligence  of  a  miser.  With  his  own  hand  lie  noted  the 
weatlier  indications,  including  the  l)arometer,  at  least  three 
times  every  twenty-four  iiours,  and  occasionally  even   more 

ofttiU. 

A  rendezvous,  liowever  advantageous,  was  not  permitted  by 
Nelson  to  become  a  permanf;nt  sUition,  or  a  long-continiuid 
resting-{)lace  for  the  fleet.  In  tlte  iiK^vitable  monotony  of  a 
watch  pr;<tracted  so  far  beyond  his  original  expectations,  his 
sleepless  solicitude  for  the  health  and  contentment  of  tlic 
ships'  companies  warned  him  that  lack  of  mental  interest 
saps  the  spirit,  and  wfMrs  away  the  strength,  beyond  the 
power  of  mere  brxiily  comfort  to  ])revent.  On  Number  07 
was  kf'j)t  always  a  sliif)  —  frigate  or  smaller  cruiser  —  with 
word  where  the  admiral  was  to  be  foimd  at  any  time;  and 
thither  resortcid  the  vessels  returning  from  their  missions  to 
all  j)arts  of  the  station,  or  coming  out  from  England,  "  Re- 
join me  at  Numb(!r  07,"  their  instructions  ran,  "where  yon 
will  find  me,  or  orders  for  your  furtlua-  y)roceedings."  Other 
rendezvous  there  were,  of  course,  each  with  its  own  number, 
and  with  a  cruiser  if  at  sea;  but  in  the  anchorages  occasion- 
ally resorted  to,  as  MadaJena,  or  tlie  (iulf  of  I'almas  in  tiie 
south  of  Sardinia,  communications  were  left  on  shore.  With 
the  threads  thus  reaching  from  these  centres  to  the  differenfc 
parts  of  his  command.  Nelson's  hal>it  was  to  keep  his  fleet  in 
motion  from  point  to  point,  in  the  stretch  of  sea  bounded  on 


SANITAUV   I'llKCAlJTIONS 


em 


in,  wo  liavo 
1.  [  do  not 
a  with  such 
ive  rough 0(1 

eithor  run 
the  ships  a.s 
van  no  small 
oruiso,  when 
;avo  Toulon 
on  are  not 
ivo  buffotod 

"  Nolson 
m  adoquato 
sbandod  his 
inonts,  witli 
0  notod  th(! 

loast  throe 

oven    more 

lorniittod  In' 
ig-oontinuf!(l 
riotony  of  a 
!Ctations,  his 
nent  of  tlu^ 
ital   interest 

beyond   the 

Number  07 
uisor  —  witii 
y  time;  and 

missions  to 
land.  "  Itf 
"whore  you 
igs."  Othor 
wn  number, 
;e3  oocasion- 
.Imas  in  tlic 
hore.  WitJi 
the  different, 
)  his  fleet  in 

bounded  on 


the  one  side  by  the  eoast  of  Si)ain,  as  far  south  as  the  Jialear- 
ies,  and  on  the  east  by  the  ishmds  of  Sardinia  and  (J(jrsi(;a. 
Through  this  hunting-ground,  from  end  to  end  of  whieh  lie 
roamed  in  uneoasing  restlessness,  like  a  lion  roaring  for  his 
[jrey,  the  Toulon  fleet  must  pass,  wheniver  bound,  and  by  the 
judicious  distribution  of  the  eruisers  —  all  too  lew  —  allowed 
him  by  St.  Vincent's  eeononnes,  he  ho[)f;d  to  got  timely  and 
suffioifint  information  of  its  leaving  port. 

"The  groat  thing  in  all  military  sorvioo  is  health,"  ho  wrote 
to  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Mosoloy,  wlu)  had  been  with  him  in  the 
far-baok  Central  Aujorioan  oxf)cdition  in  1780;  "and  yon  will 
agree  with  me,  that  it  is  easier  for  an  oflieor  to  keoj)  mon 
healthy,  thiui  for  a  [ihysioian  to  eun;  them.  Situated  as  this 
tiofit  has  boon,  without  a  friendly  port,  where  wtj  could  get  all 
the  things  so  necessary  for  us,  yet  I  liave,  by  changing  the 
cruizing  ground,  not  alloweil  the  sameness  of  prospect  to  sati- 
;it,e  the  mind  —  sometimes  by  looking  at  Toulon,  V'ille  Franeho, 
r.arcelonii,  ;uid  ltos;i,s  ;  then  running  aroinid  Minorca,  Majorcji, 
Sardinia  and  Corsica;  and  two  or  throe  tim<;s  anchoring  for  a 
few  days,  and  sending  a  ship  to  the  last  jjl.'toe  for  fwiojis, 
whirdi  I  Hud  the  best  thing  that  can  hfs  givfMi  to  sf!;i,men  ; 
having  alwjiys  good  mutton  for  the  sick,  (tattle  when  we  (!;m 
get  thf.'m,  and  plenty  of  fresh  water.  In  the  winter  it  is  the 
host  plan  to  give  half  the  allowance  of  grog,  instcjid  of  all 
wine.  Those  things  are  for  the  comma  der-in-<;hief  to  look 
to;  but  shut  very  nearly  out  from  S()ain,  nnd  only  getting 
refreshments  by  st(!alth  from  other  [)laees,  my  command  has 
be(!n  an  arduous  one."  "Our  men's  minds,"  he  added,  "are 
iilways  kofit  uj*  with  the  daily  hopes  of  moftting  the  enemy." 
An  order  indiciating  one  of  the  sfjuadron  movements,  of  which 
he  here  speaks,  may  be  wortli  ([noting.  "Whereas  it  is  my 
intention."  ho  writes  at  Number  1)7  to  the  captain  there  sta- 
tioned, "to  })roceed  with  the  squadron,  the  first  westerly  wind, 
off  Toulon,  for  the  })urposo  of  roctonnoitring  the  enemy  at  that 
port,  and  from  thence  pass  through  Jl(!nde/vous  No.  102,  to 
secure  any  information  the  ships  there  may  liave  obtained  of 
them,  you  are  hereby  rorpiirod  and  directed  to  keep  on  your 
station  and  inform  any  of  his  Majesty's  ships  arriving  on  said 
rendezvous,"  etc. 

The  health  of  the  crews,  thus  carefully  watched,  remained 


1    .« 


i 


1  u 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


">  ■'■i< 


excellent  throughout,  and  is  mentioned  by  him  continually 
with  evident  pride  as  well  as  satisfaction.  Occasional  slight 
outbursts  of  scurvy  are  noted,  despite  his  efforts  for  fresh 
food,  and  he  mentions  hectic  complaints  —  "  of  the  few  men 
we  have  lost,  nine  in  ten  are  dead  of  consumption" — but 
upon  the  whole,  the  general  condition  is  unparalleled  in  his 
experience.  "We  are  healthy  beyond  example,  and  in  great 
good  humour  with  ourselves,"  he  writes  in  October,  1803, 
"  and  so  sharj>set,  that  I  would  not  be  a  French  Admiral  in 
the  way  of  any  of  our  ships  for  something."  It  would  be 
tedious  to  quote  the  numerous  assertions  to  the  same  effect 
scattered  uj)  and  down  his  correspondence  at  this  time ;  but 
in  December,  1804,  when  near  the  end  of  this  long  period  of 
suspense,  and  after  eighteen  months  at  sea,  he  writes  to  tlie 
Admiralty :  "  The  Fleet  is  in  perfect  good  health  and  good 
humour,  unequalled  by  anything  which  has  ever  come  within 
my  knowledge,  and  equal  to  the  most  active  service  which  the 
times  may  call  for."  Dr.  Gillespie,  who  joined  the  "  Victory  " 
as  physician  to  the  fleet  in  January,  1805,  wrote  immediately 
afterwards  that  out  of  her  eight  hundred  and  forty  men,  but 
one  was  confined  to  his  bed  by  sickness,  and  that  the  other 
ships,  though  upwards  of  twenty  months  off  Toulon,  were  in 
a  like  'condition  of  health. 

The  same  could  not  then,  nor  for  long  before,  be  said  of 
Nelson  himself.  The  first  flush  of  excitement  in  leaving  Eng- 
land and  taking  command,  the  expectation  and  change  of  scene 
in  going  out,  affected  him  favorably.  "As  to  ray  health," 
he  says,  immediately  after  joining  the  fleet,  "thank  God,  I 
have  not  had  a  finger  ache  since  I  left  England  j "  but  this, 
unfortvinately,  did  not  endure.  It  was  his  first  experience  of 
the  weightier  anxieties  of  a  commander-in-chief  ;  for  when  he 
had  succeeded  to  that  position,  temporarily,  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  the  Baltic,  he  had  found  either  a  squadron  in  good 
running  order,  or  at  the  least  no  serious  hitch  about  necessary 
maintenance.  Now  all  this  was  different.  The  difficulties 
about  supplies  and  the  condition  of  his  ships  have  been  men- 
tioned, as  have  also  his  fears  for  Naples,  Sicily,  and  the  Morea, 
—  all  of  which,  in  his  belief,  might  possibly  be  conquered, 
even  without  the  interposition  of  the  Toulon  fleet.  The  latter, 
however,  kept  him  most  uneasy  j  for  he  could  get  no  certain 


HIS   ILL   HEALTH 


583 


Ion,  were  in 


knowledge  as  to  its  destination,  or  the  probable  time  of  its  mov- 
ing; and  the  wide  field  for  injury  open  to  it,  if  his  vigilance 
were  eluded,  kept  his  eager,  unquiet  mind  continually  on  the 
strain  of  speculation  and  anticipation.  "  I  hope  they  will  come 
out  and  let  us  settle  the  matter.  You  know  I  hate  being  kept 
in  suspense."  The  nervous  excitability  —  irritability  —  that 
often  overlay  the  usually  cordial  kindliness  and  gracious  bear- 
ing of  the  man,  was  an  easy  prey  to  such  harassment.  It 
breaks  out  at  times  in  his  letters,  but  was  only  occasionally 
visible  to  those  around  him.  By  the  first  of  December  ho 
already  foresees  that  he  cannot  last  long.  "  Next  Christmas, 
please  God,  I  shall  be  at  Merton ;  for,  by  that  time,  with  all 
the  anxiety  attendant  on  such  a  command  as  this,  I  shall  be 
done  up.     The  mind  and  body  both  wear  out." 

As  autumn  drew  towards  winter,  the  bitter  cold  went 
through  his  feeble  frame,  and  in  the  wild  weather  he  was 
"  always  tossed  ab^ut,  and  always  sea-sick."  "  We  have  had 
a  most  terrible  winter,"  he  writes,  even  before  the  New  Year. 
'•  It  has  almost  knocked  me  up.  I  have  been  very  ill,  and  am 
now  far  from  recovered ;  but  I  hope  to  hold  out  till  the  battle 
is  over,  when  I  must  recruit."  "  My  heart,  my  Lord,  is  warm," 
he  tells  Lord  Hobart,  the  Secretary  of  State  for  War,  "  my 
head  is  firm,  but  my  body  is  unequal  to  my  wishes.  I  am 
visibly  shook ;  but  as  long  as  I  can  hold  out,  I  shall  never 
abandon  my  truly  honourable  post."  He  feared  also  blind- 
ness. "  My  eyesight  fails  me  most  dreadfully,"  he  writes  to 
his  old  friend  Davison.  "  I  firmly  believe  that,  in  a  very  few 
years,  I  shall  be  stone-blind.  It  is  this  only,  of  all  my  mala- 
dies, that  makes  me  unhappy  ;  but  God's  will  be  done."  The 
first  winter  was  unusually  se/ere,  and  during  it  was  added,  to 
his  official  cares  and  personal  suffering,  an  extreme  anxiety 
about  Lady  Hamilton,  for  he  was  expecting  the  birth  of  a 
second  child  in  January.  This  child,  a  girl,  lived  but  a  short 
time ;  he  never  saw  her.  The  effect  of  these  various  causes 
upon  his  health  was  so  great,  that  the  physicians,  as  early  as 
January,  1804,  were  advising  his  return.  "  The  medical  gen- 
tlemen are  wanting  to  survey  me,  and  to  send  me  to  Bristol 
for  the  re-establishmenb  of  my  health,"  he  tells  IVIinto ;  but 
he  adds,  "do  not  mention  it  (it  is  my  concern)  I  beg  of  you." 
Reports  were  then  unusually  persistent  that  the  enemy  was 


M 


'!     I 


f  I 


684 


THE  LIFE  OF   NELSON 


about  to  put  to  sea.     "  /  must  not  be  sick  until  after  the 
French  fleet  is  taken." 

To  the  last  moment  the  destination  of  the  French  and  the 
purposes  of  Bonaparte  remained  unknown  to  him,  a  fruitful 
source  of  guessing  and  worry.  "It  is  at  best  but  a  guess," 
he  wrote  lo  Ball,  after  a  year's  pondering,  "and  the  world 
attaches  wisdom  to  him  that  guesses  right."  Yet  his  conclu- 
sions, hovvevGi  reached,  though  subject  to  temporary  variations, 
were  in  the  main  correct.  Strongly  impressed  tliough  he  vvas 
with  the  importance  and  exposure  of  Egypt,  he  inclined  upon 
the  whole  to  the  belief  that  the  French  were  bound  to  the 
westward,  out  of  the  Straits  and  into  the  Atlantic.  This  con- 
firmed him  in  taking  his  general  summer  rendezvous  to  the 
westward,  where  he  was  to  windward  of  sucli  a  movement,  as 
well  as  interposed  between  Toulon  and  any  Spanish  fleet  at- 
tempting to  go  there.  "  My  station  to  the  westward  of  Toulon, 
an  unusual  one,"  he  writes  to  Addington  in  August,  1803, 
"  has  been  taken  upon  an  idea  that  the  French  fleet  is  bound 
out  of  the  Straits  and  probably  to  Ireland.  I  shall  follow 
them  to  the  Antipodes."  Two  mouths  later  he  says  :  "  Plau- 
sible reasons  may  certainly  be  given  for  every  one  of  the 
plans "  suggested  by  his  various  correspondents ;  but  he 
thinks  that  either  Alexandria  or  outside  the  Mediterranean  is 
the  most  probable.  "  To  those  two  points  my  whole  attention 
is  turned."  "  Their  destination,  is  it  Ireland  or  the  Levant  ? 
That  is  what  I  want  to  know ;  "  but  in  December  he  still  holds 
to  his  first  impression :  "  My  opinion  is,  certainly,  out  of  the 
Mediterranean." 

In  this  perplexity  Elliot  suggested  to  him  to  receive  on 
board  the  fleet  some  good  Frenchmen,  who  could  land  from 
time  to  time  and  get  information  in  Toulon,  —  a  proposition 
which  drew  from  Nelson  a  characteristic  and  amusing  explo- 
sion. "  Mr.  Elliot  wanted  to  send  me  some  good  Frenchmen, 
to  go  ashore  and  get  me  information.  My  answer  to  all  ^hese 
offers  is  *No.'  I  can  be  told  nothing  of  any  consequence  to 
me;  but  a  copy  of  the  French  admiral's  orders,  when  he  is  to 
put  to  sea,  and  where  he  is  destined  to,  is  the  only  useful  in- 
formation I  can  care  about.  I  can  see  the  number  and  force 
at  .Toulon  any  day  I  please,  and  as  for  the  names  of  the 
Captains  or  Admirals  I  care  not  what  they  are  called ;  there- 


•f 


ANXIETY  ABOUT  FRENCH  PLANS 


fore,  as  you  may  suppose,  I  have  none  of  these  'good  French- 
men '  about  me."  "  I  put  no  confidence  in  them,"  he  tells 
P^Uiot.  "  You  think  yours  good  :  the  Queen  thinks  hers  the 
same :  I  believe  they  are  all  alike.  Whatever  information 
you  can  get  me,  I  shall  be  very  thankful  for ;  but  not  a 
Frenchman  comes  here.  Forgive  me,  but  my  mother  hated 
the  French."  "  I  never  trust  a  Corsican  or  a  Frenchman.  I 
would  give  the  devil  all  the  good  ones  to  take  the  remainder." 

As  winter  advanced,  his  perplexities  increased,  for  each 
correspondent,  by  long  dwelling  on  his  particular  concern, 
saw  its  danger  and  importance  growing  in  his  own  eyes,  and 
dwelt  upon  them  with  greater  emphasis  in  his  letters.  ''  Ball 
is  sure  they  are  going  to  Egypt ;  the  Turks  are  sure  they  are 
going  to  the  Morea ;  Mr.  Elliot  at  Naples,  to  Sicily  ;  and  the 
King  of  Sardinia,  to  his  only  spot.  Every  power  tliinks  they 
are  destined  against  them ;  but  whatever  tlie  French  may  in- 
tend to  do,"  he  concludes,  with  a  quaint  humor  occasional 
with  him,  "  I  trust,  and  with  confidence,  they  are  destined  for 
Spithead."  He  recognized,  too,  that  Bonaparte  himself  was 
not  wholly  master  of  his  own  projects  when  contending  with 
such  uncertain  elements ;  and  the  great  master  of  War,  in  this 
instance  as  in  many  others,  had  placed  his  force  so  centrally, 
in  the  heel  of  Italy,  that  he  threatened  with  equal  facility  in 
two  opposite  directions,  to  his  own  advantage  and  his  enemies' 
perplexity.  "Circumstances  may  even  make  it  necessary  to 
alter  its  destination  by  Buonaparte ;  Egypt  or  Ireland,  and  I 
rather  lean  to  the  latter  destination."  Anything,  indeed,  is 
possible ;  for,  as  winter  approaches,  "  we  can  be  sure  of  nothing 
in  so  short  a  run,"  —  as  to  Sardinia  or  Sicily. 

For  a  little  while  during  February,  1804,  he  was  further 
stirred  up  by  reports  that  the  French  were  about  to  concen- 
trate their  naval  forces,  from  Brest  and  Ferrol,  in  the  Medi- 
terranean; and  this  he  was  inclined  to  believe,  unfavorable 
as  the  season  would  be  for  maritime  operations  in  that  stormy 
sea,  with  the  inexperienced  crews  of  the  enemy.  In  the  sum- 
mer his  conviction  of  the  importance  of  the  Mediterranean 
had  fully  prepared  him  for  such  an  attempt.  "  Naples,  the 
Morea,  and  ultimately  Egypt,  are  in  Buonaparte's  view,"  he 
had  then  written.  "  With  this  idea,  I  fully  expect  that  the 
French  fleet  from  Brest  will  assuredly  come  into  the  Medi- 


^Mi 


XiiH' 


■Hi 


li  .  :  I  I 


!  '  :!    ^ 


\i>K% 


'  's 


i>i 


j;  !, 


I!!  i 


% 


8M 


THE  LIFE  OF  KELSON 


terranean,  to  protect  this  army  across  tlie  water.  1  shall  try 
and  fight  one  party  or  the  other,  before  they  form  a  junction." 
"Much  may  be  done  before  liritish  reinforcements  arrive,"  he 
reminded  St.  Vincent.  **  Your  Lordship  knows  what  Admiral 
Bruix  might  have  done,  had  he  done  his  duty,  and  they  may 
buy  their  experience."  Now  he  says  to  Jiall,  "  The  Admiralty 
tolls  me  nothing,  they  know  nothing;  but  my  private  letters 
say,  that  the  Brest  squadron,  as  well  as  Ferrol,»  is  bound 
liere  —  if  so,  we  shall  have  work  enough  upon  our  hands." 
Thirty  thousand  troops,  also,  were  ready  to  embark  in  Mar- 
seilles and  Nice.  The  conclusion,  in  view  of  so  great  a  fonje 
assembling,  was  natural :  "  Egypt,  I  have  no  doubt,  is  the 
favourite  and  ultimate  object  of  the  Corsican  tyrant."  Nelson's 
spirit  rises  with  the  occasion.  "  I  shall  try  to  intercept  tlipm, 
but  I  cannot  go  so  far  to  the  westward  as  is  necessary ;  for  1 
will  not  lose  sight  of  the  Toulon  fleet.  What  a  most  zealous 
man  can  do  to  meet  all  points  of  difficulty,  shall  be  done.  My 
squadron  is  the  finest  for  its  numbers  in  the  world,  and  much 
may  be  expected  of  it.  Should  superior  numbers  join,  we 
must  look  it  in  the  face.  Nil  desperundum  /  God  is  good, 
and  our  cause  is  just." 

This  alarm  passed  away  like  others.  Bonaparte  had  no  idea 
of  pushing  ships  into  the  Mediterranean,  or  embarking  his 
naval  forces  on  any  doubtful  expr viments,  until  he  had  first 
tested  the  possibility  of  that  supreme  adventure,  the  invasion 
of  Engb'  I.  When  that  mighty  imagination  passed  away  like 
a  dre.r.i  that  leaves  no  trace,  he  ordered  his  fleets  into  the 
Mediterranean,  as  Nelson  had  expected,  and  the  result  was 
Trafalgar. 

As  the  spring  of  1804  opened,  the  French  admiral  at  Toulon 
began  to  exercise  his  ships  outside  the  harbor,  singly  or  in 
small  groups,  like  half-fledged  birds  learning  to  fly;  or,  to  use 
Nelson's  expression,  "  AFy  friend  Monsieur  La  Touche  some- 
times plays  bo-peep  in  and  out  of  Toulon,  like  a  mouse  at  the 
edge  of  her  hole."  The  only  drill-ground  for  fleets,  the  open 
sea,  being  closed  to  him,  he  could  do  no  better  than  these  fur- 
tive excursions,  to  prepare  for  the  eagle's  flight  Napoleon  had 
prescribed  to  him.     "  Last  week,  at  different  times,  two  sail 

1  Five  Frencli  ships-of-the-line,  returning  from  tlie  West  Indies,  had  taken 
refuge  in  Fenol. 


FUENCII  OUTINGS  OFF  TOULON 


C87 


of  the  line  put  their  heads  out  of  Toulon,  and  on  Tliursday, 
the  5th  [Api'il],  in  the  aftt'inoon,  they  all  came  out."  "  Yes- 
terday [the  9th]  a  rear-admiral  and  seven  sail,  incduding 
frigates,  put  their  nose  outside  the  harhour.  If  they  go  on 
playing  this  gaiiu*,  some  day  we  shall  lay  salt  upon  their  tails, 
and  so  end  the  campaign." 

These  outings  —  "capers,"  Nelson  called  them — naturally 
became  more  venturesome  by  little  and  little,  as  the  IJritish 
suffered  them  to  proceed  without  serious  attempt  at  molesta- 
tion, or  near  approach  on  their  part.  Nelson  vcnled  the  keen- 
ness of  his  watch,  as  he  (srouched  for  a  spring,  with  a  drowsy 
appearance  of  caution  and  indifference.  The  French  admiral, 
Latouche  Treville,  w.as  he  who  had  commanded  at  lioulogne 
when  Nelson's  boats  were  repelled  with  slaughter ;  and  it  was 
also  ho  who  in  1792  had  sent  a  grenadier  to  the  King  of 
Nai)les,  with  a  peremptory  summons  to  diplomatic  apology  in 
one  hand,  and  a  threat  of  bombardment  in  the  other.  For 
both  these  affairs  Nelson  considered  he  had  a  ])orsonal  score 
to  settle.  "  I  rather  believe  my  antagonist  at  Toulon  begins 
to  be  angry  with  me  :  at  least,  I  am  trying  to  make  him  so; 
and  then,  he  may  come  out,  and  beat  me,  as  he  says  he  did  off 
Boulogne.  He  is  the  Admiral  that  went  to  Naples  in  Peoem- 
bor,  1792,  who  landed  the  grenadier.  I  owe  him  something 
for  that." 

The  French  having  eight  sail-of-the-line  certainly  ready  for 
sea,  and  two  or  three  more  nearly  so  —  how  nearly  Nelson 
was  not  sure  —  he  now  endeavored  to  lure  them  out.  "I  have 
taken  a  method  of  making  Mr.  La  Touche  Treville  angry.  I 
have  left  Sir  Richard  Bickerton,  with  part  of  the  fleet,  twenty 
leagues  from  lience,  and,  with  five  of  the  line,  am  i)reventing 
his  cutting  capers,  which  he  has  done  for  some  time  past, 
off  Cape  Sicie."  "  He  seems  inclined  to  try  his  hand  with 
lis,"  he  writes  a  week  later,  "and  by  my  keeping  so  great 
an  inferiority  close  to  him,  perhaps  he  may  some  day  be 
tempted."  Nelson  had  near  Toulon  at  the  time  nine  ships-of- 
the-line.  Had  he  succeeded  in  bringing  Latouche  Treville  to 
attack  his  five,  he  would  have  hoped,  even  with  such  odds, 
for  a  decisive  victory;  but,  failing  that,  he  was  assured  that 
the  Toulon  fleet  would  be  out  of  the  game  for  that  summer. 
It  was  important  to  bring  matters  to  an  issue,  for,  as  he  Wrote 


:' 


III 


^ii 


*  ■  '!  (ii^ 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Elliot,  his  fofco  was  cliiuiiiishing  daily  tiiroujjh  tlio  dotoriora- 
tioij  of  ships  iiovor  from  the  iirst  fit  for  th.nr  work.  Measured 
by  the  standard  of  the  ships  in  the  Cluuuud,  *'  I  have  but  four 
sail  fit  to  keep  the  sea.  I  absolutely  keep  them  out  by  mau- 
aj,'ement."  Ex(!ept  the  four,  all  needed  doc^kiufj,  and  there 
was  not  a  dock  open  to  tlie  Hritish  west  of  Constantinople. 

lint,  while  thus  keenly  anxious  to  force  an  action,  l»e  was 
wary  to  obtain  taeticial  conditions  tliat  should  insure  a  success, 
adecpiate  both  to  the  risk  he  ran,  and  to  the  object  at  which 
lie  aimed.  "I  think  their  fleet  will  bo  ordered  out  to  fight 
close  to  Toulon,  that  they  may  get  their  crippled  ships  in 
again,  and  that  we  must  then  quit  the  coast  to  rei)air  our  dam- 
ages, and  thus  leave  the  coast  <'.lear  ;  but  my  mind  is  fixed  not 
to  fight  them,  unless  with  a  westerly  wind,  outside  the  Hieres, 
and  with  an  easterly  wind,  to  the  westward  of  Sicie."  Crip- 
pled there,  to  leeward  of  their  port,  the  otlier  liritish  division 
coming  up  fresh,  as  a  reserve,  from  the  southward,  where  it 
lay  concealed,  would  both  cut  them  off,  and  rescue  any  of 
their  own  fleet  that  might  have  been  overpowered.  Bicker- 
ton's  orders  were  to  remain  due  south  from  Tort  Cros,  one  of 
the  Hyferes,  at  a  distance  such  that,  with  the  upper  canvas 
furled,  his  ships  could  not  be  seen  from  tlie  islands,  but  could 
keei)  the  main  division  in  sight  from  their  mastheads.  lu  all 
cases  of  anticipated  battle,  Nelson  not  only  took  his  measures 
thus  thoughtfully,  but  was  careful  to  put  his  subordinates  in 
possession  both  of  his  general  plans,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  ol 
the  underlying  ideas.  Thus,  in  a  memorandum  issued  about 
this  time  to  the  captains,  ho  says :  "As  it  is  my  determination 
to  attack  the  French  fleet  in  any  place  where  there  is  a  reason- 
able prospect  of  getting  fairly  alongside  o*^  them,  I  recommend 
that  every  captain  will  make  himself,  V>y  inquiries,  as  fully 
acquainted  as  possible  with  the  following  places,  viz.,  Hieres 
Bay  [with  its  three  entrances],  Gourjean  Bay,  (of  which  I 
send  a  chart  from  the  latest  surveys  made,)  Port  Especia,  and, 
in  particular  the  northern  Passage  into  Leghorn  Eoads,  from 
which  side  it  is  only,  in  my  opinion,  possible  to  attack  an 
enemy's  fleet  to  advantage ;  and  with  the  Gulf  of  Ajaccio," 
To  these  instructions  he  adds  some  details  of  practical  prepa- 
ration for  anchoring  under  fire,  and  the  reasons  therefor.  In 
the  same  spirit,  when  expecting  the  Brest  fleet  in  the  Meditei- 


i  If  I 


I'ACTICAL   IMU'X'AU  ri(  )NS 


580 


raiieaii,  lie  says:  **  1  am  perfectly  prepared  lunv  to  a<!t  vith 
either  a  superior  or  an  inferior  fonre.  Aly  mind  is  tirm  as  a 
rock,  and  my  plans  lor  every  event  fixed  in  my  mind."  No 
man  ever  was  served  bettoi*  than  Nelson  by  the  inspiration  of 
the  moment;  no  man  ever  counted  on  it  less. 

In  communicating  his  ideas  to  his  subordinates  Nelson  did 
not  confine  himself  to  otlieial  interconrse  ;  on  the  contrary,  his 
natural  disposition  impelled  him  rather  to  familar  conversation 
with  them  on  service  subjects.  *'  Even  for  debating  the  most 
important  naval  business,"  v/o  learn  tlirough  his  confidential 
secretary  at  this  period,  "he  preferred  a  turn  on  the  qnarter- 
deck  with  his  captains,  whom  he  led  by  his  own  frankness  to 
express  themselves  freely,  to  all  the  stiffness  and  formality  of  a 
council  of  war."  ^  An  interesting  instance  of  these  occasional 
coun  jcls  has  been  transmitted  to  us  by  one  of  his  captains,  then 
little  more  than  a  youth,  but  the  last  to  survive  of  those  who 
commanded  ships  under  him.  "  Throughout  the  month  of 
October,  1804,  Toulon  was  frequently  reconnoitred,  and  the 
J 'hoe be  and  Amazon  were  ordered  to  cruize  together.  Previous 
to  their  going  away  Lord  Nelson  gave  to  Captains  Capel  and 
Parker  several  injunctions,  in  case  they  should  get  an  oppor- 
tunity of  attacking  two  of  the  French  frigates,  which  now  got 
under  weigh  more  frequently.  The  principal  one  was,  that 
they  should  not  each  single  out  and  attack  an  opponent,  but 
'  that  both  should  endeavour  together  to  take  one  fri<jate  ;  if 
successful,  chase  the  otiier ;  but  if  you  do  not  take  the  second, 
still  you  have  won  a  victory,  and  your  country  will  gain  a 
frigate.'  Then,  half  laughing,  and  half  snappishly,  said 
kindly  to  them  as  he  wished  them  good-bj'e,  *  I  daresay  you 
consider  yourselves  a  couple  of  fine  fellows,  and  when  you  get 
away  from  me  you  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort,  b.^t  think  your- 
selves wiser  than  I  am  ! '  "  ^ 

The  game  of  cat  and  mouse,  off  Toulon,  occasioned  one  inci- 
dent which  greatly  upset  Nelson's  composure,  and  led  to  a 
somewhat  amusing  display  of  ire,  excited  by  a  statement  of 

1  Life  of  Rev.  A.  J.  Scott,  p.  124, 

2  Phillimore's  Last  of  Nelson's  CaptaiuH,  j).  122.  A  portion  of  this  inci- 
dent has  before  been  quoted,  in  another  connection  (page  303,  note).  It 
is  repeated,  because  again  applicable,  to  illustrate  a  ditl'ereiit  trait  of  Nelson's 
character. 


>.■  \  ■■. 


; ! 


\\^ 


69G 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


h\ 


the  French  admiral,  published  throughout  Europe,  that  his 
renowned  antagonist  had  run  away  from  him.  On  the  13th 
of  June,  two  French  frigates  and  a  brig  were  seen  under  the 
Hyeres  Islands,  where  they  had  been  seen  by  Latouciie 
Treville,  upon  the  report  that  some  enemy's  cruisers  were  in 
the  neighborhood.  Nelson  despatched  two  frigates  after  them, 
which,  owing  to  light  winils,  did  not  get  near  until  the  next 
day.  The  French  vessels  being  then  seen  from  the  "  Victory  " 
to  be  close  in  with  the  batteries,  the  <' Excellent,"  74,  was 
sent  to  support  the  frigates,  and  some  time  afterwards  the 
other  four  ships  also  bore  up  for  the  main  entrance  to  the 
islands.  Upon  this,  Latouche  Treville  got  under  way,  and  at 
about  5  r.  m.  came  out  of  the  harbor  with  his  eight  sail-of-the- 
line.  Nelson's  division  reduced  their  canvas,  hauling  to  the 
wind  in  line  of  battle,  on  the  starboard  tack,  which,  with  the 
then  wind,  was  with  their  heads  off  shore,  and  the  "  Excel- 
lent" was  recalled,  although  she  could  not  rejoin  till  mid- 
night. In  this  order  they  hove-to  (stopped),  with  two  reefs 
in  the  topsails  and  the  main  yards  sipiare,  at  7.30  r.  m.,  which 
at  that  time  of  the  year  was  broad  daylight,  and  in  this 
general  position  remained  till  next  morning. 

As  the  distance  between  the  hostile  bodies  was  apparently 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  miles,  the  French  admiral's  observa- 
tions may  have  failed  to  recognize  that  the  enemy,  by  backing 
his  topsails,  had  offered  a  fair  challenge ;  else,  in  his  report  of 
this  very  commonplace  occurrence,  he  could  scarcely  have  used, 
concerning  the  movement  of  heading  south,  the  expression, 
2)rii  chasHo,  which,  whether  rendered  "  retired,"  or  "  retreated," 
or,  as  Nelson  did,  "  ran  away,"  was  a  misrepresentation  of  the 
facts,  and  heightened  by  the  assertion  that  he  pursued  till 
night-fall,  and  next  morning  could  not  see  the  enemy.  Writ- 
ing to  Elliot  four  days  after  the  affair  happened,  Nelson  men- 
tioned casually  his  view  of  the  matter.  "  Monsie\ir  La  Touche 
came  out  with  eight  sail  of  the  line  and  six  frigates,  cut  a 
caper  off  Sepet,  and  went  in  again.  I  brought-to  for  his 
attack,  although  I  did  not  believe  anything  was  meant  serious, 
but  merely  a  gasconade."  *'  On  the  morning  of  the  loth,"  he 
tells  Acton  on  the  same  day,  ''  1  believe  I  may  call  it,  we 
chased  him  into  Toulon."  His  purpose  evidently  was,  as  has 
been  shown,  to  fight,  if  the  enemy  meant  business,  to  leeward 


s,  to  leeward 


THE  REPORT  OF  LATOUCHE  TUfeVILLE 


591 


of  the  port,  and  far  enough  off  to  give  liickerton  a  chance  to 
come  up.  Great  was  his  wrath,  two  months  later,  when  La- 
touche's  statement  reached  him,  and  he  found  that  not  only  no 
mention  was  made  of  tlxe  relative  numbers,  but  that  the  offen- 
sive expression  quoted  had  been  used.  '*  1  do  assure  you,"  he 
wrote  to  the  Admiralty,  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  day's  log,  "  I 
know  not  what  to  say,  except  by  a  flat  contradiction ;  for  if 
my  character  is  not  established  by  this  time  for  not  being  apt 
to  run  away,  it  is  not  worth  my  time  to  attempt  to  put  the 
world  right."  He  might  well  have  rested  there, —  an  impu- 
tation that  might  have  injured  an  untried  man  could  provoke 
only  a  smile  when  levelled  at  his  impregnable  renown ;  but 
his  ruffled  mind  would  not  let  him  keep  (piiet,  and  in  private 
correspondence  he  vented  his  rage  in  terms  similar  to  those 
used  of  tlie  Danish  commodore  after  Copenhagen.  "  You  will 
have  seen  ]\Ionsieur  La  Touche's  letter  of  liow  he  chased  me 
and  how  I  nni.  I  keep  it;  and,  by  G — d,  if  I  take  him,  lie 
shall  e<(t  it."  He  is  a  "  poltroon,"  a  "  liar,"  and  a  "  miscreant." 
It  may  be  added  that  no  admiral,  whether  a  Nelson  or  not, 
could  have  abandoned  the  "Excellent"  under  the  conditions. 

Immediately  after  this  abortive  affair.  Nelson,  convinced  by 
it  that  somethirg  more  than  a  taunt  was  needed  to  bring  his 
enemy  under  his  guns,  stationed  frigates  at  the  Hyeres,  and  to 
cruise  thence  to  the  eastward  as  far  as  Cape  Taillat,  to  inter- 
cept the  commerce  between  Italy  and  Toulon  and  iMarseilles. 
For  this  purpose  he  had  recommended,  and  the  Government 
had  ordered,  a  blockade  of  all  Genoese  ports  including  Spezia ; 
Genoa,  now  the  Liguriau  Republic,  being  considered  as  much 
France  as  Toulon.  Nothing,  he  said,  could  distress  France 
more.  This  blockade  had  been  but  feebly  enforced,  owing  to 
the  lack  of  small  cruisers;  but  he  hoped  to  attain  the  same 
end  by  the  frigates  off  the  Hyeres.  "  I  really  am  of  opinion," 
he  told  their  commander,  "that  it  will  force  La  Touche  out." 
In  the  latter,  however,  he  had  to  do  with  an  opponent  of  skill 
as  well  as  of  resolution.  Firmly  imbued  with  the  French 
tradition,  and  with  Bonaparte's  instructions,  which  subordi- 
nated his  local  action  entirely  to  the  great  scheme  in  whicdi  the 
Toulon  fleet  had  its  appointed  part,  Latouche' Troville  was 
neither  to  be  provoked  nor  betrayed  into  an  action,  by  which, 
however  tempting  the  promise,  his  fleet  might  be  made  unfit 


] 

1 

! 

I 

f 

i 

\  \ 

\     i 


H 


i  i 

I 

! 

i   1 

[ 

i 

i 

^       ,i 

1 

'      i         t 

1 

L 

592 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


for  their  intended  service.  Nelson  did  hiin  no  more  than  jus- 
tice, when  he  said,  •*  I  am  confident,  wlien  he  is  ordered  for 
any  service,  tliat  he  will  risk  falling  in  with  us,  and  the  event 
of  a  battle,  to  try  and  accomplish  his  orders ; "  but,  short  of 
the  appointed  time,  nothing  else  could  entice  him.  In  vain 
did  the  British  admiral  bait  his  trap  by  exposing  frigates, 
without  visible  support,  to  draw  him  to  leeward,  while  the 
hostile  fleet  hovered  out  of  sight  to  windward.  The  shrewd 
Frenchman  doubtless  felt  the  temptation,  but  he  distrusted 
the  gifts  too  plausibly  tendered. 

Besides  the  interest  of  the  public  service,  Nelson  had  the 
strongest  personal  motives  for  bringing  matters  to  an  issue. 
The  prolonged  suspense  and  the  anxiety  were  exhausting  him, 
the  steady  tension  even  of  the  normal  conditions  fretted  him 
beyond  endurance  ;  but  when  a  crisis  became  accentuated  by 
an  appearance  that  the  enemy  had  eluded  him,  his  feelings  of 
distress,  acting  upon  an  enfeebled  organization,  and  a  nervous 
temperament  so  sensitive  that  he  started  at  the  mere  dropping 
of  a  rope  beside  him,  drove  him  almost  to  distraction.  On 
such  an  occasion  he  wrote :  "  I  am  absolutely  beginning  this 
letter  in  a  fever  of  the  mind.  It  is  thick  as  butter-milk,  and 
blowing  a  Levanter ;  and  the  Narcissus  has  just  spoke  me  to 
say,  'she  boarded  a  vessel,  and  they  understood  that  the  men 
had  seen,  a  few  days  before,  twelve  sail  of  ships  of  war  off 
Minorca.  It  was  in  the  dusk,  and  he  did  not  know  which  way 
they  were  steering.'  This  is  the  whole  story,  and  a  lame 
one.  You  will  imagine  my  feelings,  although  I  cannot  bring 
my  mind  to  believe.  To  miss  them,  God  forbid.  ...  If  I 
should  miss  these  fellows,  my  heart  will  break :  I  am  actually 
only  now  recovering  the  shock  of  missing  them  in  1798.  God 
knows  I  only  serve  to  fight  those  scoundrelp ;  and  if  I  cannot 
do  that,  I  should  be  better  on  shore."  When  the  weather 
cleared,  and  a  reconnoissauce  showed  the  news  was  false,  his 
intense  relief  found  expression  in  the  words  :  "  I  believe  this 
is  the  only  rime  in  my  life,  that  I  was  glad  to  hear  the  French 
were  in  port."  "  The  French  ships,"  he  says  at  another  time, 
"  have  either  altered  their  anchorage,  or  some  of  them  have 
got  to  sea  in  the  late  gales :  the  idea  has  given  lue  half  a 
fever.  If  that  admiral  were  to  cheat  me  out  of  my  hopes  of 
meeting  him,  it  would  kill  me  much  easier  than  cue  of  his 


t', 


'ill 


Ills  TEKSONAL  HEALTH,   1804 


593 


e  than  jus- 
)rdered  for 
I  the  event 
it,  short  of 
I.  In  vain 
ig  frigates, 

while  the 
Dhe  shrewd 

distrusted 

)n  had  the 

0  an  issue, 
isting  him, 
retted  liim 
ntuated  by 
feelings  of 

1  a  nervous 
e  dropping 
,ction.  On 
nning  this 
i*-milk,  and 
)oke  me  to 
it  the  men 
of  Avar  off 
Avhich  way 
id  0  lame 
mot  bring 

...  If  I 

m  actually 

798.     God 

E  I  cannot 

e  weather 

false,  his 

3lieve  this 

le  French 

her  time, 

lem  have 

iie  half  a 

hopes  of 

Lie  of  his 


balls.      Since  we  sat  down  to  dinner  Captain  IVIoubray  has 
made  the  signal,  but  I  am  very  far  from  being  easy." 

On  the  12th  of  May,  1804,  there  was  a  change  of  adminis- 
tration in  England.  Earl  kt.  Vincent  left  the  Admiralty,  as 
First  Lord,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lord  ^Melville.  A  few  days 
before  this  Nelson,  by  a  general  promotion,  had  become  Vice- 
Admiral  of  the  White,  the  rank  in  which  he  died  eighteen 
months  later. 

The  return  of  summer  had  improved  his  health  from  the 
low  condition  into  which  it  had  fallen  during  the  winter,  but 
he  did  not  flatter  liimself  as  to  the  future.  The  combination 
of  colorless  monotony  with  constant  racking  anxiety  slackened 
the  springs  of  moral  energy,  which,  and  which  alone,  respond- 
ing joyously  to  a  call  to  action,  afforded  the  stimulus  capable 
of  triumphing;  ever  his  bodily  weakness,  and  causing  it  for  the 
moment  to  disappear.  "Tbij  is  an  odd  war,"  he  saicl^  "  not  a 
battle!"  Tying  himself  to  the  ship,  in  profound  sympathy 
with  the  crews^  he  never  went  ashore  from  the  time  he  left 
Malta  in  June,  1803,  until  he  reached  Gibraltar  in  July, 
1805;  nor  was  he  ever  outside  of  the  "Victory"  from  July 
oO,  1803,  the  day  he  went  on  board  her  from  the  "  Amphion." 
*'  Always  shut  up  in  the  Victory's  cabin,"  as  he  liimself  wrote, 
"cannot  be  very  good  for  the  constitution.  I  think  you  will 
find  me  grown  thin,  but  never  mind."  Other  officers, 
especially  of  the  frigates,  got  their  occasional  runs  ashore ; 
but  his  slight  figure  was  continuary  in  view,  walking  the 
front  of  the  poop,  to  the  unconscious  contentment  of  the  men, 
thus  reminded  ever  that  their  admix-al  shared  their  depriva- 
tions. This  profound  seclusion  to  the  narrow  circle  of  the 
flagship,  although  often  broken  by  the  presence  of  ofiicers 
from  the  other  vessels,  who,  whether  cruising  in  company 
with  the  fleet,  or  arriving  with  tidings  from  different  ports, 
were  daily  partakers  of  the  admiral's  hospitable  table,  could  not 
but  depress  him ;  and  there  was  with  him  the  constant  sense 
of  loss,  by  absence  from  those  he  held  most  dear.  "  1  have 
not  a  thought  except  on  you  and  the  French  fleet,"  he  tells 
Lady  Hamilton  ;  "  all  my  thoughts,  plans,  and  toils  tend  to 
those  two  objects.  Don't  laugh  at  my  putting  you  and  the 
French  fleet  together,  but  you  cannot  be  separated." 

Yet  even  towards  her  his  mind  is  fixed  as  of  old,  that  she 

38 


l'  ^  I  11 


!     i' 


!■   -i 


I 


504 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


must  take  a  jjlace  second  to  duty.  She  had,  it  appears,  in- 
sisted upon  her  wish  to  come  out  to  the  station  to  be  near  him. 
Malta  and  Italy  were  both,  he  said,  out  of  the  question.  His 
place  was  off  Toulon,  as  lonjj;  as  the  French  fleet  was  there  ; 
therefore  he  could  not  go  into  harbor;  nay,  "  I  might  ab- 
solutely miss  you,  by  leaving  the  IMediterraneau  without 
warning.  The  other  day  we  had  a  rejjort  the  French  were 
out,  and  seen  steering  to  the  westward.  We  wore  as  far 
as  Minorca  when  the  alarm  proved  false."  As  for  coming  on 
board  the  *'  Victory  "  to  live,  which  she  seems  to  have  sug- 
gested, "  Imagine  what  a  cruize  off  Toulon  is  ;  even  in  summer 
time  we  have  a  hard  gale  every  Aveek,  and  two  days'  heavy 
swell.  It  would  kill  you  ;  and  myself  to  see  you.  Much  less 
possible  to  have  Charlotte,  Horatia,  &c.,  on  board  ship  !  And 
I,  that  have  given  orders  to  carry  no  women  to  sea  in  the 
Victory,  to  be  the  first  to  break  them  !  I  know,  my  own  dear 
Emma,  if  she  will  let  her  reason  have  fair  play,  will  say  1  am 
right ;  but  she  is  like  Horatia,  very  angry  if  she  cannot  have 
her  own  way."  "Horatia  is  like  her  mother;  will  have  her 
own  way,  or  kick  up  a  devil  of  a  dust,"  —  an  observation  both 
Greville  and  Hamilton  had  had  to  make.  "  Your  Nelson,"  he 
concludes,  "  is  called  upon,  in  the  most  honourable  manner,  to 
defend  his  country.  Absence  to  ns  is  equally  painful :  but,  if 
I  had  either  stayed  at  home,  or  neglected  my  duty  abroad, 
would  not  my  Emma  have  blushed  for  me  ?  Slie  could  never 
have  heard  my  praises,  and  how  the  country  looks  up."  "The 
call  of  our  country,"  he  says  again,  "  make?  it  indisi)ensablc 
for  both  our  honours  —  the  country  looks  up  to  the  services 
of  the  poorest  individual,  much  more  to  me,  and  are  you  not  a 
sharer  of  my  glory  ?  " 

Of  his  daily  life  on  board,  and  intercourse  with  others,  we 
have  intimations,  fragmentary  yet  sufficient.  "Our  days,"  ho 
himself  says,  "  pass  so  nnich  alike  that,  having  described  one, 
you  have  them  all.  We  now  [Octobcsr]  breakfast  by  candle 
light;  and  all  retire,  at  eight  o'ltlock,  to  bed."  "We  cruise, 
cruise,  and  one  day  so  like  another  tlat  they  are  hardly 
distinguishable,  but  hopes,  blessed  hopes,  keeps  us  up,  that 
some  happy  day  the  French  may  con^^  out,  then  I  shall 
consider  my  duty  to  my  country  fulfilled."  Of  one  of  these 
monotonous  days  we  have  received  a  description  from  an 


DAILY   LIFE   ON   BOA  III) 


51(5 


officer,*  a  nieiiiber  of  the  admiral's  mess,  who  liad  then  too 
lately  entered  upon  them  to  feel  tiio  full  weight  of  their 
deadly  sameness. 

"At  G  o'clock  my  servant  brings  a  light  and  informs  mo 
of  the  hour,  wind,  weather,  and  course  of  the  ship,  when  I 
immediately  dress  and  generally  rei)air  to  the  deck,  the  dawn 
of  day  at  this  season  and  latitude  being  ai)parent  at  about 
half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour  past  six.  JJreakfast  is  an- 
nounced in  the  Admiral's  cabin,  where  Lord  Nelson,  Hear 
Admiral  Murray,  (the  Captain  of  the  Fleet,)  Captain  Hardy, 
commander  of  the  Victory,  the  chaplain,  secretary,  one  or 
two  officers  of  the  shij),  and  your  humble  servant  assemble 
and  breakfast  on  tea,  hot  rolls,  toast,  cold  tongue,  &c.,  w\nv,\i 
when  finished  we  rei)air  upon  de(tk  to  enjoy  the  niajestic 
sight  of  the  rising  sun  (scar<!ely  ever  obscured  by  clouds  in 
this  fine  climate)  surmounting  the  smooth  and  placid  waves 
of  the  Mediterranean,  which  supports  the  lofty  and  tremen- 
dous bulwarks  of  JJritain,  following  in  regular  train  their 
admiral  in  the  Victory.  Between  the  hours  of  7  and  2  there 
is  plenty  of  time  for  business,  study,  writing,  and  exercise, 
which  different  occupations  I  endeavour  to  vary  in  su(!li  a 
manner  as  to  afford  me  sufficient  employment.  At  2  o'clock 
a  band  of  music  plays  till  within  a  quarter  of  .'>,  when  the 
drum  beats  the  tune  called,  *  Tiie  lloast  Jieef  of  Old  England ' 
to  announce  the  Admiral's  dinner,  which  is  served  up  exactly 
at  3  o'clock,  and  which  generally  consists  of  three  courses  and 
a  dessert  of  the  choicest  fruit  [a  fact  which  bespeaks  the 
frequency  of  communications  with  the  land],  together  with 
three  or  four  of  the  best  wines,  champagne  and  claret  not 
excepted.  If  a  person  does  not  feel  himself  perfectly  at  his 
ease  it  must  be  his  own  fault,  such  is  the  urbanity  and  hospi- 
tality wnich  reign  here,  notwithstanding  the  numerous  titles, 
the  four  orders  of  Knighthood,  worn  by  Lord  Nelson,-  and 
the  well  earned  laurels  which  he  has  acquired.  Coffee  and 
liqueurs  close  the  dinner  about  half-past  4  or  5  o'clock,  after 
which  the  company  generally  walk  the  deck,  where  the  band 

*  The  letter  of  this  genth'iiiaii,  Dr.  (Ullespic;,  from  whiili  a  (inotatioii  liiis 
r.heady  been  iimde,  was  publisliftl  in  the  Loiidoii  "  Tiiiu's  "  of  October  6, 188(5. 

2  This  incidental  remark  may  be  noted,  as  bearing  upon  the  statement, 
now  rejected,  that  his  orders  were  i>ut  on  especially  for  battle. 


506 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


N' 


of  music  plays  for  nearly  an  hour.^  A  6  o'clock  tea  is  an- 
nounced, when  the  company  again  assemble  in  the  Admiral's 
cabin,  wliere  tea  is  served  up  before  7  o'clock,  and,  as  we  are 
inclined,  the  party  continue  to  converse  with  his  lordship, 
who  at  this  time  generally  unbends  himself,  though  he  is  at 
all  times  as  free  from  stiffness  and  pomp  as  a  regard  to  proper 
dignity  will  admit,  and  is  very  communicative.  At  8  o'clock  a 
rummer  of  punch  with  cake  or  biscuit  is  served  up,  soon  after 
which  we  wish  the  Admiral  a  good  night  (who  is  generally  in 
bed  before  9  o'clock).  Such  is  the  journal  of  a  day  at  sea  in  fine 
or  at  least  moderate  weather,  in  which  this  floating  castle  goes 
through  the  water  with  the  greatest  imaginable  steadiness." 

Another  medical  oflicer,  who  served  on  board  the  "Victory" 
soon  after  the  writer  of  the  lines  just  quoted,  has  transmitted 
some  other  interesting  particulars  of  Nelson's  personal  habits 
and  health,  which  relate  to  the  general  period  now  under 
narration. 

"An  opinion  has  been  very  generally  entertained,  that 
Lord  Nelson's  state  of  health,  and  su])posed  infirmities  aris- 
ing from  his  former  wounds  and  hard  services,  ]>recluded  the 
probability  of  his  long  surviving  the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  had 
he  fortunately  escaped  the  Enemy's  shot:  but  the  writer  of 
this  can  assert  that  liis  Lordship's  health  was  uniformly  good, 
with  the  exception  of  some  slight  attacks  of  indisposition 
arising  from  accidental  causes;  and  which  never  continued 
above  two  or  tliree  days,  nor  confined  him  in  any  degree  with 
respect  to  either  exercise  or  regimen :  and  during  the  last 
twelve  months  of  his  life,  he  complained  only  three  times  in 
this  way.  It  is  true,  that  his  Lordship,  about  the  meridian 
of  life,  had  been  subject  to  frequent  fits  of  the  gout ;  which 
disease,  however,  as  well  as  his  constitutional  tendency  to  it, 
he  totally  overcame  by  abstaining  for  the  space  of  nearly  two 
years  from  animal  food,  and  wine,  and  all  other  fermented 
drink ;  confining  his  diet  to  vegetables,  and  commonly  milk 
and  water.  And  it  is  also  a  fact,  that  early  in  life,  Avhen  he 
first  went  to  sea,  he  left  off  the  use  of  salt,  which  he  then 
believed  to  be  the  sole  cause  of  scurvy,  and  never  took  it 
afterwards  Avith  his  food. 

*  There  is  here  no  mention  of  smoking ;  nor  has  any  allusion  to  it,  or  to 
tobacco,  caught  the  author's  eye  in  Nelson's  letters. 


HIS  PERSONAL  HEALTH 


m 


"His  Lordship  used  a  great  deal  of  exercise,  generally 
walking  on  deck  six  or  seven  hours  in  the  day.  He  always 
rose  early,  for  the  most  part  shortly  after  daybreak.  Pie  - 
breakfasted  in  summer  about  six,  and  at  seven  in  winter:  and 
if  not  occupied  in  reading  or  writing  despatches,  or  examining 
into  the  details  of  the  Fleet,  he  walked  on  the  quarter-deck 
the  greater  part  of  the  forenoon ;  going  down  to  his  cabin 
occasionally  to  commit  to  paper  such  incidents  or  reflections 
as  occurred  to  him  during  that  time,  and  as  might  be  here- 
after useful  to  the  service  of  his  country.  He  dined  generally 
about  half-past  two  o'clock.  At  his  table  there  were  seldom 
less  than  eight  or  nine  persons,  consisting  of  the  ditferent 
Officers  of  the  Ship :  Jind  when  the  weather  and  the  service 
permitted,  he  very  often  had  several  of  the  Admirals  and 
Captains  in  the  Fleet  to  dine  with  him;  who  were  mostly 
invited  by  signal,  the  rotation  of  seniority  being  commonly 
observed  by  his  Lordship  in  these  invitations.  At  dinner  he 
was  alike  affable  and  attentive  to  every  one :  he  ate  very 
sparingly  himself;  the  liver  and  wing  of  a  fowl,  and  a  small 
plate  of  macaroni,  in  general  composing  his  meal,  during 
which  he  occasionally  took  a  glass  of  champagne.  He  never 
exceeded  four  glasses  of  wine  after  dinner,  and  seldom  drank 
three  ;  and  even  tiiose  were  diluted  with  either  Bristol  or 
common  water. 

"Few  men  subject  to  the  vicissitudes  of  a  Naval  life, 
equalled  his  Lordship  in  an  habitual  systematic  mode  of 
living.  He  possessed  such  a  wonderful  activity  of  mind,  as 
even  prevented  him  from  taking  ordinary  repose,  seldom  en- 
joying two  hours  of  uninterrupted  sleep;  and  on  several  oc- 
casions he  did  not  quit  the  deck  during  the  whole  night.  At 
these  times  he  took  no  pains  to  protect  himself  from  the 
effects  of  wet,  or  the  night  air;  wearing  only  a  thin  great 
coat:  and  he  has  frequently,  after  having  his  clothes  wet 
through  with  rain,  refused  to  have  them  changed,  saying  that 
the  leather  waistcoat  which  he  wore  over  his  flannel  one 
would  secure  him  from  complaint.  He  seldom  wore  boots, 
and  was  consequently  very  liable  to  have  his  feet  wet.  "When 
this  occurred  he  has  often  been  known  to  go  down  to  his 
cabin,  throw  off  his  shoes,  and  walk  on  the  carpet  in  his  stock- 
ings for  the  purpose  of  drying  the  feet  of  them.     He  chose 


■  i 


! 


i    i 


M    ' 


i  I 


ii 


598 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


W' 


\i  ' 


rather  to  adopt  this  uncomfortable  expedient,  than  to  give 
his  servants  the  trouble  of  assisting  him  to  put  on  fresh  stock- 
ings ;  which,  from  his  having  only  one  hand,  he  could  not 
himself  conveniently  effect. 

"  From  these  circumstances  it  may  be  inferred,  that  though 
Lord  Nelson's  constitution  was  not  of  that  kind  which  is  gen- 
erally denominated  strong,  yet  it  was  not  very  susceptible  of 
complaint  from  the  common  occasional  causes  of  disease  neces- 
sarily attending  a  Naval  life.  The  only  bodily  pain  which  his 
Lordship  felt  in  consequence  of  his  many  wounds,  was  a  slight 
rheumatic  affection  of  the  stump  of  his  amputated  arm  on  any 
sudden  variation  in  the  state  of  the  weather ;  which  is  gener- 
ally experienced  by  those  who  have  the  misfortune  to  lose  a 
limb  after  the  middle  age.  His  Lordship  usually  predicted 
an  alteration  in  the  weather  with  as  much  certainty  from  feel- 
ing transient  pains  in  his  stump,  as  he  could  by  his  marine 
barometer;  from  the  indications  of  which  latter  he  kept  a 
diary  of  the  atmospheric  changes,  which  was  written  with  his 
own  hand. 

"  His  Lordship  had  lost  his  right  eye  by  a  contusion  which 
he  received  at  the  siege  of  Calvi,  in  the  island  of  Corsica. 
The  vision  of  the  other  was  likewise  considerably  impaired: 
he  always  clicrefore  wore  a  green  shade  over  his  forehead,  to 
defend  tliis  eye  from  the  effect  of  strong  light;  but  as  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  looking  much  through  a  glass  while  on  deck, 
tliere  is  little  doubt  that  had  he  lived  a  few  years  longer,  and 
continued  at  sea,  he  would  have  lost  his  sight  totally."  ^ 

The  business  hours  of  the  day  from  seven  to  tv/o  were  spent 
by  Nelson  largely  with  his  secretaries.  We  know  from  Colonel 
Stewart  that  in  the  Baltic,  where  his  command  was  more 
numerous  than  in  the  Mediterranean,  his  habit  was  to  get 
through  the  ordinary  business  of  the  squadron  before  eight 
o'clock ;  for  the  rest,  the  greater  part  of  the  detail  work  would 
fall  upon  the  Captain  of  the  Fleet,  then  Rear-Admiral  George 
Murray,  who  would  require  only  general  instructions  and  little 
interference  for  carrying  on  the  laborious  internal  administra- 
tion of  the  fleet.  The  Admiral's  energies  were  sufficiently 
taxed  in  considering  and   meeting,  so  far  as  his  rr>'-ources 

^  Dr.  Beatty's  Narrative  of  the  Death  of  Lord  Nelson.  Nicolas,  vol.  vii. 
p.  259. 


m   vM 


I     ! 


r^^ources 


ADMINISTRATIVE  CARES 


609 


would  pennitj  ^^^'i  numerous  and  complicated  demands  for 
external  services  in  the  different  quarters  of  his  wide  com- 
mand —  the  ingenious  effort  to  induce  two  and  two  to  make 
five,  in  which  so  much  of  the  puzzle  of  life  consists.  His 
position  necessarily  involved  extensive  diplomatic  relations. 
Each  British  Minister  around  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
had  his  own  particular  care ;  the  British  admiral  was  in  con- 
fidential communication  witli  all,  and  in  every  movement  had 
to  consider  the  consequences,  both  of  what  he  did  and  of  what 
he  left  undone.  It  was  a  day  when  force  nded,  and  all  the 
nations  of  Europe,  whether  they  wished  or  not,  had  to  put 
their  chief  trust  in  the  sword,  and  in  those  who  bore  it.  Not 
the  least  of  Nelson's  qualifications  for  his  post  was  that  he 
possessed  intimate  knowledge  and  experience  of  political  con- 
ditions in  the  Mediterranean,  knew  the  peoples  and  the  rulers 
well,  and  to  great  sagacity  and  sound  judgment  added  a  tem- 
per at  once  firm  and  conciliatory.  "  He  had  in  a  great 
degree,"  said  a  contemporary  who  knew  him  well,^  "the  valu- 
able but  rare  quality  of  conciliating  the  most  op])Osite  tem})ers, 
and  forwarding  the  public  service  with  unanimity  amongst 
men  not  of  themselves  disposed  to  accord ; "  and  although  the 
remark  referred  primarily  to  his  conduct  in  the  naval  service, 
it  will  readily  be  seen  that  this  aptitude  is  nowhere  more  use- 
ful than  in  the  tangled  maze  of  conflicting  national  interests. 
"  My  line  of  conduct,"  he  wrote  to  Ilobart,  a  year  after  taking 
his  command,  "in  obedience  to  the  spirit  of  liis  Majesty's 
instructions  communicated  through  your  Lordship,  has  been 
simply  this,  —  to  conciliate  all,  to  protect  all  from  French 
rapacity.  1  have  been  honoured  with  your  letter  of  January 
7th,  and  it  has  given  me  t  sincere  i)leasure  that  my  whole 
conduct  in  my  command  iiere  has  been  such  as  to  meet  his 
IMajesty's  approbation."  The  new  Ministry,  upon  assuming 
office,  requested  him  in  the  most  flattering  terms  to  continue 
his  direct  correspondence  on  political  subjects  with  them,  as 
with  their  predecessors. 

Yet,  while  conciliatory,  he  could  at  times  be  c-rt  and  arbi- 
trary enough.  Fault  was  found  wi  h  the  blockade  of  Genoa  on 
tlie  ground  that  it  did  not  comply  with  the  requirements  of 
international  lawj  the  complaint  resting,  apparently,  on  the 


1  Sir  William  Ilotliam. 


1 1  • 


».  \ 


i! 


1 


m 


I  ^^  I 


III 


000 


TIIK  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


statement  that  tlio  blockaders  could  not  bo  seen  from  Genoa. 
Nelson  replied  that  the  proof  of  evident  danger  to  vessels 
seeking  to  enter  or  leave,  rested  on  the  fact  that  captures  were 
made ;  and  it  is,  on  the  face  of  it,  absurd  to  say  that  there  can 
be  no  danger  to  a  vessel  seeking  to  enter  a  blockaded  port, 
because  the  blockading  vessels  are  not  visible  from  the  latter. 
Much  more  depends  upon  their  number,  disposition,  and  speed. 
"  From  my  knowledge  of  Genoa  and  its  (rulf,"  said  Nelson, 
"  I  assert  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  the  nearer  ships 
cruise  to  Genoa,  the  more  certain  is  the  escape  of  vessels  from 
that  port,  or  their  entrance  into  it  insured.  I  am  blockading 
Genoa,  according  to  the  orders  of  the  Admiralty,  and  in  the 
way  I  think  most  proper.  Whether  modern  law  or  ancient 
law  makes  my  mode  right,  E  cannot  judge ;  and  surely  of  the 
mode  of  disposing  of  a  fleet,  T  must,  if  I  am  fit  for  my  post, 
be  a  better  judge  than  any  landsman,  however  learned  lie  may 
appear.  It  would  be  the  act  of  a  fool  to  tell  Europe  where  I 
intend  to  place  the  ships,  for  the  purpose  of  effectually  obey- 
ing my  orders  ;  not  a  cai)tain  can  know  it,  and  their  positions 
will  vary,  according  to  the  information  I  may  receive.  ...  I 
endeavour,  as  well  as  I  am  able,  to  obey  my  orders,  without 
entering  into  the  nice  distinctions  of  lawyers.  I  will  not 
further  take  up  your  time  on  a  subject  which,  without  being  a 
lawyer,  merely  as  a  man,  could  have  admitted  of  no  dispute." 
Along  with  much  truth,  there  was  in  this  a  certain  amount  of 
special  pleading,  as  appeared  when  he  took  the  further  posi- 
tion that,  to  intercept  ships  from  Genoa,  bound  to  the  Atlantic, 
there  was  no  better  place  than  the  Gut  of  Gibraltar.  When  a 
definition  of  international  law  is  stretched  as  far  as  that,  it 
will  have  little  elastic  force  left. 

A  petty,  yet  harassing,  diplomatic  difficulty,  curiously  illus- 
trative of  maritime  conditions  at  that  day,  ran  unsettled 
through  almost  the  whole  of  his  command.  Malta,  under  the 
Knights,  had  been  always  at  war  with  the  Barbary  Powers ; 
and  there  ivas  trouble  in  impressing  upon  the  rulers  of  the 
latter  that,  when  it  passed  into  British  hands,  its  people  and 
ships  were  under  British  protection.  Several  Maltese  vessels 
had  been  taken  by  Algerine  cruisers,  and  their  crews  enslaved. 
When  Nelson  came  out  in  1803,  he  found  pending  these  cases, 
and  also  the  question  of  compelling,  or  inducing,  the  Dey  to 


m 


DIFFICULTIES   WITH   ALGIERS 


601 


receive  iKick  tlio  Biitisli  consul,  whom  lie  had  c  .led  with 
insult.  Ill  the  absence  of  a  liritish  representative,  the  nego- 
tiations were  intrusted  wholly  to  the  admiral. 

Nelson's  feelings  were  strongly  excited,  lie  was  tenacious 
of  everything  ho  conceived  to  touch  his  country's  honor,  and 
long  service  in  the  Mediterranean  had  made  him  familiar 
with  the  outrages  on  its  defenceless  coasts  practised  by  these 
barbarians,  under  the  pretence  of  war  with  the  weaker  states. 
Even  in  the  remote  and  impoverished  iiorth  of  Sardinia, 
the  shepherds  near  the  beaches  watched  their  flocks  with 
arms  beside  them,  day  and  night,  to  repel  the  attacks  of 
marauders  from  the  sea.  Not  only  were  trading-vessels 
seized,  but  descents  were  made  upon  the  shore,  and  the  in- 
habitants swept  off  into  slavery.  Speaking  of  one  such  case 
in  1799,  he  haa  said  :  "  My  blood  boils  that  I  cannot  chastise 
these  pirates.  "J  iiey  could  not  show  themselves  in  the 
^lediterranean  did  not  our  Country  permit.  Never  let  us 
talk  of  the  cruelty  of  the  African  slave  trade,  while  we  per- 
mit such  a  horrid  war."  IJut  he  knew,  both  then  and  after- 
wards, that  Great  Britain,  with  the  great  contest  on  her 
hands,  could  not  spare  the  ships  which  might  be  crippled  in 
knocking  the  barbarians'  strongholds  about  their  ears,  and  that 
no  British  admiral  would  be  sustained  in  a  course  that  pro- 
voked these  pirates  to  cast  aside  the  fears  that  restrained 
them,  and  to  declare  war  on  British  commerce,  which,  as  it 
was,  he  had  dilHculty  to  protect.  lie  estimated  ten  ships-of- 
the-line  as  the  force  necessary,  in  case  the  batteries  at  Algiers 
were  to  be  attacked.  Exmouth,  twelve  years  later,  with  fuller 
information,  thought  and  found  live  to  be  sufficient. 

Nelson's  conduct  and  self-control  was  sorely  tested  by  the 
necessity  of  temporizing  with  this  petty  foe,  who  reckoned 
securely  on  the  embarrassments  of  Great  Britain.  He  acted 
with  great  judgment,  however,  holding  a  high  tone,  and  im- 
plying much  in  the  way  of  menace,  without  at  any  time 
involving  himself  in  a  definite  threat,  from  which  he  could 
not  recede  without  humiliation  ;  careful  and  precise  in  his 
demands,  but  never  receding  from  them,  or  allowing  them  to 
be  evaded,  when  once  made  ;  sensible  of  the  difficulties  in  his 
way,  as  well  those  raised  by  his  own  Government  as  those 
dependent  upon  his  opponent,  but  equally  aware  that  he  held 


I 


i      ^. 


;'   i 


TIIK    \AVl]  OK  NKLSON 


ill  his  liauds,  if  autliorizod  to  uso  H.,  tho  jjowcr  to  suppress 
tho  cju'L'i'r  of  depredation,  upon  whicdi  the  Dey  relied  to  su[)- 
port  his  revenue,  and  to  eontent  his  oflieers.  Personally,  Im; 
favored  a  short  and  sununary  proceeding,  ac(!ordant  to  his 
own  decided  character.  Tho  liey  proving  inunovablo  when 
first  siunnioned,  he  proposed  to  tho  Ihitish  Government 
"that  on  tho  L'Sth  of  Ai)ril  next,  when,  if  lio  means  to  send 
his  cruisers  to  sea,  thoy  will  he  out,  that,  on  that  day,  every 
ship  uiuler  my  command  should  have  strict  orders  (to  open 
on  that  day)  to  take,  sink,  burn,  and  destroy  every  Algerine, 
and  that  on  that  day  the  port  of  Algiers  should  be  declared 
in  a  state  of  blockade.  Thus  the  Dey  could  g«!t  neither. com- 
merce, presents,  or  plunder;  and,  although  the  other  Towers 
may  rejoice  at  tho  war  with  us,  yet  I  am  firmly  persuaded 
that  it  will  be  most  advantageous  to  us  for  tho  next  hundred 
years."  At  the  same  time,  with  his  usual  circumspection,  he 
issued  a  general  direction  to  all  commanders  of  convoys  to 
carry  their  charges  well  clear  of  tho  Algerino  coast,  until 
matters  were  settled.  In  the  end,  the  British  Ministry 
yielded  much  more  than  Nelson  approved,  but,  however 
sorely  agvainst  the  grain,  ho  carried  out  all  his  instructions 
with  scrupulous  subordination.  It  was  only  three  days  before 
the  active  campaign  began  with  tho  sortie  of  the  French 
fleet,  that  he  was  rejoined  by  the  ship  to  whose  captain  were 
intrusted  the  final  arrangements  with  Algiers. 

For  his  diplomatic  and  naval  correspondence.  Nelson  had 
two  principal  secretaries,  public  and  private,  both,  awkwardly 
enough,  named  Scott ;  but  the  latter,  being  a  clergyman  and 
chaplain  of  the  ship,  was  colloquially  brevetted  Doctor,  a 
distinction  which,  for  convenience,  will  be  observed  when  it  is 
necessary  to  mention  him.  He  had  become  known  to  Nelson 
while  serving  in  the  same  capacity  with  Sir  Hydo  Parker, 
and  had  been  found  very  useful  in  the  negotiations  at  Copen- 
hagen. An  accomplished  linguist  and  an  omnivorous  reader, 
Dr.  Scott  was  doubly  useful.  Upon  him  devolved  the  trans- 
lating of  all  despatches  and  letters,  not  only  from,  but  to, 
foreign  courts  and  officials  ;  for  Nelson  made  a  point  of  send- 
ing with  all  such  papers  a  copy  in  the  language  of  the  person 
addressed,  and  an  apology  for  failing  to  do  so  sometimes 
appears,  on  account  of  his  secretary's  absence.    The  latter 


HIS   STCDY   OF  CUKUKNT  EVKNTS 


(Ul 


;o  suppress 
ied  to  HUp- 
sonally,  1h! 
aiit   to  Ills 
viiblo  when 
rovenuneiit 
lus  to  send 
(I:iy,  every 
rs  (to  open 
■y  Al^erinc, 
bo  declared 
leitlier.coiu- 
her  Towers 
y  persuaded 
!xt  hundred 
spection,  he 
convoys  to 
coast,  until 
jh   Ministry 
it,    however 
instructions 
days  before 
the  French 
japtain  were 

Nelson  had 
,  awkwardly 
irgyinan  and 

Doctor,  a 
d  when  it  is 
n  to  Nelson 
yde  Parker, 
IS  at  Copen- 
)rous  reader, 

the  trans- 
om, but  to, 
int  of  send- 
f  the  person 

sometimes 

The  latter 


was  also  a  man  of  wide  information,  accpiired,  not  as  liis 
superior's  chieHy  ^v.ls,  by  mingling'  anu)ng  ni<ni  and  dealing 
with  affairs,  but  from  books  ;  and  tlie  atliniral,  whih;  rightly 
valuing  the  tea(th;ngs  of  exix.'ricnee  above  all,  was  duly  sensi- 
ble that  one's  own  experience  is  susceptible  of  further  exten- 
sion through  that  of  others,  iinpartiul  either  by  word  or  pen. 
Nelson  entertained  a  persuasion,  so  Scott  has  told  us,  that  no 
man  ever  i)ut  his  hand  to  pai)er  without  having  sonu;  informa- 
tion or  theory  to  deliver,  whi(!h  he  fancied  was  not  generally 
known,  and  that  this  was  worth  looking  after  through  all  the 
encumbering  rubbish.  For  the  same  reason,  besidcfs  being 
naturally  sociable,  he  liked  to  draw  others  into  conversation, 
and  to  start  subjects  for  discussion,  from  which,  when  fairly 
under  way,  ho  would  withdraw  himself  into  siUfuco  and  allow 
the  company  to  do  the  talking,  both  in  order  to  gather  idc^as 
that  might  bo  useful  to  himself,  and  also  to  observe  character 
transpiring  in  conversation.  IJourrienno  has  told  us  that 
Uonaparte  took  pleasure  in  provoking  similar  debates.  Scott 
himself,  a  man  essentially  unpractical,  afforded  Nelson  amuse- 
ment as  well  as  interest,  and  was  the  object  of  a  good  deal 
of  innocent  chatting,  lie  would,  in  those  after-dinner  gather- 
ings which  Gillespie  mentions,  lead  tiie  doctor  into  arguments 
on  literature,  politics,  Spanish  and  even  naval  affairs,  and 
would  occasionally  provoke  from  him  a  lecture  on  navigation 
itself,  to  the  great  entertainment  of  Murray,  Hardy,  and  the 
other  officers  present.^  "Ah,  my  dear  Doctor!"  he  would 
say  chaffingly,  "give  me  knowledge  practically  aciquired  — 
experience  !  experience  !  experience  !  and  practical  men  !  " 

Nelson,  however,  v/as  too  big  and  too  broad  a  man  not  to 
know  that,  while  by  doing  the  same  thing,  or  bearing  the 
same  thing,  many  times, — by  experience,  that  is,  —  one  ac- 
quires a  facility  not  otherwise  communicable,  in  a  novel  situa- 
tion a  man  is  abler  to  act,  the  more  he  has  availed  himself 
of  the  knowledge  and  the  suggestions  of  others.  Absorbed 
with  the  duties  of  his  station,  it  was  of  the  first  importance 
that  he  should  possess  every  information,  and  ponder  every 
idea,  small  and  great,  bearing  upon  its  conditions,  as  well  as 
upon  the  general  political  state  of  Europe  in  that  period  of 

1  Many  of  these  details  are  taken  with  little  alteration  from  the  "  Life  of 
Itev.  A.  J.  Scott." 


i' 

* 

i 

/\ 

i  ■ 

li 


604 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


i    ■'! 


!) 


ominous  waiting,  wherein  great  events  were  evidently  coming 
to  birth.  Day  after  day,  Dr.  Scott's  biographer  tells  us,  was 
passed  by  the  two  tog jther,  sitting  in  two  black  leathern  arm- 
chairs with  roomy  pockets,  stuffed  with  papers,  written  and 
printed,  journals  and  pau'phlets,  gathered  from  every  source 
—  from  prizes,  from  passing  neutral  vessels,  from  cruisers 
ret^rvning  from  neutral  or  friendly  ports,  or  picked  up  by  the 
doctor  himself  in  the  not  infrequent  trips  on  which  he  was 
sent,  ostensibly  i;>r  pleasure,  but  with  a  keen  eye  also  to  the 
collection  of  intelligence.  Marked  externally  by  the  abstrac- 
tion of  a  book-worm,  entirely  unpractical  find  heedless  in  the 
common  affairs  of  life,  and  subject  to  an  occasional  flightiness 
of  action,  the  result  in  part  of  an  injury  to  his  head  while  in 
the  service,  Scott  gave  those  who  saw  him  going  about  an 
impression  of  guilelessness,  which  covered  him  from  the  sus- 
picion of  having  a  mission.  He  had,  says  his  biographer, 
*'  in  union  with  a  capacity  for  very  difficult  services,  a  sim- 
plicity that  oftei;  jjut  him  at  disadvantage  in  worldly  matters, 
and  it  became  a  common  joke  with  the  Admiral,  that  '  the 
doctor  would  always  want  somebody  to  take  care  of  him.' ' ' 
Nelson  had  everything  read  to  him  ;  first  of  all,  news- 
papers, which  were  sent  regularly  to  the  fleet  by  British  agents 
in  various  quarters.  Upon  them  chiefly,  and  not  upon  Eiig- 
land,  he  depended  for  knowledge  of  what  was  happening;  in 
Groat  Britain  itself,  as  well  as  on  the  Continent.  From  ten  to 
twelve  weeks  was  no  uncommon  length  of  time  for  him  to  be 
Avithout  word  from  home.  "  I  never  hear  from  England,"  he 
wrote  to  Elliot  in  the  summer  of  1804,  "  but  as  we  manage  to 
get  the  Paris  papers  regularly  through  Spain.  From  ten  day* 
to  a  fortnight  we  get  them  from  their  date  at  Paris  :  therefore 
we  know  the  very  great  events  which  are  passing  in  Europe  — 
at  least  as  much  as  the  French  people ;  "  a  shrewd  limitation. 
These,  therefore,  together  with  Spanish,  Italian,  and  other 
sheets,  it  was  Scott's  daily  task  to  read  aloud  to  his  chief,  who 
found  therpin  not  only  information  but  amusement.  He  in- 
sisted also  upon  hearing  the  numerous  ephemeral  pamphlets, 
of  which  tie  age  was  prolific,  and  which  found  their  way  to 
him.  His  quickness  in  detecting  the  drift  of  an  author  was 
marvellous.  Two  or  three  pages  of  a  pamphlet  were  generally 
sufficient  to  put  him  in  complete  possession  of  the  writer's 


') 


INDICATIONS  OF   TEMPERAMENT 


605 


,11,  and  other 


object,  while  nothing  was  too  trivial  for  his  attention  where 
there  existed  a  possibility  of  its  contributing  a  clue  to  the  prob- 
lems of  his  command.    Not  the  least  onerous  of  the  doctor's 
duties  was  the  deciphering  of  private  letters  found  in  prizes, 
a  channel  by  which  important  public  interests  are  often  be- 
trayed.    Nelson's  quickness  to  see  the  bearing  and  value  of 
an  apparently  trifling  mention,  dropped  by  the  way  by  a  care- 
less pen,  rendered  such  an  exercise  of  his  ingenuity  at  once  a 
pleasure  and  a  profit.    The  public  secretary,  Mr.  Scott,  was 
equally  struck  with  the  alertness  and  sagacity  of  his  employ- 
er's mind.     "  I  have  heard  much  of  Lord  Nelson's  abilities  as 
an  officer  and  statesman,  but  the  account  of  the  latter  is  in- 
finitely short.     In  my  travels  through  the  service  I  have  met 
with  no  character  in  any  degree  equal  to  his  Lordship ;  his 
penetration  is  quick,  judgment  clear,  wisdom  great,  and  his 
decisions  correct  and  decided  :  nor  does  he  in  company  appear 
to  bear  any  weight  on  his  mind."     It  was  with  difficulty,  after 
a  prolonged  session,  that  the  doctor  could  at  times  beg  off,  and 
leave,  stuffed  in  the  arm-chair  pockets,  for  another  day's  ^'ork, 
a  doi;en  or  two  of  such  letters,  sealed  to  Nelson  by  his  im- 
perfect eyesight  and  inadequate  mastery  of  other  tongues. 
The  arm-chairs,  lashed  together,  formed  at  times  a  couch  iqion 
which  the  admiral  "  slept  those  brief  slumbers  for  which  he 
was  remarkable ; "  in  those  moments,  doubtless,  when  anxiety 
about  the  enemy's  movements  did  not  permit  him  to  go  reg- 
ularly to  bed. 

In  common  with  all  those  closely  associated  with  Nelson, 
Dr.  Scott  was  particularly  struck  with  the  kindliness  and  cor- 
diality of  his  bearing  and  actions  ;  which  is  the  more  to  be 
noted,  because  no  one,  probably,  had  more  occasion  to  see  the 
movements  of  irritability,  of  impatience,  which  lay  very  near 
the  surface,  than  did  his  secretaries,  through  whom  his  most 
vexatious  work  must  be  done.  That  he  was  vehement  to  ex- 
press annoyance  has  appeared  frequently  in  these  pages. 
The  first  Lord  Radstock,  who  was  senior  to  him  in  the  service, 
and  knew  him  well,  writing  to  his  son,  then  a  midshipman  in 
the  ''Victory,"  is  constant  and  extreme  in  his  admiration  of 
Nelson ;  but  he  gives  the  caution  to  be  careful  of  impressions 
made  upon  a  chief  upon  whom  advancement  depends.  Quick 
in  all  his  ways,  a  moment's  heedlessness,  possibly  misunder- 


(.     , 


\    , 


II 


GOO 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


stood  or  misrepresented,  may  produce  lasting  injury.  "  Lord 
Nelson  is  of  so  hasty  a  temper,  that  in  spite  of  all  his  natural 
goodness,  X  should  fear  that  he  would  too  readily  give  ear  tc 
those  in  whoui  he  had  placed  his  confidence.  He  is  a  man  of 
strong  passions,  and  his  prejudices  are  proportionate."  "On 
many  occasions,"  says  another  writer,  "  Lord  Nelson  evinced 
an  impatience  that  has  been  considered  as  irreconcileable  with 
magnanimity;  but  the  secret  workings  of  his  soul  have  not 
been  received  into  the  account  or  analysis  of  character,  for  we 
find  the  same  individual,  while  employed  in  watching  the 
French  fleet  off  Toulon,  display  the  most  unexampled  patience 
and  forbearance,  and  never  betray  the  smallest  symptom  of  in- 
quietude or  disappointment."  ^  Murray,  the  Captain  of  the 
Fleet,  when  first  offered  his  appointment,  had  hesitated  to 
accept.  Upon  Nelson  urging  him,  he  gave  as  his  reason  that 
the  nature  of  the  duties  often  led  to  disagreements  between 
the  admiral  and  his  chief  of  staff,  and  that  he  was  unwilling  to 
risk  a.  y  diminution  of  the  regard  existing  between  him  and 
his  Lordship;  a  remark  true  enough  in  the  general,  but 
clearly  of  somewhat  special  application.  Nelson  assured  him 
that,  should  anything  go  contrary  to  his  wishes,  he  would 
waive  his  rank  and  explain  or  expostulate  with  him  as  his 
fi.'iend,  and  when,  after  two  years'  service,  Murray  had  to 
leave  the  ship,  he  refused  to  replace  him,  —  l.e  w^ould  have 
!31urray  or  none.  In  triith,  such  readiness  to  flare  up  must 
r.eeds  be  the  defect  of  that  quality  of  promptness,  that  instant 
succession  of  deed  to  thought,  which  was  a  distinguishing 
feature  of  Nelson's  genius  and  actions.  Captain  Hillyar  more 
tha..  once  alludes  to  this  trait  as  characteristic  of  the  fleet,  to 
which  its  chief  had  transmitted  his  own  spirit.  "  I  have  had 
to-day  to  lament,"  he  says,  speaking  of  some  trifling  disap- 
pointment, "  the  extreme  promptitude  with  which  we  all  move 
when  near  his  lordship." 

lUit,  while  traces  of  this  failing  may  be  detected  here  and 
there  by  the  watcliful  reader,  as  Nelson  himself  gleaned  use- 
ful indications  amid  the  rubbishy  mass  of  captured  corre- 
spondence, there  survives,  among  the  remains  left  by  those  in 
daily  contact  with  him,  only  the  record  of  a  frank,  open  bear- 

1  Memoir  of  Sir  Thomas  Ilardj',  in  Clarke  and  M 'Arthur's  Life  of  Nelson, 
vol.  iii.  p.  234, 


ive  all  move 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  TEMPERAMENT 


007 


ing,  and  unfailing  active  kindness.  "  Setting  aside  his  hero- 
ism," wrote  Dr.  Scott  after  Trafalgar,  "  when  I  think  what 
an  affectionate,  fascinating  little  fellow  he  was,  how  dignified 
and  pure  his  mind,  how  kind  and  condescending  his  manners, 
I  become  stupid  with  grief  for  what  I  have  lost."  "  He  is  so 
cheerful  and  pleasant,"  wrote  the  public  secretary,  Mr.  Scott, 
"  that  it  is  a  happiness  to  be  about  his  hand."  Dr.  Gillespie 
notes  "  his  noble  frankness  of  manners,  freedom  from  vain 
formality  and  pomp  (so  necessary  to  the  decoration  of  empty 
little  great  men),  which  can  only  be  equalled  by  the  unex- 
ampled glory  of  his  naval  career,  and  ihe  watchful  and 
persevering  diligence  with  which  he  commands  this  fleet." 
"Nelson  was  the  man  to  love,"  said  Captain  Pulteney  Malcolm, 
who  knew  intimately  both  him  and  Wellington.  "  I  received 
Captain  Leake,"  Nelson  himself  says,  speaking  of  an  army 
officer  on  a  special  mission  to  the  Mediterranean,  "  with  that 
openness  which  was  necessary  to  make  myself  as  well  ac- 
quainted with  him  in  three  days,  as  others  might  do  in  as  many 
years.  I  have  given  him  all  the  knowledge  of  the  men,  their 
views,  &c.  &c.,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  form  a  judg- 
ment." The  remark  is  valuable,  for  it  shows  that  frankness 
and  cordiality  were  recognized  by  him  as  the  wisest  and  most 
politic  method  of  dealing  with  men.  "  Our  friend.  Sir  Alex- 
ander," he  says  testily,  "  is  a  very  great  diplomatic  character, 
and  even  an  admiral  must  not  know  what  he  is  negotiating 
about.  You  shall  judge,  viz.,  'The  Tunisian  envoy  is  still 
here,  negotiating.  He  is  a  moderate  man ;  and,  apparently, 
the  best  disposed  of  uny  I  ever  did  business  with.'  Could 
oven  the  oldest  diplomatic  character  be  drier  ?  I  hate  such 
parade  and  nonsense." 

Captain  Hiilyar,  who  commanded  one  of  the  frigates  that 
were  ever  coming  and  going,  writes  in  his  journal:  *'If  ex- 
treme kindness  and  attention  could  render  me  happy,  I  have 
this  day  experience  1  both  from  our  revered  and  good  com- 
mander-in-chief. How  can  I  repay  his  kindness  ?  By  obey- 
ing his  injunctions  'not  to  be  in  a  hurry  to  get  married,'^  or 
by  a  continued  perseverance  in  discharging  those  duties  with 
alacrity  and  honour,  which  he  is  more  immediately  conc3rned 
"  Lord  Nelson  talked  a  great  deal  against  matrimony 

^  Hiilyar  was  then  engaged  to  a  lady  in  Malta. 


in 


o  J) 


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ii 

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608 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


yesterday,  and  I  feel  will  not  trust  me  at  Malta,  while  we  are 
capable  of  reinainin«j  ?t  sea.  It  was  all,  however,  in  a  good 
natured  way.  He  is  going  to  charge  ine  with  two  of  his  boys 
[midshipmen].  I  am  pleased  that  an  opportunity  is  offered 
for  showing  my  gratitude  in  a  small  degree  for  his  almost 
fatherly  kindness.  I  wish  you  knew  him  ;  if  he  has  failings, 
reflections  on  his  virtues  cause  them  to  be  forgotten,  and  the 
mind  dwells  with  pleasure  on  a  character  where  bravery,  gen- 
erosity, and  good  nature,  are  joined  to  a  heart  that  can  feel  for 
the  woes  of  others,  and  delights  in  endeavouring  to  alleviate 
them."  Hillyar  was  experiencing  what  Radstock  had  re- 
marked :  "  Gain  his  esteem,  and  there  is  nothing  he  will  not 
dash  through  to  put  you  forward."  "  Gain  his  esteem,  and 
j^ou  will  have  nothing  to  fear,  for  I  know  not  a  more  honour- 
uble  man  existing,  or  one  who  would  more  readily  do  you 
justice  in  all  respects."  "I  am  well  aware,"  wrote  another 
young  captain  to  Nelson  himself,  "  of  the  good  construction 
which  your  Lordship  has  ever  been  in  the  habit  of  putting  on 
circumstances,  although  wearing  the  most  unfavourable  ap- 
pearances. .  .  .  Your  Lordship's  good  opinion  constitutes  the 
summit  of  my  ambition,  and  the  most  effective  spur  to  my 
endeavours." 

Nelson  loved  to  bestow  promotion,  when  deserved,  on  the 
spot,  to  give  a  man  his  spurs,  if  it  might  be,  on  the  field  of 
battle ;  but  vacancies  would  not  always  offer  at  the  happy 
moment.  A  brother  of  Hillyar's  was  a  midshipman  in  one 
of  two  boats,  sent  to  visit  a  suspicious  vessel.  A  sudden  and 
staggering  fire  killed  the  lieutenant  in  command,  besides  dis- 
abling a  number  of  the  boats'  crews.  The  men  hesitated; 
but  the  lad,  left  in  charge,  cheered  them  on  and  carried  the 
vessel  by  boarding.  Although  he  was  but  a  couple  of  months 
over  fifteen,  Nelson  gave  him  at  once  his  commission  into  the 
vacancy  made  by  the  lieutenant.  One  very  dark  night,  the 
"  Victory  "  being  under  way,  a  midshipman,  at  the  imminent 
risk  of  his  life,  leaped  into  the  sea  to  save  a  seaman  who  had 
fallen  overboard^  and  otherwise  would  have  been  drowned. 
Nelson  gave  him,  too,  his  commission  the  following  morning ; 
but,  seeing  the  jubilation  among  the  young  man's  messmates, 
and  thinking  the  act  might  be  a  dangerous  precedent,  he 
leaned  over  the  jjoop  and  said,  smiling  good-naturedly,  "  Stop, 


I 


ile  we  are 
in  a  good 
if  his  boys 
•  is  offered 
lis  almost 
,s  failings, 
in,  and  the 
avery,  gen- 
;an  feel  for 
,0  alleviate 
ik  had  re- 
he  will  not 
jsteem,  and 
)re  honour- 
ily  do  you 
Dte  another 
lonstruction 
putting  on 
ourable  ap- 
stitutes  the 
spur  to  my 

ved,  on  the 
the  field  of 

the  happy 

man  iu  one 

sudden  and 

besides  dis- 

hesitated ; 
carried  the 
3  of  months 
on  into  the 
k  night,  the 
le  imminent 
an  who  had 
m  drowned, 
g  morning ; 

messmates, 
■ecedent,  he 
edly, "  Stop, 


PROTECTION  OF  BRITISH  TRADE 


young  gentlemen!  Mr.  Flin  has  done  a  gallant  thing  to-day, 
and  he  has  done  many  gallant  things  before,  for  which  he  has 
now  got  his  reward.  But  mind,  I  '11  have  no  more  making 
lieutenants  for  men  falling  overboard." 

The  power  thus  to  reward  at  discretion,  and  speedily, 
though  liable  to  abuse,  was,  he  claimed,  essential  to  the  due 
influence  of  a  commander-in-chief ;  his  subordinates  must  feel 
that  it  was  in  his  power  to  make  their  future,  to  distinguish 
them,  and  that  they  were  in  so  far  dependent  upon  him. 
Nevertheless,  with  him  as  with  others,  personal  interest  had 
a  weight  which  qualified  his  argument.  The  premature  ^  and 
disastrous  promotiovi  of  his  stepson,  at  his  request,  by  St. 
Vincent,  was  a  practical  abuse  whicli  in  most  minds  would 
outweigh  tlieoretical  advantages.  Writing  to  Sir  Peter  Parker 
about  this  time,  he  said,  "  You  may  be  assured  I  will  lose  no 
time  in  making  your  grandson  a  post-captain.  It  is  the  only 
opportunity  ever  offered  me,  of  showing  that  my  feelings  of 
gratitude  to  you  are  as  warm  and  alive  as  when  you  first  took 
me  by  the  hand :  I  owe  all  my  honours  to  you,  and  I  am 
proud  to  acknowledge  it  to  all  the  world."  Such  enduring 
gratitude  is  charming  to  see,  and  tends  to  show  that  Nelson 
recognized  some  other  reason  for  Parker's  favor  to  himself 
than  deference  to  Suckling's  position ;  but  it  is  scarcely  a 
good  working  principle  for  the  distribution  of  official  patron- 
age, although  the  younger  Parker  was  a  good  and  gallant 
officer. 

Among  the  military  duties  that  weighed  upon  Nelson,  not 
the  least  was  the  protection  of  British  trade.  Tlie  narrow 
waters  of  the  Mediterranean  favored  the  operations  of  priva- 
teers, which  did  not  have  to  go  far  from  their  ports,  and  found 
shelter  everywhere ;  for  the  littoral  states,  in  their  weakness 
and  insecurity,  could  but  feebly  enforce  neutrality  either  in 
their  continental  or  insular  territories.  In  fact,  both  parties 
to  the  war.  Great  Britain  and  France,  derived  from  the  in- 
fringement of  neutrality  advantages  which  checked  their 
remonstrances,  and  gave  the  feebler  nations  an  apt  retort, 
when  taken  to  task  in  their  painful  efforts  to  preserve'  an  atti- 
tude that  was  rather  double-faced  than  neutral.     If  Prance,  on 

^  As  Lady  Nelson's  first  marriage  whs  in  1779,  Josiah  Niabet  could  not 
have  been  eighteen  when  made  a  connnander,  in  1797. 

39 


I 


W 


I 


I  I 


\  ii 


\  ; 


i'f 
"    i 


1 1 


610 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


tiie  one  hand,  was  deriving  a  considerable  revenue  from  Span- 
ish subsidies,  and  subsisting  an  army  corps  upon  Neapolitan 
territory,  Great  Britain,  on  the  other,  could  scarcely  have 
maintained  her  fleet  in  the  Gulf  of  Lyons,  if  unable  to  get 
fresh  provisions  and  water  from  neutral  ports ;  for,  save 
Gibraltar  and  Malta,  she  had  none  that  was  her  own  or  allied. 
Under  these  conditions,  snuiU  privateers,  often  mere  row- 
boats,  but  under  the  colors  of  France  or  the  Italian  liepublic, 
swarmed  in  every  port  and  inlet ;  in  the  Adriatic,  —  a  deep, 
secluded  pocket,  particularly  favorable  to  marauding,  —  in  the 
Ionian  Islands,  along  the  Barbary  coast,  upon  the  shores  of 
Spain,  and  especially  in  Sicily,  whose  central  position  and 
extensive  seaboard  commanded  every  trade-route  east  of  the 
Balearics. 

Nelson's  correspondence  is  full  of  remonstrances  addressed 
to  the  various  neutral  states  —  including  even  Austria,  whose 
shore-line  on  the  Adriatic  was  extensive  —  for  their  toleration 
of  these  abuses,  which  rested  ultimately  upon  the  fear  of 
Bonaparte.  He  has,  also,  constant  explanations  to  make  to  his 
own  Government,  or  to  British  ministers  at  the  different 
Courts,  of  the  acts  of  his  cruisers  in  destroying  the  depreda- 
tors within  neutral  limits,  when  found  red-handed.  He  makes 
no  apologies,  but  stands  firmly  by  his  officers,  who,  wlien  right, 
could  always  count  upon  his  support  in  trouble.  He  never 
left  a  man  in  the  lurch,  or  damned  him  with  faint  approval. 
"  The  protection  afforded  the  enemy's  privateers  and  rowboats 
in  the  different  neutral  ports  of  these  seas,  so  contrary  to  every 
known  law  of  neutrality,  is  extremely  destructive  of  our  com- 
merce. .  .  .  Although  their  conduct  is  infamous,  yet  their  doing 
wrong  is  no  rule  why  we  should.  There  is  a  general  principle 
which  I  have  laid  down  for  the  regulation  of  the  officers'  con- 
duct under  my  command  —  which  is  never  to  break  the  neu- 
trality of  any  port  or  place ;  but  never  to  consider  as  neutral 
any  place  from  whence  an  attack  is  allowed  to  be  made.  It  is 
certainly  justifiable  to  attack  any  vessel  in  a  place  from 
whence  she  makes  an  attack."     "  I  very  fully  approve  every 

part  of  Captain 's   conduct   on  the  above  occasion,"  he 

writes  to  the  Admiralty  in  such  a  case. 

The  supplying  of  convoys,  therefore,  was  ceaseless,  for  the 
depredations  of  the  marauders  were  unending.     "  I  am  pulled 


'. 


n ' 


I 


EMPLOYMENT  OF  CRUISERS 


on 


to  pieces  by  the  demands  of  merchants  for  convoys,"  Nelson 
said ;  and  he  recognized  that  it  must  be  so,  for  he  entirely  dis- 
approved of  even  a  fast-sailing  vessel  attempting  to  make  a 
passage  unprotected.  "  I  wrote  to  the  Admiralty  for  riiore 
cruisers  until  I  was  tired,"  he  told  Ball,  "  and  they  le  't  off 
answering  those  parts  of  my  letters.  The  late  Admir.Jty 
thought  I  kept  too  many  to  the  eastward  of  Sicily  ;  the  Smyrna 
folks  complain  of  me,  so  do  the  Adriatic,  so  they  do  between 
Cape  de  Gatte  and  Gibraltar.  If  I  had  the  vessels,  I  do  assure 
you  not  one  of  them  should  go  prize-hunting :  that  I  never 
have  done,  I  am  a  poorer  man  than  the  day  I  was  ordered  to 
t'le  Mediterranean  command,  by  upwards  of  £1,000;  but 
mcaey  I  despise  except  as  it  is  useful,  and  I  expect  my  prize 
money  is  embarked  in  the  Toulon  fleet."  **  1  am  distressed  for 
frigates,"  was  his  continual  cry.  "  From  Cape  St.  Vincent  to 
the  head  of  the  Adriatic  I  have  only  eight ;  which,  with  the 
service  of  watching  Toulon,  and  the  necessary  frigates  with 
the  fleet,  are  absolutely  not  one  half  enough."  For  military 
duties,  "frigates  are  the  eyes  of  a  fleet.  I  want  ten  more 
than  I  have  in  order  to  watch  that  the  French  should  not 
escape  me,  and  ten  sloops  besides,  to  do  all  duties."  For  nine 
stations  which  ought  to  be  filled,  "I  have  but  two  frigates; 
therefore,  my  dear  Ball,  have  a  little  mercy,  and  do  not  think 
I  have  neglected  the  protection  of  the  trade  of  Malta."  This 
was  written  soon  after  joining  the  station,  and  he  represents 
the  number  as  diminishing  as  time  passed.  "  It  is  shameful ! " 
he  cries  in  a  moment  of  intense  anxiety. 

In  this  fewness  of  cruisers  he  was  forced  to  keep  his  vessels 
constantly  on  the  go,  —  to  the  Levant,  to  the  Adriatic^  to 
Sicily,  to  Italy,  —  scouring  the  coasts  for  privateers,  gathering 
merchant  ships  by  driblets,  picking  up  information,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  round  returning  to  Malta  with  their  fractions  of 
the  large  convoy.  When  this  was  assembled,  a  frigate  or  a 
sliip-of-the-line,  with  one  or  two  smaller  ships  of  war,  sailed 
with  it  for  Gibraltar  at  a  date  fixed,  approximately,  months 
before.  Meanwhile,  at  the  latter  place  a  similar  process  of  col- 
lection had  been  going  on  from  the  ports  of  the  western  Medi- 
terranean, and,  after  the  Malta  convoy  arrived,  the  whole 
started  together  in  charge  of  a  division,  composed  usually  of 
vessels  of  war  that  had  to  return  to  England  for  repairs. 


« 


I-! 


^      m 

\ 


612 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSO^I 


..<., 


■  ■  (ftr 


To  arrange  and  maintain  this  complicated  process,  and  to 
dovetail  it  with  the  other  necessary  cruising  duties,  having  in 
consideration  which  ships  should  first  go  home,  required  care- 
ful study  and  long  foresight  —  infinite  management,  in  fact. 
"  The  going  on  in  the  routine  of  a  station,"  he  tells  Ball,  who 
seems  to  have  trod  on  his  toes,  "  if  interrupted,  is  like  stopping 
a  watch  —  the  whole  machine  gets  wrong.  If  the  Maidstone 
takes  the  convoy,  and,  when  Agincourt  arrives,  there  is  none 
lor  her  or  Thisbe,  it  puzzles  me  to  know  what  orders  to  give 
them.  If  they  chace  the  convoy  to  Gibraltar,  the  Maidstone 
may  have  gone  on  with  it  to  England,  and  in  that  case,  two 
ships,  unless  I  begin  to  give  a  new  arrangement,  will  either  go 
home  without  convoy,  or  they  must  return  [to  Malta]  in  con- 
tradiction to  the  Admiral^^y's  crdors  to  send  them  home  ;  I  am 
sure  you  see  it  in  its  true  point  of  view.  '  "I  dare  not  send  a 
frigai.e  hcne  without  a  convoy,"  he  says  later.  "  Not  an  officer 
in  the  ser»rice  bows  with  more  respect  to  the  orders  of  the 
Admiralty  than  myself,"  he  writes  St.  Vincent;  "but  lam  sure 
you  will  agree  with  me,  that  if  I  form  plans  for  tlie  sending 
home  our  convoys,  and  the  clearing  the  different  parts  of  :he 
station  from  privateors,  and  the  other  services  requisite,  and 
that  the  Admiralty  iu  jome  respects  makes  their  arrangements, 
we  must  clash."  Then  he  points  out  how  the  Admiralty 
diverting  a  ship,  unknown  to  him,  has  tumbled  over  a  whole 
train  of  services,  like  a  child's  row  of  blocks. 

An  extremely  critical  point  in  the  homeward  voyage  was 
the  first  hundred  miles  west  of  Gibraltar;  and  it  was  a  greater 
thorn  in  Nelson's  side,  because  of  a  French  seventy-four,  the 
"  Aigle,"  which  had  succeeded  in  entering  Cadiz  just  after  he 
got  off  Toulon.  For  the  ordinary  policing  of  that  locality  he 
assigned  a  division  of  three  frigates,  under  a  Captain  Gore, 
who  possessed  his  confidence.  "The  enemy's  privateers  and 
cruisers,"  he  tells  him,  "  are  particularly  destructive  to  our 
trade  passing  the  skirts  of  the  station."  Privateering  was 
thus  reduced ;  but  when  a  convoy  sailed,  he  tried  always  to 
have  it  accompanied  through  that  stage  by  a  sl.lp  of  size  suffi- 
cient to  grapple  with  the  "Aigk."  For  a  while,  indeed,  he 
placed  there  an  eighty-gun  ship,  but  the  gradual  deterioration 
of  his  squadron  and  the  increase  of  Latouche  Treville's  obliged 
him  to  recall  her,  and  at  .lines  his  anxiety  was  great;  not  tlie 


fl 


HIS   STATION   DIVIDED 


oi;] 


ss,  and  to 
having  in 
lived  care- 
t,  in  fact. 
Ball,  who 
e  stopping 
Maidstone 
re  is  none 
irs  to  give 
Maidstone 
b  case,  two 
il  either  go 
Ita]  in  con- 
nme ;  I  am 
not  send  a 
)t  an  officer 
iers  of  the 
it  I  am  sure 
he  sending 
arts  of  .he 
[piisitc,  and 
•angements, 
Admiralty 
rev  a  whole 

voyage  was 
as  a  greater 

y-four,  the 
list  after  ho 

locp.lity  he 
ptain  Gore, 
vateers  and 
tive  to  our 
teering  was 
always  to 
of  size  suffi- 
!,  indeed,  ho 

eterioratiou 

le's  obliged 
3at ;  not  the 


less  because  Gore,  like  other  frigate  captains,  entertained  the 
fancy  that  his  three  frigates  might  contend  with  a  shiiMd'-the- 
line.  "  Your  intentions  of  attacking  that  ship  with  the  small 
squadron  under  your  command  are  certainly  very  laudable ; 
but  I  do  not  consider  your  force  by  any  means  ejpial  to  it." 
The  question  of  two  or  three  small  ships  against  one  large  in- 
volves more  considerations  than  number  and  weight  of  guns. 
Unity  of  direction  and  thickness  of  sides  ^ — detensive  strength, 
that  is  —  enter  into  the  problem.  As  Hawke  said,  '*  I>ig  ships 
take  a  good  deal  of  drubbing."  Howe's  opinion  was  the 
stane  as  Nelson's ;  and  Hardy,  Nelson's  captain,  said,  '*  After 
what  I  have  seen  at  Trafalgar,  1  am  satisfied  it  would  be  mere 
folly,  and  ought  never  to  succeed."  '^  What  Hardy  saw  at 
Trafalgar,  however,  was  not  frigates  against  ships-of-the- 
iine,  but  vessels  of  the  latter  class  opposed,  s. nailer  against 
greater. 

It  seems  singular,  with  such  a  weak  link  in  ihe  chain  of  com- 
munication from  the  Mediterranean  to  England,  that  the 
Admiralty,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain,  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  1804,  should  have  divided  Nelson's  command  at 
this  very  point,  leaving  as  a  som'^what  debatable  ground,  for 
mutual  jealousy,  that  through  which  valuable  interests  must 
pass,  and  where  they  must  be  transferred.  The  reason  and 
manner  of  this  division,  impolitic  and  inopportune  as  it  was, 
and  bitterly  as  Nelson  resented  it,  seem  to  have  been  mis- 
understood. Convinced  that  he  could  not  endure  another  win- 
ter such  a.'i  the  last,  he  made  a  formal  application,  about  the 
middle  of  August,  1804,  for  permission  to  go  home  for  a  while. 
"  I  consider  the  state  of  my  health  to  be  such  as  to  make  it 
absolutely  necessary  that  I  should  return  to  England  to  re- 
establish  it.  Another  winter  such  as  the  last,  1  feel  myself 
unable  to  stand  against.  A  few  months  of  quiet  may  enable 
me  to  serve  again  next  spring ;  and  I  believe  that  no  officer  is 
more  anxious  to  serve  than  myself."  In  accordance  with  this 
last  intimation,  which  speaks  his  whole  heart,  he  wrote  pri- 
vately to  the  First  Lord  that  he  would  like  to  come  back  in  the 
spring,  if  his  health  were  restored,  as  he  believed  it  would  be; 
and  he  assured  him  that  his  second,  Bickerton,  whose  rank 
did  not  entitle  him  to  the  <*hief  command  under  ordinary  con- 
^  Phillimoie's  "  Tho  Last  of  Nelson's  CapUiiis,"  p.  14(>. 


^  'I 


'A    I 


I  ! 


I 


'i 

I- 


I ; 


tt   \ 


m^ 


i 


iFi 


I  i      I 


014 


TIIK    LIFK   OF   NKLSON 


(litions,  was  perfectly  fitted  to  hold  it  duriii}^  liis  absence  —  in 
bliuvt,  to  keej)  tlie  place  warm  for  his  return. 

Nelson  knew  that  the  Aihniralty  was  besieged  with  admirals, 
many  senit)r  to  himsc-lf,  seeking  for  employment,  and  that  it 
would  be  very  ditficult  for  it  to  resist  th*;  pressure  for  the  va- 
cancy in  "my  favor  Ito  command,"  to  resume  which  he  was 
impelled  by  both  his  sense  of  duty  and  his  love  of  glory.  He 
wrote  therefore  to  Elliot,  and  to  tiie  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 
in  the  same  sense  as  he  had  to  JMelville,  recalling  his  well- 
tried  devotion  to  the  interests  of  that  Court,  which  a  successor 
might  not  equally  show,  ami  suggesting  that  his  cause  would 
be  strengthened  by  an  ai»plication  for  his  return  on  the  })art 
of  the  King.  The  latter  consequently  intimated  to  the  British 
Government  that  he  hoped  Lord  Nelson  would  be  sent  back. 
He  was,  in  truth,  so  much  agitated  over  the  prospect  of  his 
going,  that  he  offered  him  a  house  in  either  I'alermo  or  Naples, 
if  he  wished  to  renuiin  in  tho  South  to  recruit;  an  offer  which 
Elliot,  equally  uneasy,  urged  him  to  accept. 

The  Government  did  exactly  .vliat  was  asked.  Nelson  re- 
ceived permission  to  go  to  England,  when  he  felt  it  necessary, 
leaving,  the  command  in  the  hands  of  Bickerton ;  but  at  the 
same  time  the  Admiralty  had  to  meet  the  rush  of  claimants 
for  the  vacancy,  all  the  more  pressing  because  rumors  were 
afloat  of  a  Spanish  war,  which  would  make  the  Mediterranean 
not  only  the  most  important,  but,  in  prize-money,  the  most 
lucrative  command.  Among  the  applicants  was  Sir  John" 
Orde,  who  had  been  nursing  a  technical  grievance  ever  since 
he  had  been  passed  over,  in  Nelson's  favor,  for  the  command 
of  the  detachment  with  which  the  Battle  of  the  Nile  was 
fought.  Nelson's  leave  was  issued  on  the  Gth  of  October,  and 
on  the  26th  Orde  was  given  a  small  squadron  —  five  ships-of- 
the-line  — to  blockade  Cadiz.  Being  senior  to  Nelson,  and  of 
course  to  Bickerton,  he  could  only  have  this  position  iy  re- 
ducing the  latter's  station,  which  had  extended  to  Cape  Finis- 
terre.  The  line  between  the  two  commands  was  drawn  at  the 
Straits'  mouth,  a  rather  vague  phrase,  but  Gibraltar  was  left 
with  Nelson.  Orde  thus  got  the  station  for  prize-money,  and 
Nelson  that  for  honor,  which  from  youth  until  now  he  most 
valued.  "  The  arrangement,"  wrote  his  friend.  Lord  Kadstock, 
"will  be  a  death-stroke  to  his  hopes  of  th ;  galleons:  but  as 


HIS  STA'I'ION    DIVIDKl) 


«tt 


senco 


in 


I  admirals, 
Liul  tliat  it 
for  the  va- 
ch  ho  was 
^lory.  He 
lO  Sicilies, 
r  his  well- 
a  successor 
tuise  would 
lu  the  part 
the  IJritish 
sent  back, 
pact  of  his 
)  or  Naples, 
offer  which 

Nelson  re- 
;  necessary, 
but  at  the 
f  claimants 
imors  were 
diterranean 
the  most 
Sir   Jolni 
ever  since 
e  command 
3  Nile  was 
ctober,  and 
v^e  ships-of- 
son,  and  of 
ition  ")y  re- 
Cape  Finis- 
awn  at  the 
ar  was  left 
money,  and 
3W  he  most 
i  Kadstock, 
3ns:  but  as 


your  chief  has  ever  showed  liimself  to  be  as  ^reat  a  dospisor 
of  riches  as  he  is  a  lover  of  glory,  1  am  fully  convinced  in  my 
own  nund  that  he  would  sooner  defeat  the  French  fleet  than 
capture  fifty  galleons." 

Nevertheless,  Nelson  was  sorely  aggrieved,  and  complained 
bitterly  to  his  correspondents.  "  I  have  learnt  not  to  be  sur- 
l)rised  at  anything;  but  the  sending  an  othcer  to  such  a  point, 
to  take,  if  it  is  a  Spanish  war,  the  whole  harvest,  after  all  my 
trials  ((Jod  knows  unprotitablo  enough!  for  1  am  a  much 
poorer  man  than  when  we  started  in  the  Ami>hion, )  seems  a 
little  hard  ;  hut 2>(if if n'-d."  "He  is  sent  off  Cadiz  to  reap  the 
golden  harvest,  as  Campbell  was  to  reap  my  sugar  harvest. 
It's  very  odd,  two  Admiralties  to  treat  me  so:  surely  I  have 
dreamt  that  I  have  '  done  the  State  some  service.'  Uut  never 
mind ;  I  am  superior  to  those  who  could  treat  me  so."  His 
contempt  for  money,  however  accpiired,  except  as  a  secondary 
consideration,  remained  unchanged.  "  I  believe  I  attend  more 
to  the  French  fleet  than  making  captures ;  but  what  I  have,  I 
can  say  as  old  Haddock  said,  'it  never  cost  a  sailor  a  tear, 
nor  the  nation  a  farthing.'  This  thought  is  far  better  tlian 
prize-money  ;  —  not  that  I  despise  money  —  (^uite  the  contrary, 
1  wish  I  had  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  this  moment."  *'  I 
am  keeping  as  many  frigates  as  possible  round  me,"  he  wrote 
to  h''-  friend  Ball,  "for  I  know  the  value  of  them  on  the  day 
of  battle  :  and  compared  with  that  day,  what  signifies  any  prizes 
they  mii^ht  take  ?  "  ^  Nor  did  such  utterances  stand  alone.  "  I 
hope  ■'  ar  with  Spain  may  be  avoided,"  he  wrote.  "  I  want  not 
riches  a.  such  a  dreadful  price.  Peace  for  our  Country  is  all  I 
wish  to  fight  for,  —  I  mean,  of  course,  an  honourable  one,  with- 
out which  it  cannot  be  a  secure  one."  But  his  outlays  were 
very  heavy.  Besides  the  £1,800  annually  paid  to  Lady  I'Telson, 
he  gave  Lady  Hamilton  £1  200  a  year,  exclusive  of  what  was 
spent  on  the  house  and  grounds  at  Merton  ;  and  it  may  be  i'l- 
ferred  from  Dr.  Gillespie  that  the  cost  of  the  cabip  ^"z,  be- 
yond the  table  money  allowed  by  the  Government  ,  ^  assumed 
by  him.  He  himself  said,  early  in  the  cruise,  "■  Unless  we 
have  a  Spanish  war,  I  shall  live  here  at  a  great  expense, 
altliough   Mr.    Chevalier    [his   steward]    takes   every   care." 

1  Fliifj-oflicers  had  a  share  in  all  prizes  taken  by  vessels  of  their  S(|uadroiis. 


!| 


,y 


:'l!;i«i 


(110 


TIIK  LIFE  OF  NKLSON 


r/ 


i 


ti; 


i'|!' 


"God  knows,  in  my  own  person,  I  spend  as  little  money  us 
any  man  ;  but  you  *  know  I  love  to  give  away." 

That  ho  was  thus  sore  was  most  natural ;  but  it  was  also 
natural  that  the  Government  should  expect,  in  view  of  his 
strong  representations  about  his  health,  that  the  three  weeks 
between  the  issuing  his  leave  and  Orde's  orders  would  have 
insured  his  being  on  his  way  home,  before  the  latter  reaehed 
Ids  station.  Tiad  things  fallen  out  so,  it  would  not  have  been 
Nelson,  the  exceptional  liero  of  excej)tional  services,  but 
Uiekerton,  a  man  with  no  j)eculiar  claims  as  yet,  who  would 
have  lost  the  i)rizc-money ;  for  Nelson  himself  had  just  won  a 
suit  against  St.  Vincent,  which  established  that  the  momcnt*a 
commander-in-chief  left  his  station,  his  right  lapsed  and  that 
of  the  next  flag-officer  commenced.  Nor  was  the  division  of 
the  station  an  unprecedented  measure.  It  had  been  extended 
from  the  Straits  to  Cape  Finisterre  at  the  time  St.  Vincent 
withdrew  from  the  Mediterranean,  in  179C;  and  in  1802,  when 
Lord  Keith  asked  for  additional  aids,  on  account  of  the  enor- 
mous administrative  work,  the  Admiralty  made  of  the  request 
a  pretext  for  restricting  his  field  to  the  Mediterranean,  a  step 
which  Keith  successfully  resisted. 

Before  Nelson  :  ..ceived  his  leave  he  had  begun  to  change 
his  mind  about  going  home.  This  was  due,  partly,  to  a 
slight  betterment  in  his  health,  which  ho  at  this  time  men- 
tions ;  chiefly,  it  would  seem,  to  the  prospects  of  a  Spanish 
war.  This,  by  doubling  the  number  of  his  enemies  and  the 
quarters  whencs  they  might  come,  contributed  to  the  pleasur- 
able excitement  that  was  always  a  tonic  to  his  physical  frame, 
and  roused  the  eager  desire  for  conspicuous  action,  which  was 
his  most  prominent  passion.  Indications  also  assured  him 
that  the  expectation  of  the  French  coming  out,  in  which  ap- 
pearances had  so  often  deceived  him,  was  now  on  the  point 
of  being  realized ;  that  Bonaparte's  projects,  whatever  they 
were,  were  approaching  maturity.  His  "guess,"  founded  on 
the  reports  before  him,  was  wonderfully  penetrative.  He  did 
not  see  all  the  way  through  the  French  mill-stone,  but  he 
saw  very  deep  into  it ;  his  inference,  indeed,  was  one  in  which 
intuition  and  sagacity  bore  equal  shares.  "If  the  Russians 
continue  increasing  their  naval  force  in  this  country  [that  is, 

1  Davison. 


ruospEcrs  of  a  Spanish  wau 


61T 


in  the  eastern  Moditorraiieaii],  I  do  not  think  the  French 
will  venture  to  the  eastward ;  tiierefore,  I  rather  expect  they 
will,  as  the  year  advances,  try  to  j^et  out  of  the  straits ;  and 
should  they  accomplish  it  with  7,000  troops  on  board,  1  am 
sure  we  should  lose  half  our  West  India  Islands,  for  I  think 
they  would  go  there,  and  not  to  Ireland.  Whatever  may  be 
their  destination,  1  shall  certainly  follow,  l)e  it  even  to  the 
East  Indies."  The  last  allusion  is  interesting,  for  it  shows 
the  wide  flight  of  his  speculations,  which  had  found  utterance 
before  in  the  casual  remark  that  his  ships  were  provisioned 
for  a  voyage  to  ^Fadras ;  and,  even  as  a  guess,  it  struck 
perilously  near  one  of  Uonaparte's  purposes.  The  splendid 
decision,  formulated  so  long  before  the  case  arose,  to  follow 
wherever  they  went,  held  in  its  womb  the  germ  of  the  great 
campaign  of  Trafalgar ;  while  in  the  surmise  that  the  Toulon 
fleet  was  bound  to  the  West  Indies,  the  arrow  of  conjecture 
had  gone  straight  to  the  bull's-eye. 

In  this  same  letter,  addressed  to  General  Villettes,  at 
Malta,  formerly  his  coadjutor  at  the  siege  of  Bastia,  Nelson, 
in  the  intimacy  of  friendship,  reveals  what  was  to  him  at 
once  the  secret  of  health  and  the  fulfilment  of  desire;  the 
congenial  atmosphere  in  which  his  being  throve,  and  expanded 
to  fulfil  the  limits  of  his  genius.  "  Such  a  pursuit  would  do 
more,  perhaps,  towards  restoring  me  to  health  than  all  the 
doctors;  but  I  fear"  (his  application  for  leave  having  gone  in) 
"this  is  reserved  for  some  happier  man.  Not  that  I  com- 
plain ;  I  have  had  a  good  race  of  glory,  but  we  are  never 
satisfied,  although  I  hope  I  am  duly  thankful  for  the  past ; 
but  one  cannot  help,  being  at  sea,  longing  for  a  little  more." 
"I  hope,"  he  had  written  a  few  months  earlier  to  Lord  Minto, 
"  some  day,  very  soon,  to  fulfil  the  warmest  wishes  of  my 
Country  and  expectations  of  my  friends.  I  hope  you  may  be 
able,  at  some  debate,  to  say,  as  your  partiality  has  said  be- 
fore, *  Nelson  has  done  more  than  he  has  done  before ; '  I  can 
assure  you  it  shall  be  a  stimulus  to  my  exertion  on  the  day  of 
battle.  .  .  .  Whatever  happens,  I  have  run  a  glorious  race." 

On  the  12th  of  October  Nelson  received  a  piece  of  news 
which  elicited  instantaneously  a  flash  of  action,  illustrative 
at  once  of  the  promptness  of  his  decisions  and  of  the  brisk- 
ness of  temper  that  has  been  noted  already.     A  letter  arrived 


li 


11 


'V    .1^ 


r 


ii 


IV*! 


Hi! 


^   i    I 


018 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


i  'J 


from  Caj)t;»in  Gore,  commanding  the  detaohmejit  outside  of 
the  Straits,  that  two  frigates,  sent  from  the  Brest  squadron  by 
Admiral  Cornwallis,  had  arrived,  witli  a  captain  si  ,ior  to 
himself,  who  had  taken  him  under  his  orders,  and  carried 
two  of  Nelson's  frigates  otf  Cadiz  to  intercept  the  Spanish 
treasure-fleet  expected  there  from  America.  Cornwallis's 
action  had  been  taken  by  orders  from  England,  but  no  com- 
numication  to  that  effect,  either  from  him  or  from  the  Ad- 
miralty, reached  Nelson  at  this  moment.  Astounded  by  a 
measure  which  could  scarcely  fail  to  cause  war,  and  convinced, 
as  he  said,  that  Spain  had  no  wish  to  go  to  war  with  Great 
Britain,  he  gave  himself  a  night  to  pause;  but  early  next 
day  he  wrote  to  the  Admiralty,  intimating  pretty  plainly  that, 
if  done  by  its  direction,  this  was  not  the  way  the  commander 
of  the  Meditei'ranean  fieet  should  receive  word  of  so  mo- 
mentous a  step  taken  in  his  district,  while  to  Gore  he  sent 
emphatic  orders  to  disobey  Cornwallis,  although  the  latter 
was  Nelson's  senior.  Summing  up  with  .admirable  lucidity 
the  facts  before  him,  and  thereby  proving  that  the  impression 
under  which  Cornwallis's  action  probably  was  taken  was 
erroneous,  he  said  :  "  Unless  you  have  much  weightier  reasons 
than  the  order  of  Admiral  Cornwallis,  or  that  you  receive 
orders  from  the  Admiralty,  it  is  my  most  positive  directions 
that  neither  you,  or  any  ship  under  your  orders,  do  molest  or 
interrupt  in  any  manner  the  lawful  commerce  of  Spain,  with 
whom  we  are  at  perfect  peace  and  amity." 

It  is  permissible,  because  instructive,  to  note  that  in  this 
order,  while  Nelson  amply  provides  for  discretion  on  the  part 
of  his  subordinate,  he  tlirows  the  full  weight  of  his  authority 
c:i  the  difficult  horn  of  a  possible  dilemma,  the  act  —  so  mo- 
mentous to  an  officer  —  of  disobedience  to  a  present  superior ; 
in  this  case  the  captain  scit  by  Cornwallis.  Contrast  this 
with  the  Government's  orders  to  the  commander  of  the  troops 
at  Malta,  when  it  wished  him  to  send  a  garrison  to  Messina.* 
Instead  of  saying,  "  You  will  send  so  many  men,  unless  you 
think  you  cannot  spare  them,"  its  orders  ran :  "  You  will 
send,  if  you  think  you  can  spare  them."  Of  course,  as  Nel- 
son invai'iably  experienced,  an  officer  addressed  in  the  latter 
style  found  always  a  lion  in  his  path.     So  his  orders  to  Gore 

»  Ante,  \\  568. 


;side  of 
Llvon  by 
.ior   to 
carried 
Spanish 
iwallis's 
no  coni- 
tl.e  A(l- 
Icd  by  a 
Hivinced, 
bh  Great 
irly  next 
inly  that, 
mniander 
if  so  mo- 
e  he  sent 
the  latter 
B  lucidity 
mpression 
aken   was 
er  reasons 
3U  receive 
directions 
molest  or 
pain,  with 

lat  in  this 
^n  the  part 
authority 
—  so  mo- 
superior  ; 
litrast  this 
the  troops 
Messina.^ 
\wih'ss  you 
J'You   will 
|se,  as  Nel- 
the  latter 
jrs  to  Gore 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OP  TEMPERAMENT 


019 


were  not  "  Obey,  if,"  but  "  Disobey,  unless  ;  "  and  Goro  knew, 
as  every  man  in  the  Moditerraiiean  knew  by  long  triiil,  that, 
if  he  disobeyed,  he  would  have  at  his  back,  througii  thick 
and  thin,  the  first  sea-officer  in  Great  Britain.  IJut  Nelson's 
orders  wore  always  stamped  with  the  positive,  daring,  lucid 
character  of  his  genius  and  its  concc])tions ;  and  so,  except  in 
unworthy  hands,  they  were  fulfilled  in  spirit  as  well  as  in 
letter. 

An  interesting  illustration  of  this  trenchant  cleai-ness  is  to 
be  found  in  instructions  given  to  the  captain  of  the  *' Donegal," 
an  eighty-gun  ship,  sent  under  very  critical  circumstances  to 
cruise  off  Cadiz,  in  September,  I8O0.  It  appears  to  the  author 
not  only  characteristic  of  Nchon,  but  a  perfect  example  of 
the  kind  of  directions  a  junior  would  wish  to  have  in  a  diffi- 
cult case,  when  desirous  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  his  supe- 
rior's orders.    It  explains  itself. 

26tli  September,  1803. 
To  Captain  Siu  RiciiaPwD  John  Straciian,  Raut., 
H.  M.  Sua*  DoNKOAL, 

The  occurrences  which  pass  every  day  in  Spain  forhodc^  I  fancy,  a 
speedy  War  w ith  England  ;  therefore  it  becomes  proper  for  me  to  ])ut 
you  on  your  guard,  and  advise  you  liow  to  act  uiuler  particular  cir- 
cumstances. I5y  looking  at  the  former  line  of  conduct  on  the  part 
of  Spain,  which  she  followed  just  before  the  conunencenient  of  tlie 
last  War,  we  may  naturally  expect  the  same  events  to  happen.  The 
French  Admiral  Richery  was  in  Cadiz,  blocked  up  by  Admiral  Man ; 
on  August  the  'J2nd,  they  came  to  sea,  attended  by  the  Spanish  Fleet, 
which  saw  the  French  safe  beyond  St.  Vincent,  and  returned  into 
Cadiz.  Admiral  Man  very  properly  did  not  choose  to  attack  Admiral 
Richery  under  such  an  escort.  This  is  a  prelude  to  what  I  must  re- 
quest your  strict  attention  to;  at  the  same  time,  I  am  fully  aware 
that  you  must  be  guided,  in  some  measure,  by  actual  circujnstances. 

I  thiidv  it  very  probable,  even  before  Spain  breaks  with  us,  that 
they  may  send  a  Ship  or  two  of  the  Line  to  see  L'Aigle  round  Cape 
St.  Vincent ;  aiul  that  if  you  attack  her  in  their  presence,  they  may 
attack  you ;  and  giving  them  possession  of  the  Donegal,  woidd  bo 
more  than  either  you  or  I  sliould  wish,  therefore  I  am  certain  it  must 
be  very  comfortable  for  you  to  know  my  sentiments.  From  what 
you  hear  in  Cadiz,  you  will  judge  how  far  you  may  venture  yourself 
in  company  with  a  Spanish  Scpiadron  ;  but  if  you  are  of  opinion  that 
you  may  trust  yourself  near  them,  keeping  certainly  out  of  gun-shot, 
send  your  Boat  with  a  letter  to  the  Spanish  Commodore,  and  desire 


I      ! 


\\ 


■■'.■■ 


620 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


to  know  whether  he  means  to  fi  hmuI  the  French  Sliips ;  and  get  his 
answer  in  writing,  and  liave  It  as  plain  as  possible.  If  it  be  '  yes, 
that  he  will  firo  at  you  if  you  attack  the  French  under  his  protection,' 
then,  if  you  have  force  enough,  make  your  attack  on  the  whole  body, 
and  take  them  all  if  you  can ;  for  I  should  consider  such  an  answer 
as  a  p(Tfect  Declaration  of  War.  If  you  .are  too  weak  for  suoii  an 
.attack,  you  must  d(!sist;  but  you  certainly  arc  fully  authorized  to  t.ako 
the  Ships  of  Spain. whenever  you  meet  them.  Should  the  answer  bo 
ambiguous,  you  must  then  act  as  your  judgment  m.ay  direct  you,  and 
I  am  sure  that  will  bo  very  proper.  Oidy  recollect,  that  it  would  bo 
much  better  to  let  the  French  Ships  escape,  than  to  run  too  great  a 
risk  of  losing  the  Donegal,  yourself,  and  the  Ship's  coni[)any. 

I  am,  &c. 

Nelson  and  Uuonte. 


This  letter  fulfils  his  own  request  to  the  Admiralty  :  "  AU 
I  '.visli  and  submit  to  their  Lordships  is  th.it  if  the  business  is 
left  to  me,  my  orders  may  be  decisive." 

Later  in  the  same  day  that  Nelson  received  Gore's  letter, 
the  Admiralty's  orders  arrived,  sent,  as  despatches  too  often 
were,  by  a  vessel  so  small  and  slow  that  it  would  seem  they 
counted  upon  her  insignificance  to  elude  an  enemy's  notice. 
The  delay  served,  as  has  been  said,  to  give  proof  of  the  rapidity 
of  Nelson's  action ;  the  receipt  of  the  orders  enabled  him  also  to 
show  how  much  clearer  were  his  conceptions  of  adequacy  than 
those  of  ordinary  men.  To  stop  treasure-ships,  or  to  embargo 
merchant-ships,  when  difficulty  w.as  threatening,  was  no  new 
idea  to  the  liritish  Government.  The  Latter  h.ad  been  done 
with  Inaltic  merchantmen  at  the  time  of  the  Armed  Neutrality. 
In  the  case  of  Spain,  it  was  a  measure  particularly  efficacious, 
for  the  financial  solvency  and  belligerent  cap.acity  of  that 
country  depended  upon  the  galleons,  which  brought  to  her  the 
tribute  of  her  colonies  ;  .and  her  relations  and  dealings  with 
France  at  this  time  were  so  partial  and  suspicious  as  to  justify 
precautions.  Evidently,  liowever,  such  a  step,  being  avowedly 
preventive  and  not  offensive,  should  be  taken  in  sucli  a  way 
as  to  avert  all  chance  of  possible  disaster.  Several  Spanish 
frig.ates  being  expected,  the  British  Government  charged  four 
vessels  of  the  same  rate  with  the  task  of  arresting  them. 
Nelson,  the  instant  he  got  his  orders,  det.ached  to  the  spot  an 
eighty-gun  ship,  to  which  he  added  four  other  cruisers,  think- 


DECIDES  NOT  TO  RETURN  HOME 


621 


get  his 
be  '  yea, 
Lection,' 
le  body, 
I  answer 
sucli  nn 
[  to  take 
jswer  bo 
you,  and 
jvould  be 
»  great  a 


liUONTK. 

,y:  "AU 
lainess  is 

s's  letter, 
too  often 
eem  they 
"s  notice. 
3  i'apidity 
ini  also  to 
uacy  tlian 
)  embargo 
,3  no  new 
jeen  done 
eutrality. 
•fticacious, 
of  that 
to  her  the 
ings  with 
to  justify 
avowedly 
inch  a  way 
il  Spanish 
lavged  four 
lug  theui. 
le  spot  an 
lers,  think- 


ing, as  he  said  in  his  orders  to  the  captain  selected,  that  *'this 
is  a  service  of  the  highest  importance,  and  tliat  an  otticer  of 
your  rank  and  experience  should  be  empU)yed  therein."  With 
such  odds  against  him,  the  Spanish  commander  would  need 
no  military  justification  for  submission.  As  it  was,  lie  resisted, 
necessitating  a  tight,  which  under  the  circumstances  was  bar- 
barous and  brutal,  and  ended  in  one  of  the  Spanish  vessels 
blowing  up  with  several  women  on  board ;  a  result  due  wholly 
to  the  blundering  lack  of  foresight  which  sent  a  corporal's 
guard  to  do  the  work  of  a  sheriff's  j)osse. 

This  incident,  of  the  order  to  arrest  the  t"oasure-ships, 
which  was  made  general  for  all  vessels  of  that  class,  was 
probably  the  determining  occasion  of  Nelson's   decision  to 
remain  in  the  Mediterranean.     War  with  Spain,  with  con- 
sequent increased  activity  on  the  part  of  France,  though  not 
certain,  became  probable.     There  was  at  that  time  on  board 
the  "Victory"  a  Dr.  Lambton  Este,  who  had  gone  to  the 
Mediterranean  in  a  civil  capacity,  and  was  on  his  way  home. 
Nelson,  hoping  to  return  soon  himself,  asked  Este  to  remain 
until  he  started,  and  to  accompany  him  in  a  worn-out  seventy 
four,  the  "  Superb,"  which  lie  was  holding  for  that  purpose. 
It  seems  that,  in  looking  forward  to  the  resumption  of  his 
command,  he  expected  it  would  be  the  scene  of  a  more  wide- 
sjjread  political  activity,  especially  in  the  far  East  where  Este 
had  been  employed,  and  that,  for  this  purpose,  he  wished  to 
attach  the  latter  to  his  person,,     "  There  may  be  more  occupa- 
tion there  for  us  all,  hereafter,  than  we  just  now  foresee,  or 
may  expect." 

In  confirmation  of  this  general  forecast,  we  are  told  by  Dr. 
Scott  that,  when  the  admiral  left  England  before  Trafalgar, 
arrangements  had  been  made  with  the  Foreign  Office  for  Este 
with  six  clerks  to  be  attached  to  the  flagship,  to  conduct  the 
diplomatic  correspondence.  The  fact  is  doubly  interesting. 
It  shows,  on  the  one  hand,  the  accuracy  of  Nelson's  foresight 
as  to  the  vast  importance  the  Mediterranean  was  about  to 
assume,  to  meet  which  he  thus  was  making  provision  in  a 
general  way ;  although  neither  he  nor  any  other  man  could 
iiave  anticipated  the  extraordinary,  complicated  snarl  of  the 
political  threads  in  Napoleon's  later  years.  The  cares  from 
these,  it  may  be  said  in  passing,  were  by  Nelson's  death 


il    ; 


022 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


devolved  upon  Collingwood ;  who,  though  a  strong  man,  was 
killed  by  them,  through  general  debility  resulting  from  con- 
finement, and  through  organic  injury  produced  by  bending 
over  his  desk.  On  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  but  be  grateful 
to  those  who  admire  the  hero,  to  see  that  Nelson  looked  for- 
ward to  no  inglorious  ease,  but  to  a  life  of  strenuous  work,  as 
well  as,  if  it  might  be  so,  of  military  honor.  Had  he  lived, 
we  may  hope,  the  days  after  Trafalgar  would  not  have  been 
the  grave  of  his  renown. 

On  the  first  of  November  his  decision  was  taken.  He  sent 
for  Este  and  said,  '*0h,  my  good  fellow!  I  have  abandoned 
the  idea  of  going  to  England,  at  present.  I  shall  not  go  yet, 
and  when  I  may  go  is  quite  uncertain  —  must  depend  upon 
events,  and  upon  my  own  precarious  health ;  at  the  same  time, 
I  am  doing  you  an  evident  injustice,  by  detaining  you  here  so 
long  in  uncertainty."  Este  of  course  expressed  his  willing- 
ness to  remain  while  needed,  but  Nelson  interrupted  him, 
saying,  "  No,  my  wish  is  that  you  should  go,  —  I  am  anxious 
that  you  should  go,  and  go  without  further  delay.  To  tell  you 
the  truth,  I  ani  not  entirely  disinterested.  Go  home ;  get  con- 
firmed in  your  appointment,  according  to  my  desir(>,  and  re- 
turn to  mo  as  soon  afterwards  as  you  can.  Should  I  retain 
my  command  in  the  Mediterranean,  Avith  the  powers  already 
conceded  to  me,  I  shall  require  your  assistance."  It  seems 
probable  that  he  was  anxious  to  get  some  one  home  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  to  forestall,  if  time  permitted,  a  final  recall,  Avhich 
the  appointment  of  a  successor  would  bo.  "  Long  before  tliis 
time,"  ho  had  written  Lady  Hamilton,  "I  expect,  another 
admiral  is  far  on  his  way  to  supersede  me.  I  should  for  your 
sake,  and  for  many  of  our  friends,  have  lil'ed  au  odd  hundred 
thousand  pounds  [by  a  Spanish  war];  buc,  never  mind.  If 
thoy  give  me  the  choice  of  staying  a  few  monthf  longer,  it  will 
1,0  very  luindsonic ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  others,  we  would  give 
up  very  much  of  our  own  felicity." 

The  despatches  and  routi.ie  papers  were  got  ready  rapidly, 
and  placed  in  charge  of  Estt,  who  sailed  for  Lisbon,  in  a 
sloop-of-war,  on  the  G'".h  of  November,  furnished  with  orders 
to  all  officials  to  expedite  him  on  his  way,  and  particularly  to 
captains  not  to  communicate  with  the  ship,  because  the  plague, 
then  raging  in  Gibraltar,  would  involve  her,  if  visited,  in  the 


ARRIVAL  OF  SIR     OIIN  ORDE 


023 


delays  of  quarantine.  On  the  18th  of  November,  off  Cape  St. 
Vincent,  Este  met  the  "  Swiftsure,"  seventy-f(»ur,  bringing 
Orde  out.  It  has  been  charged  that  the  latter  discourteously 
delayed  to  notify  Nelson  of  his  taking  over  part  of  the  sta- 
tion.^ It  ai)pears,  however,  from  this  encounter,  that  liis 
letter  to  that  effect,  dated  the  17th, ■^  thougli  headed  "off 
Cadiz,"  was  actually  prepared  before  he  reached  his  position 
there.  It  was  forwarded  to  Nelson  by  the  "  Anson,"  whose 
captain  was  senior  officer  of  the  division  till  then  blockading 
the  port,  whom  Onlo  relieved  and  sent  on  with  his  despatch. 
The  "Anson"  joined  Nelson  on  the  15tii  of  December.  The 
"  Swiftsure,"  which  wa;s  also  destined  to  his  squadron,  did  not 
reach  him  until  the  25th.  It  seems,  therefore,  fair  to  acquit 
Orde  of  a  discourtesy  as  aimless  as  it  would  be  reprehensible. 

Just  before  Este's  departure  Nelson  had  reconnoitred 
Toulon.  A  new  vice-admiral  had  hoisted  iiis  flag  in  place  of 
Latouche  Treville,  who  had  died  on  the  20th  of  August.  "  Ho 
has  given  me  the  slip,"  wrote  Nelson,  who  felt  himself  balked 
of  his  vengeance.  "  The  French  papers  say  he  died  of  walking 
so  often  up  to  the  signal-post,  upon  Sepet,  to  wacch  us :  I 
always  pronounced  that  would  he.  his  death."  His  successor 
was  Villeneuve,  the  predestined  victim  of  Trafalgar.  "They 
now  anmse  themselves  with  night-signals,"  Nelson  informed 
the  First  Lord;  "and  by  the  quantity  of  rockets  and  blue 
lights  they  show  with  every  signal,  they  plainly  mark  tlieir 
position.  These  gentlemen  must  soon  bo  so  perfect  in  theory, 
that  they  will  come  to  sea  to  put  tlieir  knowledge  into  practice. 
Could  I  SCO  that  day,  it  would  make  me  happy."  The  time 
was  now  not  far  distant.  The  weariness  of  waiting  was  soon 
to  give  way  to  the  anxious  fever  of  doubtful  and  protracted 
pursuit,  of  prolonged  uncertainty  and  steadfast  endurance, 
through  which  he  advanced  to  his  final  triumph,  just  as  he 
had  to  those  of  the  past. 

The  seizure  of  the  Spanish  treasure-ships,  with  its  lament- 
able catastroi)he,  took  place  on  tlio  5tli  of  October.  Nelson 
had  the  news  on  the  8th  of  November,  wliich,  extraordinary  as 
it  may  appear,  was  before  the  fact  was  known  in  Madrid.  On 
the  10th  of  November,  when  the  British  minister  received  his 
passports  upon  his  own  demand,  no  woi'd  had  reached  there. 

1  Pcttigrew,  vol.  ii.  p.  444.  ^  Nicolas,  vol.  vi.  p.  288. 


i 


! 


\;i 


k 


*? 


024 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


•1  '  ;-'  '     * 

■Ml 

f  ■! 


On  tho  15th,  Nelson  was  informed  that  a  British  vessel  had 
been  fired  upon  by  the  batteries  of  Barcelona,  which  was  an 
error;  but  receiving  at  the  same  time  a  letter  from  the  minis- 
ter, probably  to  the  effect  that  he  v  ould  break  off  relations  on 
the  10th,  he  inferred  that  war  existed,  and  issued  orders  for 
a  general  seizure  of  Spanish  vessels  of  war  and  commerce 
throughout  the  station.  This  was  done  on  h?s  own  responsi- 
bility, but  he  guarded  himself  by  stringent  provisions  against 
any  injur"  beyond  detention  being  inflicted;  and  he  alleged, 
very  reasonably,  that  a  commander-in-chief  who  never  got 
letters  from  home  less  than  two  months  oiC  must  act  upon  his 
own  motion.  "  I  am  completely  in  the  dark..  It  is  now  more 
than  two  months  since  the  John  Bull  [the  last  despatch  boat] 
sailed."  "  I  have  set  the  whole  Mediterranean  to  work,"  he 
tells  Lady  Hamilton  on  the  23d ;  "  and  if  I  had  had  the  spare 
troops  at  Malta  at  my  disposal,  Minorca  would  at  this  moment 
have  had  English  colours  flying."  A  Swedish  ship,  carrying  a 
Spanish  regiment  from  Barcelona  to  the  latter  island,  was 
among  the  first  captures. 

"  With  respect  to  my  making  war  upon  Spain,  and  Sir  John 
Orde  not  having  done  it,"  so  he  wrote  to  Elliot,  "  I  believe  you 
will  think  I  have  acted  not  precipitately,  but  consistent  with 
the  firmness  of  John  Bui].  I  can't  tell  what  schemes  ministers 
may  have;  but  when  I  am  without  orders,  and  unexpected 
occurrences  arise,  I  shall  always  act  as  I  think  the  honour  and 
glory  of  mj  King  and  Country  demand.  Upon  the  most 
mature  and  serious  consideration  I  can  give  the  subject,  the 
present  lays  within  the  compass  of  a  nutshell.  Our  Ministers 
demand  certain  points  to  be  conceded  to  them ;  they,  to  give  a 
spur,  detain  the  Spanish  treasure.  Spain,  the  moment  she 
hears  of  it,  kicks  your  minister  out  of  Madrid  ;  a  plain  proof 
they  had  not  acceded  to  our  propositions.  Indeed,  Mr.  Frere,^ 
you  will  see  by  his  letter,  did  not  believe  it  would  have  a  fa- 
vourable termination,  even  had  not  the  frigates  been  detained. 
I  send  your  Excellency  his  letters.  I  feel  I  have  done 
perfectly  right.  No  desire  of  wealth  could  influence  my 
conduct;  for  I  had  nothing  to  take  worth  two-penco  to  me. 
Sir  John  Orde  was  sent,  if  it  was  a  Spanish  war,  to  take  the 
money ;  but  until  he  saw  my  orders,  he  did  not  act.  I  sup- 
1  Lute  British  miuister  to  Spaiu. 


DECISIVE   PROMPTITUDE   IN  ACT 


pose  he  was  fearful  of  that  responsibility  which  1  am  ever 
ready  to  take  upon  me ;  and  now  he  is  to  wallow  in  wealth, 
whilst  I  am  left  a  beggar.  But  such  things  are.  I  receive  the 
kindest  letters  from  Lord  Melville  and  the  Secretary  oi  State, 
but  they  think  the  French  fleet  is  prize  enough  for  me."  No 
wonder  Nelson  found  that  diplomatist?  were  slow,  measured 
by  himself  as  a  standard;  but  what  a  wonderful  instinct  it 
shows  in  him,  that,  with  action  ever  prompt  to  the  verge  of 
precipitancy,  he  made  so  few  blunders  in  deed.  There  are 
several  errors  of  fact  in  his  summary  of  reasons,  but  his  action 
was  absolutely  well-timed  —  to  the  very  hour. 

Meanwhile,  and  up  to  the  15th  of  December,  when  Orde's 
letter  was  received,  no  reply  had  come  to  his  application  for 
leave,  and  no  intimation  of  a  successor.  A  fresh  complication 
here  arose  by  the  entire  break-down  of  one  of  his  two  junior 
admirals  —  Rear-Admiral  Campbell  —  whose  health  became 
so  affected  that  it  was  necessary  to  send  him  immediately 
home.  He  quitted  the  fleet  on  the  4th  of  December.  Nelson 
rightly  felt  that  he  himself  could  not  go,  leaving  Bickerton 
without  any  assistant.  He  went  further ;  for,  when  a  rumor 
came  that  Orde  was  to  relieve  him,  he  determined  that  he 
would  offer  his  services  to  him,  as  second,  until ; .  successor  to 
Campbell  should  arrive.  As  there  was  friction  between  him- 
self and  Orde,  who  had,  besides,  a  not  very  pleasant  official 
reputation,  this  intention,  to  take  a  lower  place  where  he  had 
been  chief,  was  not  only  self-sacrificing,  but  extremely  mag- 
nanimous ;  it  was,  however,  disfigured  by  too  much  self-con- 
sciousnoss.  "  I  have  wrote  to  Lord  Melville  that  I  should 
make  such  an  offer,  and  that  I  entreated  him  to  send  out  a  flag- 
officer  as  soon  as  possible,  but  I  dare  say  Sir  John  Orde  is  too 
great  a  man  to  want  my  poor  services,  and  that  he  will  reject 
them ;  be  that  as  it  may,  you  will,  I  am  sure,  agree  with  me, 
that  I  shall  show  my  superiority  to  him  by  such  an  offer,  and 
the  world  will  see  what  a  sacrifice  I  am  ready  to  make  for  the 
service  of  my  King  and  Country,  for  what  greater  sacrifice 
could  I  make,  than  serving  for  a  moment  under  Sir  John 
Orde,  and  giving  up  for  that  moment  the  society  of  all  I  hold 
most  dear  in  this  world  ?  " 

Orde's  letter  reached  Nelson  in  Pula  Roads,  in  the  Gulf  of 
Cagliari,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Sardinia ;  an  out-of-the- 

40 


I 


■  Hi; 


r.   •■: 


1    f 


i  I 


1^: 


026 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


lir 


L  , 


way  i^osition  which  probably  accounts  for  much  of  its  tlehiy. 
He  remained  there,  or  in  the  Gulf  of  ralnias,  a  little  to  the 
westward,  for  about  a  week,  and  on  the  19th  of  ]>ecember  left 
for  his  station  off  Cape  San  Sebastian.  At  the  latter  place,  on 
Christmas  Day,  he  was  joined  by  the  *'  Swiftsure,"  which 
brought  him  a  great  batch  of  official  mail  that  had  come  out 
with  Orde.  He  thus  received  at  one  and  the  same  time  liis 
leave  to  go  homo  and  the  Admiralty's  order  reducing  his 
station.  Unluckily,  the  latter  step,  tliough  taken  much  later 
than  the  issuing  of  his  leave,  had  become  known  to  him  first, 
througli  Orde;  and  the  im  rei;  lion  upon  his  mind  remaineil 
w'th  that  li  "'in  -s?  v  ;)r.  ;  ■  .^  lunh  I'.idstock  had  noted  in 
him.  He  does  not  aii-ca-  at  any  time  to  have  made  allowance 
for  the  fact  that  h  :J  c.  hmj/iua  was  cut  down  under  a  reason- 
able impression  that  he  was  ai-    '  to  quit  it. 

Immediately  after  the  "  Swiftsure  "  joined  at  Rendezvous  97, 
he  took  the  tiuet  off  Toulon.  The  enemy  was  found  to  be  still 
in  port,  but  the  rumors  of  an  approaching  movement,  and  of 
the  embarkation  of  troops,  were  becoming  more  specific.  He 
remained  off  the  harbor  for  at  least  a  week,  and  thence  went 
to  Madalena,  where  he  anchored  on  the  11th  of  January,  1805. 
This  was,  though  he  knew  it  not,  the  end  of  the  long  watch 
off  Toulon. 

Short  as  the  time  was,  Nelson  had  already  experienced  the 
inconvenience  of  a  senior  admiral,  lying,  like  an  enemy,  on 
the  Hank  of  his  communications  with  Great  Britain,  and  deal- 
ing as  ho  pleased  with  his  vessels.  One  frigate  at  least  had 
been  sent  already  to  England,  without  his  knowledge  and 
consent.  "I  have  in  a  former  letter,"  lie  tells  the  First  Lord, 
"stated  my  opinion  ''reely  upon  the  stations  of  Gibraltar  and 
Cadiz  being  given  to  the  same  officer ;  for  without  that  is 
done,  our  convoys  can  never  be  considered  safe.  There  is 
also  another  consideration,  why  the  Officer  at  Gibraltar  should 
be  under  the  orders  of  the  Admiral  commanding  the  Mediter- 
ranean fleet  —  which  is,  that  any  admiral  independent  of  that 
station,  takes  all  the  stores  he  chooses,  or  fancies  he  wants, 
for  the  service  of  his  fleet ;  thereby  placing  the  fleet  in  the 
Gulf  of  Lyons  in  great  distress  for  many  articles." 

Off  Toulon,  having  a  large  official  mail  to  make  up  in  reply 
to  that  brought  by  the  "Swiftsure,"  he  thought  it  both  quicker 


ANNOYANCES  FROM  ORDE 


HI 


and  safer,  under  all  tlio  conditions  of  the  time,  to  send  it  to 
Lisbon.  He  tlierefore  called  on  board  the  "  Victory  "  a  smart 
young  frigate-captain,  William  Parke!,  a  nephew  of  Lord  St. 
Vi'icent,  gave  him  orders  +^o  take  tho  despatches  to  Lisbon, 
ar  '  added,  "Sir  John  Oru"  takes  my  frigates  from  me,  and 
se.  .s  them  n.vyay  in  soUiC  other  direction  from  what  1  wish. 
I  ci  nnot  even  got  my  despatches  hon;  .  You  must  contrive 
tc  ,et  to  the  west  -ard  and  go  into  Lisbon,  and  avoid  his 
sli'  s.  1  have  not  signed  youi  orders,"  alluding  to  mem- 
orandum instruction"  separate  from  the  formal  orders,  "  be- 
cause Si.  Jouu  Orde  is  my  senior  officer;  but,  if  it  should 
come  to  a  Court  Martial,  Hardy  can  swear  to  my  handwriting, 
and  you  shall  not  be  broke.  Take  your  orders,  and  good  bye ; 
and  remember,  Parker,  if  you  cannot  weather  that  fdlow^  I 
shall  think  you  have  -^t  a  drop  of  your  old  uncle's  blood  in 
your  veins."  The  mei.:orandum  directed  him  to  pass  Cape 
Spartel  in  the  night,  steering  to  the  southward  and  westward 
to  avoid  Orde,  and  ended  thus  :  "  Bring-to  [stop]  for  nothing, 
if  you  can  help  it.  Hoist  the  signal  for  quarantine,  and  tha^. 
you  are  charged  with  dispatches.  If  you  are  forced  to  speak 
by  a  superior  officer,  show  him  only  my  order  for  not  intevf  n-- 
ng  with  you;  and  unless  he  is  an  admiral,  superior  to 
you  will  obey  ny  orders  instead  of  any  pretended  ones  from 
him,  from  my  superior  officer." 

Parker  executed  his  commission  successfully,  but  in  doing 
so  mot  with  a  curious  adventure.  Leaving  Gibraltar  with  a 
north  wind,  favorable  for  his  purpose,  he  passed  Spartel  as 
directed,  and,  the  night  being  moonlight,  saw  in  the  distance 
Orde's  squadron  cruising  under  easy  sail.  Unluckily,  one  of 
the  outlying  lookout  frigates  discovered  him,  gave  chase,  and 
overtook  him.  Her  captain  himself  came  on  board,  and  was 
about  to  give  Parker  orders  not  to  proceed  to  the  westward, 
Orde  jealously  objecting  to  any  apparent  intrusion  upon  his 
domain.  Parker  stopped  him  hastily  from  speaking  on  the 
quarter-deck,  within  earshot  of  others,  and  took  him  into  the 
cabin.  The  stranger  had  been  one  of  Nelson's  old  midship- 
men and  a  favorite ;  had  started  with  him  in  the  "  Agamem- 
non," and  by  him  had  been  made  a  commander  after  the  Nile. 
"Captain  Hoste,"  said  Parker,  "I  believe  you  owe  all  your 
advancement  in  the  service  to  my  uncle,  Lord  St.  Vincent, 


■   1 


n  11 


r 


1:1  n 


i    I*' 
;    :(• 

I 


!     1 


'\A 


028 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


:  t 


11  i 


and  to  Lord  Nelson.  I  am  avoiding  Sir  John  Orde's  squadron 
by  desire  of  Lord  Nelson  ;  you  know  his  liandwriting ;  I  must 
go  on."^  (Parker  being  senior  to  Hosto,  the  latter  could  not 
detain  him  by  his  own  authority;  and  he  understood  from 
this  avowal  that  Orde's  orders,  if  produced,  would  become 
a  matter  of  record,  would  be  disobeyed,  and  a  court-martial 
must  follow.)  "The  question  of  a  court-martial  would  bo 
very  mischievous.  Do  you  not  think  it  would  be  better  if  you 
were  not  to  meet  the  *  Amazon  '  this  night  ?  "  Captain  Hoste, 
after  a  little  reflection,  left  the  ship  without  giving  his 
admiral's  orders  to  I'arker.'' 

Having  determined  not  to  leave  Uickerton  alone,  Nelson 
decided  to  keep  secret  his  own  leave  to  return  to  England. 
**  I  am  much  obliged  by  their  Lordships'  kind  compliance 
with  my  request,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  from  the 
present  state  of  my  health,"  he  writes  on  the  30th  of 
December ;  "  and  I  shall  avail  myself  of  their  Lordships' 
permission,  the  moment  another  admiral,  in  the  room  of  Ad- 
miral Campbell,  joins  the  fleet,  unless  the  enemy's  fleet 
should  be  at  sea,  when  I  should  not  think  of  quitting  my 
command  until  after  the  battle."  "I  shall  never  quit  my 
post,"  he  tells  a  friend,  "  when  the  French  fleet  is  at  sea,  as 
a  commander-in-chief  of  great  celebrity  once  did,"  —  a  not 
very  generous  fling  at  St.  Vincent.  "  I  would  sooner  die  at 
my  post,  than  have  such  a  stigma  upon  my  memory." 
"Nothing  has  kept  me  here,"  he  writes  Elliot,  "but  the  fear 
for  the  escape  of  the  French  fleet,  and  that  they  should  get 
to  either  Naples  or  Sicily  in  the  short  days.  Nothing  but 
gratitude  to  those  good  Sovereigns  could  have  induced  me  to 
stay  one  moment  after  Sir  John  Orde's  extraordinary  com- 
mand, for  his  general  conduct  towards  me  is  not  such  as  I  had 
a  right  to  expect." 

During  this  last  month  of  monotonous  routine,  while  off 
Toulon  and  at  Madalena,  he  had  occasion  to  express  opinions 
on  current  general  topics,  which  found  little  room  in  his 
mind  after  the  French  fleet  began  to  move.  There  was  then 
a  report  of  a  large  expedition  for  foreign  service  forming  in 

1  Author's  italics. 

"  The  whole  of  this  acuount  is  taken  from  the  Life  of  Sir  William  Parker. 
Philliinore's  Last  of  Nelson's  Captains,  pp.  125-12f . 


OPINIONS  ON  CURRENT  EVENTS 


029 


i 


England,  and  rumor,  as  usual,  had  a  thousand  tongues  as  to 
its  destination.  "  A  blow  struck  in  Europe,"  Nelson  wrote 
to  Lord  Moira,  "  would  do  more  towards  making  us  respected, 
and  of  course  facilitate  a  peace,  than  the  possession  of  IVrexico 
or  I'eru,"  —  a  direction  towards  which  tlie  commercial  ambi- 
tions of  Great  liritain  had  a  traditioival  inclination,  fostered 
by  some  military  men  and  statesmen,  who  foresaw  the  break-Uj* 
of  the  Spanish  colonial  system.  "Above  all,  I  hope  wc  shall 
have  no  buccaneering  expeditions.  Sucdi  services  fritter  away 
our  troops  and  ships,  when  they  are  so  much  wanted  for  more 
important  occasions,  and  are  of  no  use  beyond  enriching  a  few 
individuals.  I  know  not,  if  these  sentiments  coincide  with 
yours;  but  as  glory,  and  not  money,  has  through  life  been 
your  pursuit,  I  should  rather  think  that  you  will  agree  with 
me,  that  in  Europe,  and  noc  abi'oad,  is  the  place  for  us  to 
strike  a  blow."  "I  like  the  idea  of  English  troops  getting 
into  the  Kingdom  of  Naples,"  he  tells  Elliot  at  this  same 
time  ;  whence  it  may  be  inferred  that  that  was  the  quarter  he 
would  now,  as  upon  his  first  arrival,  choose  for  British  effort. 
"  If  they  are  well  commanded,  I  am  sure  they  will  do  well. 
They  will  have  more  wants  than  us  sailors."  The  expedition, 
which  sailed  the  following  spring,  was  destined  for  the 
Mediterranean,  and  reinforced  the  garrisons  of  Gibraltar  and 
Malta  to  an  extent  that  made  the  latter  a  factor  to  be  con- 
sidered in  the  strategy  of  the  inland  sea ;  but  when  it  arrived, 
Nelson  had  left  the  Mediterranean,  not  to  return. 

As  regards  general  politics.  Nelson,  writing  to  the  Queen 
of  Naples,  took  a  gloomy  view  of  the  future.  The  Prime 
Minister  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  Sir  John  Acton,  had  some  time 
before  been  forced  out  of  office  and  had  retired  to  Palermo, 
an  event  produced  by  the  pressure  of  French  influence,  which 
Nelson  regarded  now  as  absolutely  dominant  in  that  kingdom, 
and  menacing  to  Europe  at  large.  "Never,  perhaps,  v/as 
Europe  more  critically  situated  than  at  this  moment,  and 
never  was  the  probability  of  universal  Monarchy  more  nearly 
being  realized,  than  in  the  person  of  the  Corsican.  I  can  see 
but  little  difference  between  the  name  of  Emperor,  King,  or 
Prefect,  if  they  perfectly  obey  his  despotic  orders.  Prussia 
is  trying  to  be  destroyed  last  —  Spain  is  little  better  than  a 
province  of  France  —  Kussia  does  nothing  on  the  grand  scale. 


I 


i 

I 


,: 


u 
I 


mo 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Vi 


imiii 


1'^ 


Would  to  God  those  great  Vowers  refleetcd,  tliat  the  bohlest 
measures  arc  the  safest !  They  allow  sujall  states  to  tall,  and 
to  serve  the  enormous  power  of  France,  without  appearing  to 
reflect  tliat  every  kingdom  which  is  annexed  to  France,  makes 
their  own  existence,  as  independent  states,  more  prec^arious." 
Mow  shrewd  a  prophecy  this  was  as  regards  Prussia  and 
S[)ain,  those  two  countries  were  to  h^arn  by  bitter  experience; 
and  remote  Kussia  herself,  though  she  eseapiMl  the  last 
Jnimiliation,  saw  in  tlie  gigantic  hosts  whose  onset  a  few  years 
later  shook  her  to  lier  centre,  the  armed  subjects  of  the  many 
smaller  states,  in  whose  subjugation  she  had  a(v|uiesced  dur- 
ing the  i)eriod  of  the  Czar's  moral  subservience  to  Napoleon. 

Nelson's  essentially  military  genius  had  in  political  matters 
a  keenly  sensitive  intuition  of  the  probable  action  of  his  fel- 
low-warrior, Jionaparte.  "  Russia's  going  to  war  in  the  way 
I  am  sure  she  will,  will  cause  the  loss  of  Naples  and  Sardinia; 
for  that  Court  will  not  send  100,000  men  into  Italy,  and  less 
are  useless  for  any  grand  purpose."  "  Your  Excellency's 
summary  account  of  the  situation  of  Naples  since  the  negoti- 
ations with  Kussia,"  he  wrote  to  Elliot  in  October,  "are  per- 
fectly clear;  but  the  times  are  such  that  kingdoms  must  not 
be  played  with.  So  far  from  Russia  assisting  Naples,  it  may 
involve  her,  without  the  greatest  care  and  circumspection,  in 
total  ruin.  Naples  must  not  be  liastily  involved  in  war  with 
France.  Sicily  must  be  saved.  The  Calabrians  must  be  kept 
from  the  entrance  of  French  troops.  If  we  are  consulted,  we 
must  assist  Naples  in  keeping  off  the  blow  as  long  as  pos- 
sible." That  Napoleon's  action  would  have  been  as  here  sur- 
mised, had  his  purposes  then  tended  towards  the  Mediterranean 
instead  of  the  English  Channel,  we  have  his  own  assertion. 
"  At  the  solicitation  of  your  ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg," 
wrote  he  to  the  Queen  of  Naples,  three  montlis  later,  referring 
to  the  same  subject,  "  ten  thousand  Russians  have  been  sent 
to  Corfu.  .  .  .  If  it  had  entered  into  my  plans  to  make  war 
upon  the  King  of  Naples,  I  should  have  done  it  on  the  en- 
trance of  the  first  Russian  in  Corfu,  but  I  wish  for  peace  with 
Naples,  with  Europe  entire,  with  England  even."  Napoleon's 
wishes  for  peace,  except  on  the  condition  of  having  his  own 
way,  are  scarcely  to  be  taken  seriously ;  but  his  care  to  keep 
things  quiet  in  the  South  corroborates  the  other  indications  of 


NELSON  LKAVKS  MADALKNA 


liis  firm  purpose  to  iiiviulo  Eiij^'land.  lie  was  too  ustuto  to 
jirooipittito  troubles  elsewliere  while  that  was  pending.  The 
appearance  of  the  Ilussiaus  in  Corl'u,  although  unwise  in 
Nelson's  view,  relieved  his  tears  lor  the  ishimls  and  the 
Morca,  and  enabled  hini  to  reduce  a  little  his  detaiOinient 
about  the  heel  of  Italy. 

Towards  the  middle  of  J)eceinbcr  Nelson  had  retu'ived  in- 
formation, which  was  substantially  correct,  "  from  various 
l)laces,  and  anu)ngst  others,  from  tin;  King  of  Sardinia  [then 
in  Gaeta],  that  the  French  were  assend>ling  troops  near 
Toulon,  and  had  taken  some  of  the  best  troops  and  a  corps 
of  cavalry  from  the  lliviera  of  Cienoa.  Kvery  seaman  was 
jjressed  and  sent  to  Toulon.  On  the  10th  the  Active  spoke 
a  vessel  from  Marseilles,  who  reported  that  .seven  thousand 
troops  had  embarked  on  board  the  French  Heet." 

It  was  in  Madalena  Roads  that  the  long-ex  pointed  summons 
came  at  last.  In  the  afternoon  of  January  19,  LSOa,  blowing 
a  heavy  gale  of  wind  from  the  northwest,  the  two  lookout 
frigates  from  off  Toidon  came  in  sight,  with  the  signal  Hying 
that  the  French  fleet  was  at  sea.  At  .'3  i*.  m.  they  ancdiored 
near  the  "  Victory."  Three  hours  later  Nelson  had  left 
Madalena  forever. 


!' 


!M 


Mi 


CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Escape  and  Pursuit  of  the  Toulon  Fleet.  —  Nelson's  Return 

TO  England. 

January-August,  1805.    Aok,  46. 


'C'i, 


TO  understand  rightly  the  movements  of  Nelson  during  the 
first  months  of  1805,  up  to  his  return  to  England  in 
August,  and  to  appreciate  fully  the  influence  of  this  closing 
period  of  his  career  upon  the  plans  and  fortunes  of  Napoleon, 
it  is  necessary  to  state  briefly  the  projects  of  the  latter,  as 
formulated  in  his  correspondence. 

The  great  object  of  the  Emperor  was  to  invade  England, 
crossing  the  Channel  with  the  army,  150,000  strong,  which 
for  two  years  past  he  had  been  assembling  and  drilling  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Boulogne.  To  this  end  all  his  plans 
were  subsidiary  —  to  it  all  movements  at  this  moment  were 
intended  to  corduce.  He  had  no  illusions  as  to  the  difticulties 
of  the  enterprise ;  he  recognized  fully  thai  the  odds  were 
against  success,  but  he  had  too  often  achieved  the  apparently 
impossible  to  permit  the  word  to  stop  him  in  an  attempt, 
which,  if  accomplished,  would  cause  all  other  obstacles  to 
disappear  from  his  path  of  conquest.  There  were  chances 
in  his  favor.  Warily  and  steadfastly  he  advanced,  step  by 
step,  determined  to  take  no  risk  that  could  by  the  utmost 
care  be  changed  into  security,  but  equally  resolved  to  dare 
the  hazard,  if  by  the  military  movements  set  in  action  by 
his  unsurpassed  genius,  he  could  for  a  moment  obtain  the 
particular  combination  which  would,  to  use  his  own  phrase, 
make  him  master  of  the  world.  What  if  the  soldiers  of  the 
Grand  Army  never  returned  from  England  ?  There  were 
still  in  France  men  enough,  as  good  as  they  were  before  his 
energizing  spirit  wrought  them  into  the  force  which  in  its 
might  trod  the  Continent  under  foot.  Like  Nelson  dying  at 
Trafalgar,  it  too  would  have  laid  down  its  life,  leaving  its 


I 


NAPOLEON'S  I'LANS,   1805 


t};J3 


work  finished.     Neither  luau  uor  army  could  have  a  prouder 
lueiuoriul. 

The  particular  combination  upon  which  Napoleon  was  will- 
ing to  stake  everything  was  a  naval  control  of  the  Straits  of 
Dover  for  a  very  few  days,  coincident  with  the  presence  there 
of  an  army  ready  and  equipped  to  cross  at  once.  The  latter 
condition  was  merely  a  question  of  preparation  —  long,  tedious, 
and  expensive,  but  i)eifectly  feasible.  In  the  early  months 
of  1805  it  was  realized.  The  army,  a  substantial,  absolute 
fact,  was  there,  awaiting  only  the  throwing  of  the  bridge. 
The  naval  part  of  the  problem  was  far  more  diflicult.  In  the 
face  of  the  naval  supremacy  of  Great  Britain,  the  sought-for 
control  could  only  be  casual  and  transient  —  a  fleeting  oppor- 
tunity to  be  seized,  utilized,  and  so  to  disappear.  Its  realiza- 
tion must  be  ett'ected  by  stratagem,  by  successful  deception 
and  evasion.  The  coveted  superiority  would  be  not  actual, 
but  local,  —  the  French  fleet  in  force  there,  the  British  fleet, 
though  the  greater  in  force,  elsewhere;  the  weight  of  the 
former  concentrated  at  one  point  by  simultaneous  movements 
of  its  different  detachments,  which  movements  had  been  so 
calculated  and  directed  that  they  had  misled  the  British  divi- 
sions, and,  of  themsei"es,  diverted  them  from  the  decisive 
centre.  Subsidiary  to  this  main  effort,  Napoleon  also  con- 
templated a  simultaneous  landing  of  some  twenty  tliousand 
men  in  Ireland,  which,  like  the  naval  movements,  would  dis- 
tract and  tend  to  divide  the  unity  of  the  British  resistance. 
The  British  admirals  considered  tliis  project  to  be  easier  than 
the  invasion  of  Great  Britain,  and  it  engaged  their  much  more 
serious  attention. 

There  were  three  principal  French  detachments  to  be 
united,  —  in  Brest  twenty  ships,  in  Toulon  ten.,  in  Ilochefort 
Ave.  To  these  the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  Spain  added  the  forces  of  the  latter  kingdom,  in  Ferrol 
and  Cadiz,  aggregating  fifteen  serviceable  ships  ;  but  this  was 
not  until  March,  1805.  Of  the  three  French  contingents,  the 
one  from  Ilochefort  was  small ;  and,  as  a  factor,  although 
important,  it  was  not  essential.  Its  failure  might  weaken  or 
impede  the  progress  of  the  general  movement,  wit)'3ut  en- 
tirely destroying  it ;  but  it  was  of  necessity  that  the  Toulon 
and  Brest  divisions  both  should  fulfil   their  missions,  accu- 


i:'  I 


61  j 


J- 


I  « 


634 


THE   LIFl-:   OF   NELSON 


lately  and  oii  time,  if  the  great  combination,  of  which  they 
were  parts,  was  to  advance  to  a  triumphant  conclusion.  This 
emphasized  to  the  IJritish  the  importance,  which  Nelson 
always  so  keenly  felt,  of  meeting  the  enemy  immediately  after 
they  left  port.  Once  away,  and  their  destination  in  doubt, 
tlic  chances  in  favor  of  any  scheme  were  multiplied.  In  their 
greatest  and  final  effort,  Cornwallis,  off  Brest,  was  fortunate, 
in  that  the  plans  of  the  Emperor  first,  and  afterwards  unusual 
weather  conditions,  retained  the  French  fleet  there  in  harbor ; 
a  result  to  which  the  material  efficiency  of  his  own  ships,  and 
their  nearness  to  their  base,  much  contributed. 

Upon  Nelson,  with  his  crazy  ships,  on  the  other  hand, 
fell  the  burden  of  counteracting  a  successful  evasion  of  the 
Toulon  fleet,  of  foiling,  by  sagacious  and  untiring  pursuit 
through  immense  and  protracted  discouragements,  the  efforts 
of  the  one  division  which  had  been  committed  to  his  watch. 
Although  it  became  much  superior  to  his  cwn  force,  he  drove 
it  out  of  the  position  in  the  West  Indies  first  appointed  for 
the  meeting,  followed  it  back  to  Europe,  arrived  before  it, 
and  then,  finding  it  had  gone  to  Ferrol,  carried  his  squadron, 
without  orders,  counselled  simply  by  his  own  genius,  to  the 
aid  of  Cornwallis ;  by  which  act  the  British  navy,  to  the  num- 
ber of  thirty-five  ships-of-the-line,  was  massed  in  a  central 
position,  separating  the  two  enemy's  bodies,  and  able  to  act 
decisively  against  a  foe  approaching  from  either  direction. 
Thus  a  second  time  he  prevented  the  enemy  from  forming  a 
junction,  unless  they  fought  for  it — an  alternative  Napoleon 
wished  to  avoid.  To  him  fell  all  the  strain  of  uncertainty,  all 
the  doubtful  and  complicated  mental  effort,  all  the  active 
strategic  movement,  of  the  campaign,  and  to  him  consequently 
has  been  attributed  justly  the  greater  meed  of  glory  ;  though 
care  must  be  tak(!n  not  to  ignore  or  undervalue  the  well-played 
parts  of  otlier  admirals,  which  were  essential  to  the  success  of 
the  great  defensive  campaign  comprehended  undor  the  name 
Trafalgar. 

The  point  selected  by  the  Emperor  for  the  meeting  of  his 
naval  divisions,  in  both  the  unsuccessful  attempts  made  in 
1805,  was  the  West  Indies.  There  was  the  most  powerful 
foreign  arsenal,  Afartinique,  left  iu  the  hands  of  France,  and 
there  the  greatest  single  interest  of  the  widespread  commerce 


.1  '  I 


HIS  PART  IN  THE  NAVAL  CAMPAIGN 


035 


upon  which  depended  the  life  of  Great  Britain.  The  latter, 
therefore,  was  speeially  sensitive  to  anything  threatening  the 
safety  of  the  West  India  Islands.  "1  should  think  the  West 
Indies  the  more  likely  plaoe  for  the  French  to  succeed  in," 
wrote  Nelson  to  IJall,  on  the  Cth  of  September,  1804.  "  Sup- 
pose the  Toulon  fleet  escapes,  and  gets  out  of  the  Straits,  1 
rather  think  I  should  bend  my  course  to  the  westward ;  for  if 
they  carry  7,000  men  —  with  what  they  have  at  Mart'nico 
and  Cruadaloupe  —  St.  Lucia,  Grenada,  St.  Vincent,  Antigua, 
and  St.  Kitts  would  fall,  and,  in  that  case,  England  would  be 
so  clamorous  for  peace  that  we  should  Inunble  ourselves." 
This  is  a  noteworthy  passage,  for  it  shows  great  sagacity  of 
prediction,  and,  in  announcing  beforehand  his  resolve,  —  of 
which  tliis  is  not  the  solo  previous  mention,  —  it  dispels 
entirely  the  idea  that  he  was  decoyed  to  the  West  Indies.  It 
explains,  also,  the  remarkable  outburst  of  gratitude  that 
hailed  him  on  his  return  from  a  chase  which  had  been  wholly 
unsuccessful  as  regards  his  own  chief  object  —  the  annihila- 
tion of  the  French  fleet.  He  had  failed  to  find  it,  but  he  had 
driven  the  enemy  out  of  the  West  Indies  before  they  could 
do  any  serious  injury  to  the  vital  interests  of  the  country. 
A  man  cannot  be  said  to  be  decoyed,  because,  in  i)ursuance  of 
a  judgment  deliberately  formed  beforehand,  ho  does  the  thing 
which  the  moment  demands  ;  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  he 
has  thereby  uncovered  greater  interests.  This  Nelson  did  not 
do.  lie  saved  the  West  Indies,  and  returned  in  time  to  pro- 
tect Great  Ih-itain  and  Ireland  from  invasion. 

It  is  through  the  perplexities  of  this  momentous  period  that 
we  have  now  to  follow  him,  and  wo  shall  do  so  to  most  advan- 
tage by  taking  as  our  clue  his  own  avowed  primary  motive  of 
action,  the  finding  and  destroying  of  the  French  fleet.  A 
man  dealing  v/ith  Napoleon  was  bound  to  meet  perplexities 
innumerable,  to  thread  a  winding  and  devious  track,  brandl- 
ing out  often  into  false  trails  that  led  nowhere,  and  confused 
by  cross-lights  which  glittered  only  to  mislead.  In  such  a 
case,  as  in  the  doubtful  paths  of  common  life,  the  only  sure 
guide  to  a  man's  feet  is  ))riiioiple ;  and  Nelson's  principle 
was  the  destruction  of  the  French  fleeh.  No  other  interest, 
his  own  least  of  all,  could  divert  him  from  it.  For  it  he  was 
willing  not  only  to  sacrilice  fortune,  but  to  risk  renown;  and 


I 


!  /: 


'k 


.  [ 


f 


1 


,7 


i'i 


(KW 


THE   LIFK   OF  NKLSON 


no,  iiiiiid  troubles  inanifuld,  ho  walked  stcadfustly  in  the  liglit 
of  the  siiif^le  eye. 

While  Napuleou's  object  remained  the  same  throughout,  his 
methods  received  various  modifications,  as  a/1  plans  must  do 
when  circumstances  ciiange.  In  his  originiJ  intention  the 
execution  ol'  the  main  effort  was  intrusted  to  Latouche  Tre- 
villo,  by  far  and  away  the  best  admiral  he  had.  Upon  his 
death,  the  Toulon  fleet  was  committed  to  Villeneuve.  Its  sail- 
ing was  to  take  place  as  nearly  as  possible  at  the  same  time  as 
that  of  the  Itochelort  division.  They  were  to  go  to  the  West 
Indies,  proceed  at  once,  independently,  to  offensive  operations, 
then  to  unite  and  return  together  to  Roche  ort.  Napoleon's 
(calculation  was  that  the  JJritish,  impressed  by  this  simul- 
taneous departure,  and  uncertain  about  the  enemy's  purpose, 
must  send  at  once  thirty  sliips-of-the-line  in  pursuit,  in  order  to 
secure  all  the  different  quarters  they  would  think  endangered. 
This  diversion,  if  realized,  would  facilitate  the  operations  of  the 
lirest  fleet,  whi(!h  was  to  land  an  army  corps  in  Ireland,  and 
thiMi  to  cover  the  crossing  of  the  main  body  at  JJoulogne  into 
England;  the  precise  character  of  its  movements  depending 
necessarily  upon  conditions  of  wind  at  the  moment  of 
execution. 

The  Kochefort  shii)S  sailed  on  the  11th  of  January.  For  a 
week  before  atid  a  week  after  that  date  the  winds  at  Toulon 
liung  between  northeast  and  southeast,  favorable,  therefore, 
for  a  voyage  to  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar ;  but  Villeneuve 
argued,  judiciously,  that  a  fleet  intent  on  evasion  only,  and  to 
avoid  fighting,  sliould  move  with  great  speed  until  lost  to 
siglit  —  that  is,  should  start  with  a  very  fresh  breeze,  the 
direction  of  which  was  of  secondary  moment.  This  view  of 
the  matter  escaped  Nelson's  attention,  and  therefore  con- 
tributed seriously  to  mislead  him  in  his  reasoning  as  to  the 
enemy's  ])robable  object. 

On  the  17th  of  January  the  wind  at  Toulon  shifted  to 
north-northwest,  with  signs  of  an  approaching  gale,  such  as 
the  Gulf  of  Lyons  is  noted  for.  The  next  morning  Ville- 
n(!uve  sent  a  division  to  drive  away  Nelson's  lookouts.  This 
duty  was  imperfectly  performed.  It  should  have  been  done 
by  a  frigate  scjuadron  strong  enougli  to  force  them  out  of 
F.\[^\it  ■A  the  luain  body,  and  having  orders  to  rejoin  tho  latter 


he  light 

luut,  his 
aust  do 
;ion  the 
:he  Tre- 
pon  his 
Its  sail- 
time  as 
lie  West 
Drations, 
ipoleon's 
s  simul- 
purpose, 
order  to 
[angered, 
ins  of  the 
and,  and 
igno  into 
epending 
iment    o£ 

r.  For  a 
t  Toulon 
herefore, 
illeneuve 
y,  and  to 
lost  to 
eeze,  the 
3  view  of 
"ore  con- 
as  to  the 

lifted  to 
,  such  as 
ng  Ville- 
ts.  This 
)eeii  done 
n  out  ol' 
tlio  latter 


I 


SAILING  OP  THE  FIIKNCII  FLKKT 


(m 


at  a  distant  rendezvous.  As  it  was,  the  liritisli  frigates  did  not 
lose  touch  of  the  hostile  fleet,  which  sailed  that  evening. 
They  dogged  it  late  into  the  niglit,  going  at  times  thirteen 
knots  before  the  blast  of  the  storm,  in  order  to  keep  clear  of 
the  enemy ;  and  at  two  in  the  morning  of  January  iDth,  being 
then  in  the  latitude  of  Ajaccio,  satisfied  that  the  French  were 
steering  steadily  south-southwest,  and  under  a  press  of  sail, 
which  indicated  a  mission  of  importance,  they  pai  "^od  eomr.»ny 
and  hastened  to  Nelson,  whom  they  joined  twelve  hours  later, 
as  already  stated. 

Nelson  needed  no  time  to  deli'jerate.  Ilis  mind  was  long 
before  fixed  to  follow,  and  there  was  but  one  way  to  do  so. 
The  enemy's  course,  as  reported,  led  to  the  soutiiern  end  of 
Sardinia,  after  reaching  which  the  wind  was  fair  lor  Na^jles, 
Sicily,  and  the  East.  The  liritish  ships  wore  moored  —  two 
anchors  down.  At  hi'ilf-past  four  they  wore  under  way,  stand- 
ing in  single  column  for  the  narrow  passage  Ixjtwoon  lUche 
and  Sardinia,  the  ''  Victory  "  leading,  eacili  vessel  steering  by 
the  stern  lights  of  the  one  ahead  of  her.  At  seven  i*.  m.  all 
'vere  elerr,  and  the  fleet  hauled  up  along  the  east  (ioast  of 
Sardinia,  which  made  a  lee  for  them.  "At  midnight,"  Nelson 
notes  in  his  journal,  "  moderate  breezes  and  clear."  During 
the  same  hours  the  untrained  squadron  of  Villeneuvo  was 
losing  topmasts  in  the  fury  of  the  gale. 

The  following  afternoon,*  as  the  liritish  drew  out  from  un- 
der the  lee  of  Sardinia,  they  found  the  wind  blowing  a  hard 
gale  from  south-southwest,  which  lasted  all  that  night.  The 
fleet  could  make  no  way  against  it,  but  neither  could  the 
French  utilize  it,  unless,  which  was  unlikely,  they  had  got 
much  farther  to  the  southward  than  Nelson  had.  When  he 
left  Madalena,  he  had  sent  a  frigate  ahead,  with  orders  to 
round  Sardinia  by  the  south  and  try  to  get  sight  or  word  of 
the  enemy.  On  the  m.orning  of  the  22(1  she  rejoined,  tlio 
fleet  having  then  drifted  to  fifty  miles  oast  of  ('ajjo  (larbonani, 
the  southeastern  point  of  Sardinia.  At  11  a.  m.  her  captain 
informed  Nelson  that  the  afternoon  before  he  had  seen  a  French 
frigate  standing  into  the  Gulf  of  Cagliari,  but,  the  woatli  r 

'  At  noon,  Jiumary  20,  "  Mount  Santo  born  X.  \V.,  distant  six  l('a;,'U('H."  — 
"  \'ictor!i\i"  Log.  Cape  Monte  Santo  is  sixty  miles  north  of  the  Hontlicin 
extremity  of  Sardinia. 


;   i 


h 


rr  iS' 


'       ^»  iP 


I 


638 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


being  tl.ick,  giving  an  horizon  of  only  three  miles,  nothing 
more  had  been  discovered.  The  admiral  had  sent  word  of  the 
French  sailing  to  Acton  at  Talermo,  and  through  him  to 
Naples  and  M;i,lta,  liall  being  rc(![uested  to  seek  for  informa- 
tion in  every  practicable  direction.  Naples  was  for  the  mo- 
ment safe,  as  the  British  squadron  stood  across  any  possible 
road  by  which  the  French  could  approach  it. 

The  gale,  hauling  gradually  in  the  westward,  lasted  in  its 
force  until  the  morning  of  January  25th.  During  these  three 
days  Nelson  received  no  news,  but  he  did  much  thinking  and 
had  made  up  his  mind.  The  French  might  be  intending  to 
land  in  Cagliari,  to  windward  of  which  they  had  been  during 
these  four  days  that  he  had  been  to  leeward.  With  Cagliari, 
therefore,  he  must  communicate;  the  Viceroy  of  Sardinia 
would  know  if  any  landing  had  been  attempted  or  threatened. 
If  Sardinia  was  safe,  he  would  next  go  or  send  to  Palermo  for 
news,  and  thence  push  for  the  Faro  of  Messina,  where  ho 
would  cover  both  that  important  fortress  and  the  ajjproaches 
to  Naples  from  either  side  of  Sicily.  "  You  will  believe  my 
anxiety,"  he  wrote  to  Acton  in  Palermo,  on  the  2oth.  "I 
have  neither  ate,  drank,  or  slept  with  any  comftn-t  since  last 
Sunday  "  (the  20th).  "  I  am  naturally  very  anxious,"  he  tells 
liall,  "  therefore  you  must  forgive  my  short  letter.  "VVo  have 
a  dead  foul  wiiul  and  heavy  sea.  I  cannot,  for  want  of  frig- 
ates, send  off  this  Jotter.''  The  lack  of  sumll  cruisers,  so  often 
lamented  in  quieter  days,  now  embarrassed  him  cruelly.  The 
few  he  had  were  dispersed  in  all  directions  in  search  of  news, 
and  to  communicate  with  Acton  he  had  to  detach  one  of  his 
fastest  ships-of-the-line,  the  "  Leviathan,"  intending  himself 
to  follow  her  with  the  heet  to  Palermo.  At  the  latter  point 
he  could  obtain  all  the  intelligence  of  the  common  eneniy 
which  might  have  reached  any  Sicilian  ])ort,  before  he  carried 
out  his  already  foruicd  purpose  of  chasing  to  leev/artl,  to  the 
Morea  and  Egypt.  With  firm  grip,  though  in  agony  of  mind, 
he  held  himself  in  hand,  determined,  burning  as  he  was  to 
pursue  somewhere,  not  to  yield  ^he  advantage  of  the  wind 
till  he  had  reached  a  reasonable  cevtnriiy  —  as  in  17()<S  —  that 
the  circumstances  justified  it.  **  T  :•  ;})e,"  he  says  co  Acton, 
"  that  the  governor  of  Augusta '  will  not  give  up  the  post  to 

^  On  tlic  oast  coaut  of  Sicily. 


rEHILEXITIKS  AND  ANXIETY 


ftM 


lotliing 
,  of  tho 
111  in  to 
iforina- 
ihe  ino- 
)ossil)le 

I  in  its 
36  throe 
ing  and 
ding  to 
1  during 
:!agliari, 
Sardinia 
eatened. 
31-nio  for 
.'here  ho 
preaches 
ieve  my 
5th.     "  I 
since  last 
'  he  tells 
We  have 
of  frig- 
so  often 


^y- 


The 


of  news, 
lie  of  his 
himself 
;er  point 
enemy 
e  carried 
■d,  to  tlic 
of  mind, 
was  to 
the  wind 
)8  —  that 
Acton, 
,e  post  to 


CO 


the  French  fleet ;  but  if  he  docs,  I  shall  go  in  and  attack  them ; 
for  I  consider  the  destruction  of  the  enemy's  fleet  of  so  n.uch 
consequence,  that  I  would  gladly  have  half  of  mine  burnt  to 
effect  their  destruction.     I  am  in  a  fever.     God  send  1  Miay 
find  them  !  "     Throughout  the  long  chase  which  followed,  all, 
so  to  say,   slept  on  their  arms.     On  tlie  11th   of  March    he 
wrote :  '*  Ever  since  January  21st  we  have  been  i)reparod  for 
battle:  not  a  bulkhead*  up  in  the  fleet.     Night  or  day,  it  is 
my  determination  not  to  lose  one  moment  in  attacking  them." 
On    the    2Gth    Nelson    communicated   witli   Cagliari,   and 
learned  that  no  landing  had  been  attempted  in  Sardinia.     The 
same  day  the  frigate  "rhoebe"  rejoined,  with  information 
that  a  French  eighty-gun  ship  had  ancliored  in  Ajaccio  on  the 
evening  of  the  19th,  dismasted  and  crippled.     Putting  these 
facts  together,  and  in  connection  with  his  own  movements,  he 
inferred  conclusively  that  either  the  French  had  gone  back  to 
Toulon  in  consequence  of  injuries,  or  that  they  had  given  him 
the  slip,  had  got  round  Sicily,  and  proceeded  to  the  eastward. 
The  latter  was  improbable,  because  the  westerly  gales,  as  he 
had  noted,   could    scarcely   have  allowed  them  to   weather 
Maritimo ;  ^  it  was  not,  however,   impossible.     A   return   to 
Toulon  was,  antecedently,  equally  improbable,   althoii'/!.     t 
proved  to  be  the   alternative  adopted  by  Villeneuve.     '>  Al- 
though I  knew  one  of  the  French  ships  was  crij)plcd,  yet  I 
considered  the  character  of  Bonaparte ;  and  that  the  orders 
given  by  him,  on  the  banks  of  tlie  Seine,  would  not  take  into 
consideration  winds  or  weather;  nor  indeed  could  the  acci- 
dent of  three  or  four  ships  alter,  in  my  opinion,^  a  destination 
of  importance :  therefore  such  an  accident  did  not  weigh  in 
my  mind  and  I  went  first  to  tlie  IMorca  and  then  to  Egy^it." 
This   quotation   is  especially  interesting,   as   it   proves   how 
closely  Nelson  scanned  every  known  element  in  a  problem, 
even  to  the  temperament  of  liis  opjwnent ;  and  it  also  shows 
the    substantial    agreement    in   judgment   between   liim   and 
Napoleon.     The  latter,  Thiers  writes,  **  was  sensibly  disi)leas»'d 

^  Bulkheads  are  the  liglit  itartitioiis  \vhi(!h  divide  caliiir-v  '>rtit'»-s  ''tc.  from 
the  rest  of  the  decks.  For  biittki  tlu'y  are  ronioveil  to  ulluw  tii'er  cornmiiii- 
cation,  and  to  lessen  the  ri.vk  of  fire  ami  splintcus, 

2  An  island  twenty  miles  west  of  Sicily. 

8  Author's  itulies. 


!li 


\  M 


040 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


a**/. 


,! 


on  hearing  of  this  resultless  sortie.  *  What  is  to  be  done,'  he 
said,  *  with  admirals  who  allow  their  spirits  to  sink,  and  de- 
termine to  hasten  home  at  the  first  damage  they  receive  ?  All 
the  captains  ought  to  have  had  sealed  orders  to  meet  off  the 
Canary  Islands.  The  damages  should  have  been  repaired  e/t 
route.  A  few  topmasts  carried  away,  some  casualties  in  a  gale 
of  wind,  were  every-day  occurrences.  But  the  great  evil  of  our 
Navy  is,  that  the  men  who  command  it  are  unused  to  all  the 
risks  of  command.' " 

Still  without  definite  tidings,  compelled  to  act  upon  his  own 
inferences  —  for  merely  doing  nothing  was  action  under  such 
circumstances  —  Nelson  reasoned  that,  if  the  French  had 
returned,  he  could  not  overtake  them,  and  if  they  had  gone 
east,  he  had  no  time  to  lose  before  following.  He  fell  back 
therefore  from  his  windward  position  to  the  Straits  of  Messina, 
through  which  the  whole  squadron  beat  on  the  31st  of  Jan- 
uary—  "a  thing  unprecedented  in  nautical  history,''  he  wrote 
to  the  Admiralty,  "  but  although  the  danger  from  the  rapidity 
of  the  current  was  great,  yet  so  was  the  object  of  my  pursuit; 
and  I  relied  with  confidence  ou  the  zeal  and  ability  of  the  fleet 
under  my  command."  The  same  day,  knowing  now  that 
Sicily  and  Naples  were  not  threatened,  he  despatched  six 
cruisers  for  intelligence,  "  in  all  directions  from  Tunis  to 
Toulon  ;  "  three  of  them  being  frigates,  which  were  to  rendez- 
vous off  the  latter  port  and  resume  the  watch  of  the  French,  il' 
found  tliere.  A  seventh  vessel  was  sent  ahead  of  the  squadron 
to  Koron,  off  which  he  appeared  on  the  2d  of  February,  and, 
still  gelitii '^  no  news,  went  on  to  Alexandria,  where  he  com- 
municat.ed  with  the  British  consul  on  the  7th.  "I  beg  the 
boat  may  not  be  detained,  nor  must  any  communication  bo 
had  with  the  officer,  so  as  to  put  the  ship  in  quarantine.  The 
officer  is  ordered  not  to  wait  mere  than  thirty  minutes ;  for 
you  will  readily  believe  my  anxiety  to  find  out  the  enemy's 
fleet  '  No  news  was  to  be  had  ;  but  it  was  ascertained  tliut 
Egypt  was  practically  defenceless  against  any  renewed 
attempts  of  the  French. 

Nelson  at  once  started  back  to  the  westward.  On  the  lOtli 
of  February,  twelve  days  after  leaving  Alexandria,  he  was  oil" 
Malta,  and  there  for  the  first  time  received  inl'ormation  tluit, 
the  enemy  had  returned  to  Toulon  in  a  very  crippled  state. 


¥■     ^1 


DECIDES  TO   CHASE  TO  EGYPT 


641 


It  was  now  necessary  to  regain  his  station  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, and  also  to  resume  the  operation  of  vietualiing  the 
S(i[uadron,  which  had  been  interrupted  at  Afudalena  by  the 
news  of  the  enemy's  sailing.  The  captain  left  tliere  in  charge 
of  the  transports  had  taken  them  for  safety  to  Malta,  in  pur- 
suance of  tlic  orders  left  with  him,  and  they  would  have  to  be 
convoyed  again  to  the  Gulf  of  Palmas,  which  was  appointed 
for  their  joining.  The  incident  shows  at  once  the  forehanded- 
ness  of  Nelson,  in  that  he  was  able  immediately  to  go  on  S'j 
long  a  chase,  and  also  the  difficulties  attcndimt  ujjon  the 
administration  of  the  Heet.  Against  the  prevailing  winds  the 
convoy  did  not  reach  Palmas  until  the  14th  oi  ^[arch.  The 
fleet  had  preceded  it  there  by  a  week.  Alter  a  tedious  beat, 
in  which  eight  days  were  consumed  to  make  the  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  to  windward,  Nelson  anchored  on  the  27th  of 
February  in  Tula  Roads,  Gulf  of  Cagliari,  just  to  hold  on. 
"What  weather!"  wrote  he  to  Bickerton,  when  the  anchor 
dropped.  "  Did  you  ever  see  such  in  almost  any  country?  It 
has  forced  me  to  anchor  here,  in  order  to  prevent  being  drove 
to  leeward,  but  I  shall  go  to  sea  the  moment  it  moderates." 
Palmas  is  only  forty  miles  to  windward  of  Pida,  but  it  was 
not  till  the  8th  of  March,  after  three  or  four  ineffectual  efforts, 
that  the  squadron  got  there.  "From  the  19th  of  February  to 
this  day,"  wrote  Nelson  to  Ball,  "  have  we  beeii  beating,  and 
only  now  going  to  anchor  here  as  it  blows  a  gale  of  wind  at 
northwest.  It  has  been  without  exception,  the  very  worst 
weather  I  have  ever  seen."  Bad  as  it  was,  it  was  but  a 
sample  of  that  he  was  to  meet  a  month  later,  in  the  most 
wearing  episode  of  his  anxious  life. 

Besides  the  weary  struggle  with  foul  winds  and  weather, 
other  great  disappointments  and  vexations  met  Nelson  at  Pal- 
mas. During  his  absence  to  the  eastward,  one  despatch  vessel 
had  been  wrecked  off  Cadiz  and  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards,  another  had  been  intercepted  by  the  battered 
French  fleet  as  it  approached  Toulon,  and  a  convoy,  home- 
ward-bound from  IVIalta,  had  been  waylaid,  the  two  small 
ships  of  war  which  formed  the  escort  had  been  taken,  and  the 
merchant  ships  dispers«Ml.  This  last  misfortune  he  ascribed 
unhesitatingly  to  the  division  of  the  command.  "  It  would  not 
have  happened,  could  I  have  ordered  the  officer  off  Cadiz  to 

41 


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THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


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seiul  ships  to  protect  them."  The  incident  was  not  without 
its  compensations  to  one  who  valued  honor  above  loss,  for  his 
two  petty  cruisers  had  honored  themselves  and  hiiu  by  such  a 
desperate  resistance,  before  surrendering  to  superior  force,  that 
the  convoy  had  time  to  scatter,  and  most  of  it  escaped.  There 
was  reason  to  fear  that  the  despatch  vessel  taken  off  Toulon 
had  mistaken  the  French  fleet  for  the  liritish,  which  it  had 
expected  to  find  outside,  and  that  her  coniinander  might  have 
had  to  haul  down  his  flag  before  getting  o])portunity  to  throw 
the  mail-bags  overboard.  In  that  case,  both  public  and  private 
letters  had  gone  into  the  enemy's  possession.  "  I  do  assure 
you,  my  dearest  Emma,"  he  wrote  Lady  Hamilton,  "that 
nothiuL,'  can  be  more  miserable,  or  unhappy,  than  your  poor 
Nelson."  Besides  the  failure  to  find  the  French,  "You  will 
conceive  my  disappointment !  It  is  now  ^  from  November  2nd 
that  I  have  had  a  line  from  England." 

A  characteristic  letter  was  elicited  from  Nelson  by  the  loss 
of  the  despatch-vessel  off"  Cadiz,  the  brig  "  Raven,"  whose 
commander,  Captain  Layman,  had  gained  his  cordial  profes- 
sional esteem  in  the  Copenhagen  expedition,  in  connection 
with  which  he  has  already  been  mentioned.  As  usual  in  the 
case  of  a  wreck,  a  court-martial  was  held.  This  censured  the 
ca{)tain,  much  to  Nelson's  vexation;  the  more  so  because,  at 
his  request,  Layman  had  not  produced  before  the  court  certain 
orders  for  the  night  given  by  him,  the  proved  neglect  of  which 
would  have  brought  a  very  heavy  punishment  upon  the  officer  of 
the  watch.  In  weighing  the  admiral's  words,  therefore,  allow- 
ance may  be  made  for  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility  for  the 
finding  of  the  court;  but  the  letter,  which  was  addressed  to 
the  First  Lord,  contains  expressions  that  are  most  worthy  of 
attention,  not  only  because  illustrative  of  Nelson's  temperament 
and  mode  of  thought,  but  also  for  a  point  of  view  too  rarely 
taken  in  the  modern  practice,  which  has  grown  up  in  peace. 

My  dkar  Loud,  —  CJive  me  leave  to  recommend  Captain  Layman 
to  your  kind  protection ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  Court  Martial  lias 
thought  him  deserving  of  censure  for  his  running  in  with  the  land, 
yet,  my  Lord,  allow  me  to  say,  that  Captain  Layman'.s  misfortune 
■was,  perhaps,  conceiving  other  people's  abilities  were  equal  to  his 
own,  which,  indeed,  very  few  people's  are. 

1  March  9th. 


VINDICATION'S  OF   MIS   COUKSE 


(Vl:t 


I  own  iny^'lf  one  of  tliose  wlio  do  not  ft'iir  \]\v  .shore,  for  hardly  ;iny 
great  things  are  dnnr  in  a  small  ship  by  a  man  that  is;  thcrt't'oro,  I 
make  very  great  allowances  for  him.  Indeed,  his  station  was  intended 
never  to  be  from  the  shore  in  the  straits:  an<l  if  he  did  not  every  <lay 
risk  his  sloop,  he  would  Im  useless  upon  that  ^latitni.  Captain  Lay-' 
man  has  served  with  tne  in  three  ships, and  I  11  ac(piaint«>d  with 

his  bravery,  zeal,  judgment,  and  netivity  ;  nor  ilo  I  rt't/rel  the  toss  qf  the 
Riwen  compared  to  the  ralitc  of  Cii/itain  f.a/ftnttn's  strrices,  which  are 
a  national  los.i.^ 

You  must,  my  dear  Lord,  forgive  the  warmth  which  I  express  for 
Captain  Layman  ;  but  he  is  in  adversity,  and,  therefore,  has  the  more 
claim  to  my  attention  ami  regard.  If  I  had  been  censured  every  time 
I  have  run  my  ship,  or  fleets  under  my  command,  into  great  danger, 
I  should  long  ago  have  been  out  of  the  Service,  and  never  in  the 
House  of  Peers. 

1  am,  my  dear  Lord,  most  faithfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

NkLSON    and    liltONTE. 

It  is  something  to  meet  with  the  clear  recognition  that  a 
man  may  he  of  more  vahie  than  a  ship.  As  Chuendon  said, 
it  is  not  all  of  an  otticur's  duty  to  bring  his  ship  safe  home 
again. 

On  the  voyage  back  from  Alexandria  he  had  busied  himself 
with  vindications  of  his  course  in  going  tlierc,  manifesting 
ai^ain  that  over-sensitiveness  to  the  judgmonL  of  others,  which 
contrasts  so  singularly  with  his  high  resolve  and  self-dei)en- 
dence  when  assuming  the  greatest  responsibilities.  To  Ball, 
to  tlie  Admiralty,  and  to  the  First  Lord  privately,  he  sent 
explanations  of  his  action,  accompanied  by  a  summary  of  his 
reasons.  As  the  latter  have  been  given,  one  by  one,  as  each 
step  was  taken,  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  say  more  than  that, 
in  the  author's  judgment,  each  successive  movement  was  made 
upon  good  grounds,  and  rightly  timed.  This  is  true,  altliougli 
Nelson  was  entirely  misled  as  to  Bonaparte's  object.  The 
ruse  of  the  latter,  as  put  into  effect  by  Villeneuve,  not  only 
deceived  the  British  admiral,  but,  in  its  issue,  confounded  the 
French.  The  critical  moment  of  decision,  for  the  whole  fruit- 
less campaign,  was  when  Nelson  determined  to  go  first  off 
l\ressina,  tlien  to  the  ^forea,  and  finally  to  Egypt  upon  the 
inference  that  by  this  time  one  of  three  things  must  have  ha|> 
pened.     Either  (1)  he  must  have  met  the  French  fleet,  person- 

1  Author's  italics. 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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644 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


ally  or  by  his  lookouts,  or  (2)  it  had  returned  to  Toulon,  or 
(3)  it  had  gone  on  to  Egypt.  The  first  being  eliminated,  the 
choice  he  made  between  the  others,  wide  as  was  the  flight  for 
which  it  called,  was  perfectly  accurate.  It  is  difficult  to  know 
which  most  to  admire,  —  the  sagacity  which  divined  the  actual, 
though  not  the  intended,  movements  of  the  enemy,  the  fiery 
eagerness  which  gave  assurance  of  a  fierce  and  decisive  battle, 
or  the  great  self-restraint  which,  in  all  his  fever  of  impatience, 
withheld  him  from  precipitating  action  before  every  means  of 
information  was  exhausted.  There  will  be  occasion  to  note 
again  the  same  traits  in  the  yet  sharper  trial  he  was  soon  to 
undergo. 

His  conclusion  upon  the  whole  matter,  therefore,  though 
erroneous  as  to  the  fact,  may  be  accepted  as  entirely  justified 
by  all  the  indications ;  and  it  must  be  added  that,  with  the 
dispositions  he  took,  nothing  could  have  saved  the  French  fleet 
but  its  prompt  retreat  to  Toulon.  "  Had  they  not  been  crip- 
pled," he  wrote  Davison,  "nothing  could  have  hindered  our 
meeting  them  on  January  21st,  off  the  south  end  of  Sardinia." 
"I  have  not  the  smallest  doubt,"  he  concluded  his  letter  to  the 
Admiralty,  "but  that  the  destination  of  the  French  armament 
which  left  the  coast  of  France  on  the  18th  of  January,  was 
Alexandria ;  and,  under  all  the  circumstances  which  I  have 
stated,  I  trust  their  Lordships  will  approve  my  having  gone  to 
Egypt  in  search  of  the  French  fleet."  There  was,  howev^er, 
no  occasion  for  him  to  be  forward  in  suggesting  the  sacrifice 
of  himself,  as  he  did  to  Melville.  "At  this  moment  of  sorrow 
I  still  feel  that  I  have  acted  right.  The  result  of  my  inquiries 
at  Coron  and  Alexandria  confirm  me  in  my  former  opinion ; 
and  therefore,  my  Lord,  if  my  obstinacy  or  ignorance  is  so 
gross,  T  should  be  the  first  to  recommend  your  superseding  me." 
It  may  be  noted  here  that  Nelson  never  realized  —  he  did  not 
live  long  enough  to  realize  —  how  thoroughly  Bonaparte  had 
learned  from  Egypt  his  lesson  as  to  the  control  of  the  sea  by 
sea-power,  and  what  it  meant  to  a  maritime  expedition  which 
left  it  out  of  the  account.  To  the  end  of  his  reign,  and  in  the 
height  of  his  sway,  he  made  no  serious  attempt  to  occupy  Sar- 
dinia or  even  Sicily,  narrow  as  was  the  water  separating  the 
latter  from  Naples,  become  practically  a  French  state,  over 
which  his  brother  and  brother-in-law  reigned  for  six  years. 


VILLENEUVE   STARTS  AGAIN 


645 


Nelson  to  the  last  made  light  of  the  difficulties  of  which 
Bonaparte  had  had  bitter  exf  jrieuce.  "  France,"  he  wrote  to 
the  Secretary  for  War,  "  will  have  both  Sardinia  and  Sicily 
very  soon,  if  we  do  not  prevent  it,  and  Egypt  besides."  "  We 
know,"  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Ball,  "  there  would  be  no  difficulty 
for  single  polaccas  to  sail  from  the  shores  of  Italy  with  300  or 
400  men  in  each,  (single  ships ;)  and  tliat,  in  the  northerly 
winds,  they  would  have  a  fair  chance  of  not  being  seen,  and 
even  if  seen,  not  to  be  overtaken  by  the  Russian  ships.  Thus, 
20,000  men  would  be  fixed  again  in  Egypt,  with  the  whole 
people  in  their  favour.     Who  would  turn  them  out  ?  " 

Nelson  left  the  Gulf  of  Palmas  as  soon  as  the  wind  served, 
which  was  on  the  9th  of  March.  It  was  necessary  to  revictual ; 
but,  as  the  time  of  the  storeships'  arrival  was  uncertain,  he 
thought  best  to  make  a  round  off  Toulon  and  Barcelona,  to 
renew  the  impression  of  the  French  that  his  fleet  was  to  the 
westward.  This  intention  he  carried  out,  "  showing  myself," 
to  use  his  own  words,  "off  Barcelona  and  the  coast  of  Spain, 
and  the  islands  of  Majorca  and  Minorca,  until  the  21st  of 
March."  "I  shall,  if  possible,"  he  wrote  to  a  captain  on 
detached  service,  "make  my  appearance  off  Barcelona,  in  oi'der 
to  induce  the  enemy  to  believe  that  I  am  fixed  upon  the  coast 
of  Spain,  when  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  they  will  put  to 
sea,  as  I  am  told  the  troops  are  still  embarked.  From  Barce- 
lona I  shall  proceed  direct  to  Rendezvous  98."  ^  Accordingly, 
on  the  26th  of  March  he  anchored  at  Palmas,  and  began  at  once 
to  clear  the  transports.  "By  the  report  of  the  Fleet  Captain, 
I  trust  [it  will  be  evident  that]  it  could  not  with  propriety  be 
longer  deferred."  Still  satisfied  that  the  French  were  bound 
to  Egypt,  he  would  here  be  close  to  their  necessary  route,  and 
with  a  look-out  ship  thirty  miles  to  the  westward  felt  assured 
they  would  not  escape  him.  Four  days  after  he  anchored, 
Villeneuve  started  on  his  second  venture,  and  thinking,  as 
Nelson  had  plotted,  that  the  British  fleet  was  off  Cape  San 
Sebastian,  he  again  shaped  his  course  to  pass  east  of  the 
Balearics,  between  them  and  Sardinia.  The  news  of  his  sail- 
ing reached  Nelson  five  days  later,  ou  April  4th,  at  10  a.m. 
He  had  left  Palmas  the  morning  before,  and  was  then  twenty 
miles  west  of  it,  beating  against  a  head  wind.     The  weary 

1  Aitj^iareutly  Gulf  of  Viiln>as. 


ivi  I 


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646 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


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work  of  doubt,  inference,  and  speculation  was  about  to  begin 
once  more,  and  to  be  protracted  for  over  three  months. 

In  the  present  gigantic  combination  of  Napoleon,  the  Brest 
squadron,  as  well  as  those  of  Kochefort  and  Toulon,  was  to  go 
to  the  West  Indies,  whence  the  three  should  return  in  mass  to 
the  English  Channel,  to  the  number  of  thirty-five  French 
ships-of-the-line.  To  these  it  was  hoped  to  add  a  number  of 
Spanish  ships,  from  Cartagena  and  Cadiz.  If  the  movements 
were  successful,  this  great  force  would  overpower,  or  hold  in 
check,  the  British  Chainiel  Fleet,  and  secure  control  of  the 
Straits  of  Dover  long  enough  for  the  army  to  cross.  It  is  with 
the  Toulon  squadron  that  we  are  immediately  concerned,  as 
it  alone  for  the  present  touches  the  fortunes  of  Nelson. 
Villeneuve's  orders  Avere  to  make  the  best  of  his  way  to  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar,  evading  the  British  fleet,  but  calling  off 
Cartagena,  to  pick  up  any  Spanish  ships  there  that  might  be 
perfectly  ready  to  join  him.  He  was  not,  however,  to  delay 
for  them  on  any  account,  out  to  push  on  at  once  to  Cadiz. 
This  port  he  was  not  to  enter,  but  to  anchor  outside,  and  there 
be  joined  by  the  "  Aigle,"  the  ship  that  had  so  long  worried 
Nelson,  and  also  by  six  or  eight  Spanish  ships  believed  to  be 
ready.  As  soon  as  these  came  out,  he  was  to  sail  with  all 
speed  for  Martinique,  and  there  wait  forty  days  for  the  Brest 
squadron,  if  the  latter,  whose  admiral  was  to  be  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  allied  fleets,  did  not  appear  sooner.  Villeneuve 
had  other  contingent  instructions,  which  became  inoperative 
through  the  persistent  pursuit  of  Nelson. 

The  French  fleet  sailed  during  the  night  of  March  30,  with 
a  light  northeast  wind,  and  steered  a  course  approaching  due 
south,  in  accordance  with  Villeneuve's  plan  of  going  east  of 
Minorca.  The  British  lookout  frigates,  "  Active  "  and  "  Phoebe," 
saw  it  at  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  kept  company 
with  its  slow  progress  till  eight  r.  m.,  when,  being  then  sixty 
miles  south  by  west,  true,  from  Toulon,  the  "Phoebe"  was 
sent  off  to  Nelson.  During  the  day  the  wind  shifted  for  a 
time  to  the  northwest.  The  French  then  hauled  up  to  south- 
west, and  were  heading  so  when  darkness  concealed  them  from 
the  British  frigates,  which  were  not  near  enough  for  night  ob- 
servations. After  the  "Phoebe's"  departure,  the  "Active" 
continued  to  steer  as  the  enem^  had  been  doing  when  last 


STRATEGIC   DECISIONS 


Ml 


seen,  but  at  daybreak  they  were  no  longer  ia  sight.  Just 
what  Villeneuve  did  that  night  does  not  appear;  but  no  vessel 
of  Nelson's  knew  anything  more  about  him  till  April  18th, 
when  information  was  received  from  a  chance  passer  that  he 
had  been  seen  on  the  7th  off  Cape  de  Gata,  on  the  coast  of 
Spain,  with  a  fresh  easterly  wind  steering  to  the  westward. 

Villeneuve  doubtless  had  used  the  night's  breeze,  wliich 
was  fresh,  to  fetch  a  long  circuit,  throw  off  tlie  "  Active,"  and 
resume  his  course  to  the  southward.  It  was  not  till  next  day, 
April  1st,  that  he  spoke  a  neutral,  which  had  seen  Nelson  near 
Palmas.  Undeceived  thus  as  to  the  British  being  off  Cape 
San  Sebastian,  and  the  wind  having  then  come  again  easterly, 
the  French  admiral  kept  away  at  once  to  the  westward,  passed 
north  of  the  Balearic  Islands,  and  on  the  Gth  appeared  off 
Cartagena.  The  Spanish  ships  there  refusing  to  join  him,  ho 
pressed  on,  went  by  Gibraltar  on  the  8tli,  and  on  the  9th  an- 
chored off  Cadiz,  whence  he  drove  away  Orde's  squadron. 
The  "  Aigle,"  with  six  Spanish  ships,  joined  at  once,  and  that 
night  the  combined  force,  eighteen  ships-of-the-line,  sailed 
for  Martinique,  where  it  arrived  on  the  14th  of  ]\Iay.  By 
Villeneuve's  instructions  it  was  to  remain  in  the  West  Indies 
till  the  23d  of  Juno. 

When  the  captain  of  the  "  Active  "  found  he  had  lost  sight 
of  the  French,  he  kept  away  for  Nelson's  rendezvous,  and 
joined  him  at  2  p.  m  of  April  4th,  five  or  six  hours  after  the 
"Phoebe."  Prepossessed  with  the  opinion  that  Naples,  Sicily, 
or  Egypt  was  the  enemy's  aim,  an  opinion  which  the  frigate's 
news  tended  to  confirm,  Nelson  at  once  took  the  fleet  midway 
between  Sardinia  and  the  Barbary  coast,  spreading  lookouts 
on  either  side.  Thus,  without  yielding  ground  to  leeward,  he 
covered  all  avenues  leading  to  the  eastward.  He  summed  up 
his  purpose  in  words  which  showed  an  entire  grasp  of  the 
essentials  of  his  perplexing  situation.  "  I  shall  neither  go  to 
the  eastward  of  Sicily,  or  to  the  westward  of  Sardinia,  until 
I  know  something  positive."  Amid  the  diverse  objects  de- 
manding his  care,  this  choice  of  the  strategic  position  was 
perfectly  correct;  but  as  day  followed  day  without  tidings, 
the  distress  of  uncertainty,  and  the  strain  of  adhering  to  his 
resolve  not  to  move  without  information  to  guide  him,  be- 
came almost  unbearable  — a  condition  not  hard  to  be  realized 


Pi 

111 

11  (111 


H 


r48 


THE   LIFE   OF  NELSON 


m 


by  those  who  have  known,  in  suspense,  the  overpowering  im- 
pulse to  do  something,  little  matter  what.  It  is  an  interest- 
ing illustration  of  the  administrative  difficulties  of  the  fleet, 
that  three  supply-ships  joined  him  on  the  Sth  of  April,  and 
their  stores  were  transferred  at  sea  while  momentarily  ex- 
pecting the  enemy's  appearance ;  one  at  least  being  com- 
pletely discharged  by  the  night  of  the  Cth 

On  this  date.  Nelson,  having  waited  forty-eight  hours  to 
windward  of  Sicily,  decided  to  fall  back  on  Palermo  ;  reckon- 
ing that  if  any  attempt  had  been  made  upon  Naples  or  Sicily, 
he  should  there  hear  of  it.  The  lookouts  which  were  scattered 
in  all  directions  were  ordered  to  join  him  there,  and  a  frigate 
was  sent  to  Naples.  On  the  9th  and  10th  he  was  off  Palermo, 
and,  though  he  got  no  word  of  the  French,  received  two  pieces 
of  news  from  Avhich  his  quick  perceptions  jumped  to  the  con- 
clusion that  he  had  been  deceived,  a;;d  that  the  enemy  had 
gone  west.  "April  10,  7  a.m.  Haiiowell  is  just  arrived 
from  Palermo.  He  brings  accounts  that  the  great  Expedition 
is  sailed,'  and  that  seven  Russian  sail-of-the-line  are  expected 
in  the  Mediterranean;  therefore  I  may  suppose  the  French 
fleet  are  bound  to  the  westward.  I  must  do  my  best,  God 
bless  you.  I  am  very,  very  miserable,  but  ever,  ujy  dear 
Ball,"  etc. 

A  week  more  was  to  elapse  before  this  dreadfully  harassing 
surmise  was  converted  into  a  certainty.  On  the  9th  he  started 
back  from  Palernio,  intending  to  go  towards  Toulon,  to  make 
sure  that  the  French  had  not  returned  again.  Meeting  a  con- 
stant strong  head  wind,  he  was  nine  days  getting  again  to  the 
south  of  Sardinia,  a  distance  of  less  than  two  hundred  miles. 
There,  on  the  18th,  the  vessel  was  spoken  which  informed 
him  that  she  had  seen  the  French  off  Cape  de  Gata,  three 
hundred  miles  to  the  \»'estward,  ten  days  before.  "If  this  ac- 
count is  true,"  he  wrote  to  Elliot,  "  much  mischief  may  be 
apprehended.  It  kills  me,  the  very  thought."  Yet,  now  that 
the  call  for  decision  sounds,  he  knows  no  faltering,  nor  does 
he,  as  in  hours  of  reaction,  fret  himself  about  the  opinions  of 
others.  "  I  am  going  out  of  the  Mediterranean,"  he  says  in 
farewell.  "  It  may  be  thought  that  I  have  protected  too  well 
Sardini-^ ,  Naples,  Sicily,  the  Morea,  and  Egypt ;  but  I  feel  J 


Fi'oiu  Engl.aiKl, 


I  ! 


STRATEGIC  REASONINGS 


649 


have  done  right,  and  am,  tlierefore,  easy  about  any  fate  which 
may  await  me  for  having  missed  the  French  fleet." 

The  following  day  a  vessel  joined  from  Gibraltar,  with 
certain  information  that  the  enemy  liad  passed  the  Straits. 
Nelson  had  no  need  to  ponder  the  next  step.  His  resolve  had 
been  taken  long  before  to  follow  to  the  Antipodes.  He  com- 
forted himself,  mistakenly,  that  his  watclifulness  was  the 
cause  that  the  French  had  abandoned  the  attempt  against 
Egypt  in  force.  "  Under  the  severe  affliction  which  I  feel  at 
the  escape  of  the  French  fleet  out  of  the  Mediten-anean,"  he 
wrote  the  Admiralty,  "  I  hope  that  their  Lordships  will  not 
impute  it  to  any  want  of  due  attention  on  my  part ;  but,  on 
the  contraiy,  that  by  my  vigilance  tlie  enemy  found  it  was  im- 
possible to  undertake  any  expedition  in  tlie  ^Eediterranean." 
Mindful,  also,  that  Bonaparte's  great  attempt  of  1798  had 
depended  upon  the  absence  of  the  British  fleet,  he  left  a 
squadron  of  five  frigates  to  cruise  together  to  tlie  windward 
of  Sicily,  lest  the  French  even  now  might  try  to  send  trans- 
ports with  troops  to  the  eastward,  under  the  protection  of 
small  armed  vessels. 

The  number  of  letters  written  on  the  18th  and  19th  of  April 
show  how  thoroughly  his  mind  was  prepared  for  contingencies. 
Despatched  in  all  directions,  they  outline  liis  own  intended 
coui'se,  for  the  information  of  tliose  who  might  have  to  co- 
operate, as  well  as  that  which  he  wished  to  be  pursued  by  the 
officers  under  his  orders.  They  are  issued  neat  and  complete, 
at  one  cast,  and  no  other  follows  for  a  week.  He  surmises, 
from  the  fact  of  the  Spanish  ships  accompanying  the  move- 
ment, that  it  is  directed,  not  against  the  West  Indies,  but  for 
either  Ireland  or  Brest ;  not  a  bad  "guess,"  which  is  all  he 
would  have  claimed  for  it,  for  the  West  Indies  were  actually 
only  a  rallying-point  on  the  roundabout  road  to  the  Channel 
prescribed  by  Napoleon.  "  Therefore,"  he  wrote  to  the  Ad- 
miralty, "  if  I  receive  no  intelligence  to  do  away  my  present 
belief,  I  shall  proceed  from  Cape  St.  Vincent,  and  take  my 
position  fifty  leagues  west  from  Scilly,  approaching  that  island 
slowly,  that  I  may  not  miss  any  vessels  sent  in  search  of  the 
scpiadron  with  orders.  My  reason  for  this  position  is,  that  it 
is  equally  easy  to  get  to  either  the  fleet  oif  Brest,  or  to  go  to 
Ireland,  should  the  fleet  be  wanted  at  either  station."     The 


'!i 


[I     « 


(i50 


THK   hlVK   OF   NKLSOM 


;i/ 


n 


suitableness  of  this  position  to  any  emergency  arising  about 
the  British  Islands  can  be  realized  at  a  glance,  bearing  in 
mind  that  westerly  winds  prevail  there.  A  copy  of  the  letter 
was  sent  to  Ireland,  and  another  to  the  commander  of  the 
Channel  fleet  off  Brest.  **  I  have  the  pleasure  to  say,"  he 
concludes,  ''that  I  shall  bring  with  me  eleven  as  fine  ships  of 
war,  as  ably  commanded,  and  in  as  perfect  order,  and  in  health, 
as  ever  went  to  sea." 

It  will  be  interesting  to  support  even  Nelson's  opinion  oi 
his  own  squadron  b}^  that  of  an  unbiassed  and  competent  wit- 
ness. Sir  Edward  Codrington  was  associated  with  it,  still 
nearly  entire,  some  three  months  later,  after  the  return  from 
the  West  Indies;  the  "Orion,"  which  he  commanded,  being 
one  of  a  detachment  of  eighteen  ships-of-the-line  sent  off  from 
Brest  by  Admiral  Cornwallis.  "Lord  Nelson's  squadron 
(of  which  we  have  now  eight  with  us)  seems  to  be  in  very 
high  order  indeed ;  and  although  their  ships  do  not  look  go 
handsome  as  objects,  they  look  so  very  warlike  and  show 
such  high  condition,  that  when  once  I  can  think  Orion  fit  to 
mancBuvre  with  them,  I  shall  probably  paint  her  in  the  same 
manner."  There  was,  it  Avould  seem,  a  Nelson  pattern  for 
painting  ships,  as  well  as  a  "  Nelson  touch  "  in  Orders  for 
Battle.  "  I  have  been  employed  this  week  past,"  Avrote  C141- 
tain  Duff  of  the  "  Mars,"  "to  paint  the  ship  a  la  Nelson,  whieli 
most  of  the  fleet  are  doing."  This,  according  to  the  admiral's 
biographers,  Avas  with  two  yellow  streaks,  but  the  portholes 
black,  which  gave  the  sides  an  appearance  of  being  chequered. 

The  frigate  "Amazon,"  sent  ahead  with  the  letters,  was 
ordered  to  go  on  to  Lisbon,  get  all  the  news  she  could,  and 
i-ejoin  at  Cape  St.  Vincent.  She  passed  Gibraltar  on  the 
29th,  and,  getting  decisive  information  just  outside  the  Straits, 
held  on  there.  It  was  not;  till  the  6th  that  Nelson  reached 
Gibraltar,  where  he  anchored  for  only  four  hours.  This  gain 
of  a  week  by  a  frigate,  in  traversing  ground  for  which  the 
fleet  took  seventeen  days,  may  well  be  borne  in  mind  by  those 
unfamiliar  with  the  delays  attending  concerted  movements, 
that  have  to  be  timed  with  reference  to  the  slowest  units 
taking  part  in  the  combination. 

The  days  of  chase,  over  which  we  have  hurried  in  a  few 
lines,  passed  for  Nelson  not  only  wearily,  but  in  agony  of 


THE  UNCKUTAINTIKS  OF  PURSUIT 


(i51 


ing  about 
leaving  in 
the  letter 
[er  of  the 


•  say, 


he 


le  ships  of 
in  health, 

opinion  of 
petent  wit- 
th  it,  still 
eturn  from 
ided,  being 
lit  off  from 
3   squadron 
,  be  in  very 
not  look  £0 
!  and  show 
Orion  fit  to 
in  the  same 

pattern  for 
,  Orders  for 

wrote  Cap- 
^ehon,  which 
he  admiral's 
lie  portholes 

chequered. 

letters,  was 
|e  could,  and 

Jtar   on   the 
the  Straits, 

son  reached 
This  gain 

,r  which  the 

|ind  by  those 
movements, 

llowest  units 

led  in  a   few 
lin  agony  oi 


soul.  Justified  as  his  action  was  to  his  own  mind,  and  as  it 
must  be  by  the  dispassionate  review  of  military  criticism,  he 
could  not  but  be  tormented  by  the  thought  of  what  might 
have  been,  and  by  his  temper,  wliich  lacked  equanimity  and 
fretted  uncontrollably  to  get  alongside  the  enemy  —  to  do  the 
duty  and  to  reap  the  gU)ry  that  lie  rightly  conceived  to  be 
his  own.  "I  am  entirely  adrift,"  he  complained,  "by  my 
frigates  losing  sight  of  the  French  fleet  so  soon  after  their 
coming  out  of  port."  His  purpose  never  faltered,  nor  did  the 
light  that  led  him  grow  dim.  His  action  left  nothing  to  be 
desired,  but  the  chafing  of  his  spirit  approached  fury.  Lord 
Radstock,  writing  from  London  to  his  son,  says  :  "  I  met  a 
person  yesterday,  who  told  me  that  lie  had  seen  a  letter  from 
Lord  Nelson,  concluding  in  these  words  :  '  O  French  fleet, 
French  fleet,  if  I  can  but  once  get  up  with  you,  I  '11  make  you 
pay  dearly  for  all  tliat  you  have  made  me  suft'er ! '  Another 
told  me  that  he  had  seen  a  letter  from  an  officer  on  board  the 
Victory,  describing  his  chief  '  as  almost  raving  with  anger 
and  vexation.'  This,"  continues  Radstock,  who  knew  him 
very  well,  "  I  can  readily  credit,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  I 
much  fear  that  he  will  either  undertake  some  desperate  meas- 
ure to  retrieve  his  ground,  or,  should  not  such  an  opportunity 
offer,  that  he  will  never  suffer  us  to  behold  him  more." 

Being  in  London,  the  writer  just  quoted  was  in  close  touch 
with  the  popular  feeling  of  anxiety,  a  suspicion  of  which  he 
could  well  imagine  Nelson  also  had,  and  which  added  to  his 
burden.  "It  is  believed  here,"  he  says  on  the  21st  of  May, 
"that  the  combined  fleet  from  Cadiz  is  bound  to  the  West 
Indies.  This  is  by  no  means  improbable.  .  .  .  The  City 
people  are  crying  out  against  Sir  J.  O.,^  and,  as  usual,  are 
equally  absurd  and  unjust.  Some  are  so  ridiculous  as  to  say 
that  he  ought  to  have  captured  some  of  the  Toulon  squadron, 
whilst  others,  more  moderate,  think  that  he  might  at  all 
events,  have  so  crippled  the  enemy  as  to  have  checked  the 
expedition.^     You  may  readily  guess  that  your  chief  is  not 

^  Sir  John  Orde. 

^  Onle's  squadron  never  exceeded  six  ships-of-the-liiie,  while  Villeueuve's 
numbered  eleven  without  tho  S|ianiurds.  It  will  he  seen  further  on  that 
Nelson  blamed  Orde  for  not  keeping  traek  of  the  enemy's  movements,  and 
sending  word  to  liim  at  Gibraltar,  and  elsewhere,  of  the  direction  taken.     As 


ii 


i  n 


i ' 


';;;  !1 


662 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


out  of  our  thoughts  fit  tliis  critical  moment.  Should  Trovi- 
deuce  once  more  favour  liim,  lie  will  be  considered  our  guar- 
dian angel;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  should  he  unfortunately 
take  a  wrong  scent,  and  the  Toulon  fleet  attain  their  object, 
the  hero  of  the  14th  of  I'ebruary  and  of  Aboukir  will  be  — 
I  will  not  say  what,  but  the  ingratitude  of  the  world  is  but 
too  well  known  on  these  occasions." 

A  week  before,  on  the  13th  of  May,  the  same  oflRcer  had 
written  ;  "  Where  are  you  all  this  time  ?  ^  for  that  is  a  point 
justly  agitating  the  whole  country  more  than  I  can  describe. 
I  fear  that  your  gallant  and  worthy  chief  will  have  much 
injustice  done  him  on  this  occasion,  for  the  cry  is  stirring 
up  fast  against  him,  and  the  loss  of  Jamaica  would  at  once 
sink  all  his  past  services  into  oblivion.  All  I  know  for  certain 
is  that  we  ouglit  never  to  judge  rashly  on  these  occasions,  and 
never  merely  by  the  result.  Lord  Barham  ^  told  me  this  morn- 
ing that  the  Board  had  no  tidings  of  your  squadron.  This  is 
truly  melancholy,  for  certainly  no  man's  zeal  and  activity 
ever  surpassed  those  of  your  chief.  .  .  .  The  world  is  at  once 
anxious  for  news  and  dreading  its  arrival."  The  Admiralty 
itself,  perplexed  and  harassed  by  the  liazards  of  the  situation, 
were  dissatisfied  because  they  received  no  word  from  him, 
being  ignorant  of  the  weather  conditions  which  had  retarded 
even  his  frigates  so  far  beyond  the  time  of  Villeneuve's  arrival 
at  Cadiz.  Radstock,  whose  rank  enabled  him  to  see  much  of 
the  members  of  the  Board,  drew  shrewd  inferences  as  to  their 
feelings,  though  mistaken  as  to  Nelson's  action.  "  I  fear 
that  he  has  been  so  much  soured  by  the  appointment  of  Sir 
John  Orde,  that  he  has  had  the  imprudence  to  vent  his  spleen 
on  the  Admiralty  by  a  long,  and,  to  the  Board,  painful  silence. 
I  am  sure  that  they  are  out  of  humour  with  him,  and  I  have 

far  as  the  author's  information  goes,  he  agrees  with  tliis  censure.  To  fight 
eleven  ships  with  six  couhl  only  be  justified  by  extreme  circumstances ;  but 
to  lose  sight  of  them  in  spriiig  weather  infers  even  worse  judgment  than  figlit- 
ing  would.  It  was  of  the  first  importance  to  learn  the  destination  of  so  large 
a  body,  considering  that  the  interests  of  Great  Britain  were  threatened  in 
directions  so  diverse  as  the  Channel,  the  East  Indies,  and  the  West  Indies. 

^  Lord  Radstock's  son  had  been  transferred  before  this  from  the  "  Vic- 
tory "  to  the  "  Hydra  ;"  but  his  father  did  not  yet  know  the  fact,  and  suit- 
posed  him  with  Nelson. 

^  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  who  had  very  lately  succeeded  Melville. 


DISTRESS  AND   UNCERTAINTIES 


653 


luy  doubts  whether  they  wouhl  risk  iiiuoh  for  him,  were  he 
to  meet  with  any  serious  luist'ortune." 

Through  such  ditticulties  in  front,  iiml  such  clamor  in  the 
rear,  Nelson  pursued  his  steadfast  way,  in  anguish  of  spirit, 
but  constant  still  in  mind.  *•  [  am  not  made  to  despair,"  he 
said  to  Melville,  ''  what  man  can  do  shall  be  done.  I  have 
marked  out  for  myself  a  decided  lino  of  conduct,  and  I  shall 
follow  it  well  up ;  although  I  have  now  before  mo  a  letter 
from  the  physician  of  the  fleet,  enforcing  my  return  to  Eng- 
land before  the  hot  months."  "  Broken-hearted  as  I  am,  at 
the  escape  of  the  Toulon  fleet,"  he  tells  the  governor  of 
Gibraltar,  "yet  it  cannot  prevent  my  thinking  of  all  the 
points  intrusted  to  my  care,  amongst  which  Gibraltar  stands 
prominent."  "  My  good  fortune  seems  flown  away,"  he  cries 
out  to  Ball.  *'  I  cannot  get  a  fair  wind,  or  even  a  side  wind. 
Dead  foul !  —  dead  foul !  But  my  mind  is  fully  made  up  what 
to  do  when  I  leave  the  Straits,  supposing  there  is  no  certain 
information  of  the  enemy's  destination.  I  believe  this  ill- 
luck  will  go  near  to  kill  me  ;  but  as  these  are  times  for  exer- 
tions, I  must  not  be  cast  down,  whatever  I  feel."  A  week 
later,  on  the  2Gth  of  April,  he  complains :  "  From  the  9th  I 
have  been  using  every  effort  to  get  down  the  Mediterranean, 
but  to  this  day  we  are  very  little  advanced.  From  INIarch 
26th,  we  have  had  nothing  like  a  Levanter,^  except  for  the 
French  fleet.  I  have  never -been  one  week  without  one, 
until  this  very  important  moment.  It  has  half  killed  me  ; 
but  fretting  is  of  no  use."  On  the  1st  of  May  he  wrote  to 
the  Admiralty,  "  I  have  as  yet  heard  nothing  of  the  enemy  ;  " 
beyond,  of  course,  the  fact  of  their  having  passed  the  Straits. 

On  the  4tli  of  May  the  squadron  was  off  Tetuan,  on  the 
African  coast,  a  little  east  of  Gibraltar,  and,  as  the  wind  was 
too  foul  for  progress,  Nelson,  ever  watchful  over  supplies, 
determined  to  stop  for  water  and  fresh  beef,  which  the  place 
afforded.  There  he  was  joined  by  the  frigate  "  Decade  "  from 
Gibraltar,  and  for  the  first  time,  apparently,  received  a  rumor 
that  the  allied  fleets  had  gone  to  the  "West  Indies.  He  com- 
plains, certainly  not  unreasonably,  and  apparently  not  un- 
justly, that  Sir  John  Orde,  who  had  seen  the  French  arrive 
off  Cadiz,  had  not  dogged  their  track  and  ascertained  their 

^  An  east  wind. 


1^ 


ii    - 


054 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


route  ;  a  feat  certainly  not  beyond  T'ritiah  scaiiiansliip  and 
daring,  under  the  inanagenient  of  a  dozen  men  that  eoukl  be 
naned  ott'-liand.  '•  1  believe  my  ill  luck  is  to  go  on  for  a 
longer  time,  and  I  now  much  fear  that  Sir  John  Orde  has  not 
sent  his  small  ships  to  wateh  the  enemy's  Heet,  and  ordered 
them  to  return  to  the  Straits  mouth,  to  give  me  information, 
that  I  might  know  how  to  direct  my  proceedings  :  for  I  can- 
not very  properly  run  to  the  West  Indies,  without  something 
beyond  mere  surmise  ;  and  if  I  defer  my  departure,  Jamaica 
may  be  lost.  Indeed,  as  they  have  a  month's  start  of  me,  F 
see  no  prospect  of  getting  out  time  enough  to  prevent  much 
mischief  from  being  done.  However,  I  shall  tfike  all  matters 
into  my  most  serious  consideration,  and  shall  do  that  which 
seemeth  best  under  all  circumstances."  "  I  am  like  to  have 
a  West  India  trip,"  he  wrote  to  Keats,  one  of  his  favorite 
captains ;  "but  that  I  don't  mind,  if  I  can  but  get  at  them," 

The  wind  hauling  somewhat  to  the  southward  on  the  5th, 
allowed  the  fleet  to  lay  a  course  for  Gibraltar.  The  operation 
of  getting  bullocks  was  stopped  at  once,  and  the  ships  weighed. 
In  this  brief  stay,  the  water  of  the  fleet  had  been  completed 
and  another  transport  cleared.  Next  day  Gibraltar  was 
reached.  The  wind,  westerly  still,  though  fair  for  this  stretch, 
remained  foul  for  beating  out  of  the  Straits  against  a  current 
which  ever  sets  to  the  eastward  ;  and  many  of  the  officers, 
presuming  on  a  continuance  of  the  weather  that  had  so  long 
baffled  them,  hurried  their  washing  ashore.  Nelson,  however, 
keenly  vigilant  and  with  long  experience,  saw  indications  of  a 
change.  *•  Off  went  a  gun  from  the  Victory,  and  up  went  the 
Blue  Peter,*  whilst  the  Admiral  paced  the  deck  in  a  hurry, 
with  anxious  steps,  and  impatient  of  a  moment's  delay.  The 
officers  said,  '  Here  is  one  of  Nelson's  mad  pranks.'  But  he 
was  right."  '^  The  wind  came  fair,  a  condition  with  which  the 
great  admiral  never  trifled.  Five  hours  after  the  anchors 
dropped  they  were  again  at  the  bows,  and  the  fleet  at  last 
standing  out  of  the  Mediterranean ;  the  transports  in  tow  of 
the  ships  of  war.  Nelson's  resolve  was  fast  forming  to  go  to 
the  West  Indies.  In  fact,  at  Tetiian,  a(;ting  upon  this  possi- 
bility, he  had  given  conditional  orders  to  Bickerton  to  remain 

1  The  signal  flag  for  a  vessel  about  to  sail. 

2  Life  of  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Scott,  p.  171. 


iV 


DIXIDKS   TH   CHASK   TO   TIIK    WKST   INDIKS 


()").'» 


« 


in  coiiiiiijiimI  of  tlm  ^It'(litorr;ui<'aii  squadron,  assigning  to  tliat 
sorvice  lialF  a  dozen  Irigatt's  and  double  tliat  number  of  sniallei- 
(cruisers,  ..  ni  li;id  transferied  to  liini  all  station  papers  neces- 
sary for  his  guidanep, — a  proiu[)tness  of  decision  wliitdi  sufli- 
ciently  shows  on<;  of  tho  chief  secrets  of  his  greatness.  '*  If  [ 
fail,"  said  he  to  Dr.  Scott,  '"  if  they  are  not  gone  to  tiie  West 
Indies,  [  shall  be  blunied :  to  l)o  burnt  in  ertigy  or  West- 
minster Abbey  is  my  alternative.**  Evidently  ho  w;is  not 
unmindful  of  tho  iieUlo  breath  of  popular  favor,  whose  fluc- 
tuations Kadstock  was  noting.  Dr.  Scott,  who  witnessi^d  his 
chief's  bearing  at  this  time,  always  considered  that  he  never 
exhibited  greater  magnanimity  than  in  this  resolutitju,  which 
.lurien  de  hi  Ciraviere  also  has  called  one  of  his  finest  in- 
spirations. 

Great,  indeed,  was  his  promptitude,  alike  in  decision  and  in 
act;  but  he  was  no  less  great  in  his  dela}s,  in  the  curb  he 
placed  on  his  natural  impetuosity.  "  (Jod  only  knows,  my 
dear  friend,"  he  wrote  at  this  moment  to  Davison,  '•what  [ 
have  suffered  by  not  getting  at  the  enemy's  fleet;  "  but,  in  all 
his  impatience,  he  would  not  start  on  that  long  voyage  until 
he  had  exhausted  every  possibility  of  further  enlightenment. 
"  Perseverance  and  patience,"  he  said,  "  may  do  much  ;  "  but 
he  did  not  separate  the  one  from  the  other,  in  deed  or  in  word. 
Circumspection  was  in  him  as  marked  a  trait  as  ardor.  "  I 
was  in  great  hopes,"  he  wrote  the  Admiralty,  "that  some  of 
Sir  John  Orde's  frigates  would  have  arrived  at  Gibraltar,  from 
watching  the  destination  of  the  enemy,  from  whom  I  should 
have  derived  information  of  the  route  the  enemy  had  taken, 
but  none  had  arrived."  Up  to  April  27th  nothing  had  been 
heard  of  them  at  Lisbon.  *'  I  am  now  pushing  off  Cape  St. 
Vincent,  and  hope  that  is  the  station  to  which  Sir  John  Orde 
may  have  directed  his  frigates  to  return  from  watching  tho 
route  of  the  enemy.  If  nothing  is  heard  there,  I  shall  prob- 
ably think  the  rumours  which  are  spread  are  true,  that  their 
destination  is  the  West  Indies,  and  in  that  case  think  it  my 
duty  to  follow  them."  "I  am  as  much  in  the  dark  as  ever," 
he  wrote  on  the  same  date,  INFay  7th,  to  Nepean,  one  of  the 
puisne  lords.  "  If  I  hear  nothing,  I  shall  proceed  to  the 
West  Indies." 

The  wind  continued  fair  for  nearly  forty-eight  hours,  when 


l! 


!  Ill : 


> 


I 


l( 


'^K   I 


im^t^^^i 


\l\ 


656 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


it  again  became  westerly ;  but  the  fleet  was  now  in  the 
Atlantic.  On  the  9th  of  May  the  '  Amazon  "  rejoined,  bring- 
ing a  letter  from  another  ship  of  war,  which  enclosed  a  report 
gathered  from  an  Ainericau  brig  that  had  left  Cadiz  on  the 
2d.  According  to  this,  while  there  were  in  Cadiz  diverse 
rumors  as  to  the  destination  of  the  allied  fleets,  the  one  most 
generally  accepted  was  that  they  Avere  bound  to  the  West 
Indies.  That  night  the  fleet  aiichored  in  Lagos  Bay,  to  the 
eastward  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  and  the  unending  work  of  dis- 
charging transports  was  again  resumed.  !Nelson,  shortly 
before  leaving  Gibraltar,  had  received  official  notification  that 
a  convoy  carrying  five  thousand  troops  was  on  its  way  to  the 
Mediterranean,  and  would  depend  upon  him  for  protection. 
He  felt  it  necessary  to  await  this  in  his  present  position,  and 
he  utilized  the  time  by  preparing  for  a  very  long  chase. 

At  Lagos,  Rear-Admiral  Campbell  of  the  Portuguese  Navy, 
Avho  had  served  with  the  British  in  the  Mediterranean  six 
years  before,  visited  the  "  Victory,"  and  certain  intelligence 
that  Villeneuve  was  gone  to  the  West  Indies  was  by  him 
given  to  Nelson.  The  latter  had  now  all  the  confirmation 
needed,  by  such  an  one  as  he,  to  decide  upon  his  line  of 
action.  "  My  lot  is  cast,  my  dear  Bal],  :.nd  I  am  going  to  the 
West  Indies,  where,  although  I  am  late,  yet  chance  may  have 
given  them  a  bad  passage,  and  me  a  good  one :  I  must  hope 
the  best."  "Disappointment  has  worn  me  to  a  skeleton," 
he  writes  to  his  late  junior  in  the  Mediterranean,  Campbell, 
"and  I  am  in  good  truth,  very,  very  far  from  well."  "If  I 
had  not  been  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  I  should  have 
been  at  this  moment  in  England,  but  my  health,  or  even  my 
life,  must  not  come  into  consideration  at  this  important  crisis ; 
for,  however  I  may  be  called  unfortunate,  it  never  shall  be 
said  that  I  have  been  neglectful  of  my  duty,  or  spared  myself." 
"It  will  not  be  supposed  I  am  on  a  party  of  pleasure,"  he 
wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty,  "running  after 
eighteen  sail  of  the  line  with  ten,  and  that  to  the  West  In- 
dies;" but,  he  summed  up  his  feelings  to  Davison,  "Salt 
beef  and  the  French  fleet,  is  far  preferable  to  roast  beef  and 
champagne  without  them." 

On  the  10th  of  May  only  was  his  purpose  finally  and  abso- 
lutely formed,  for  on  that  day  he  sent  a  sloop  to  Barbadoes, 


PASSAGE  TO  BAIIBADOES 


657 


his  intended  point  of  arrival,  iu  announce  his  coming  ;  request- 
ing that  an  embargo  might  be  laid  at  once  on  all  vessels  in 
port,  to  prevent  the  news  reaching  the  enemy  at  Martinique 
or  elsewhere.  In  the  morning  of  the  11th  the  fleet  weighed, 
and  at  4  p.  m.  the  expedition  from  England  arrived.  It  was 
accompanied  by  two  ships-of-the-line,  to  which  Nelson  joined 
a  third,  the  "  Royal  Sovereign,"  which  sailed  so  badly,  from 
the  state  of  her  bottom,  that  she  would  retard  a  movement 
already  too  long  delayed.  At  seven  that  evening  the  fleet  was 
under  full  sail  for  the  West  Indies. 

The  voyage  across  was  uneventful ;  the  ships,  as  customary 
for  this  passage,  stood  to  the  southward  and  westward  into  the 
trade  winds,  under  whose  .steady-impulse  they  advanced  at  a 
daily  average  speed  of  one  huiulred  and  thirty-five  miles,  or 
between  five  and  six  miles  an  hour.  This  rate,  however,  was 
a  mean  between  considerable  extremes,  —  a  rate  of  nine  miles 
being  at  times  attained.  The  slackest  winds,  which  brought 
down  the  average,  are  found  before  reaching  the  trades,  and 
Nelson  utilized  this  period  to  transmit  to  the  fleet  his  general 
plan  for  action,  in  case  he  found  the  allies  at  sea.  The  manner 
in  which  this  was  conveyed  to  the  individual  sliips  is  an 
interesting  incident.  The  speed  of  the  fleet  is  necessarily  that 
of  its  slowest  member ;  the  faster  ships,  therefore,  have  con- 
tinually a  reserve,  which  they  may  at  any  moment  bring  into 
play.  The  orders  being  prepared,  a  frigate  captain  was 
called  on  board  the  "  Victory  "  and  received  them.  Eeturn- 
ing  to  his  own  vessel,  he  made  all  sail  until  on  the  bow  ^  of 
one  of  ;he  ships-of-the-line.  Deadening  the  way  of  the  frigate, 
a  boat  vas  dropped  in  the  water  and  had  only  to  pull  along- 
side ...o  other  vescel  as  it  came  up.  The  frigate  remained 
slowed  until  passed,  and  the  boat,  having  delivered  its  letter, 
came  easily  alongside  again,  —  the  whole  operation  being  thus 
conducted  with  the  least  expenditure  of  time  and  exertion.^ 

There  was  in  the  fleet  one  ship  that  had  -been  steadily  in 
commission  since  1801,  and  was  now  in  very  shaky  condition. 
This  was  the  "Superb,"  seventy-four.  She  had  only  been 
kept  out  by  the  extreme  exertions  of  her  commander,  Keats, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  captains  of  the  day,  and  he  had 

1  Ahead,  but  a  little  to  one  side. 
*  Phillimore's  Last  of  Nelson's  Captains. 
42 


1  ■ 


^t"l 


I  n 


ess 


THE   LIFK   OF   NKl.SON 


entreated  that  ho  should  not  bo  sent  away  now,  whoii  tlio 
moment  of  battle  soomed  m-ar.  l>y  a  singular  irony  ol'  fate, 
this  zealous  insistenro  caused  him  to  miss  'rrai'algar,  at  whicjh 
the  "Koyal  Sovereign,"  that  partetl  at  Lagos,  was  preiivmt, 
repaired  and  recoppored,  —  a  now  ship.  K(!ats,  whoso  energy 
and  readiness  made  him  a  great  favorite  with  Nelson,  obtained 
permission  not  to  stop  when  other  ships  did,  but  always  to 
carry  a  press  of  sail;  and  he  lashed  his  studdingsail  b(»on»s  to 
the  yards,  as  the  constant  direction  of  the  trade-winds  allows 
them  to  be  carried  steadily.  Kotwithstanding  all  that  could 
be  done,  the  "  Superb  "  seems  to  have  set  the  ])ace,  and  slowcu- 
than  could  have  been  wished;  which  drew  from  Nelson's  cus- 
tomary kindly  thoughtfulnoss  a  few  lines  too  characteristic  to 
be  omitted. 

I\Iv  DKAU  Keats,  —  I  am  fearful  that  you  may  think  that  the 
Superb  does  uot  go  so  fast  as  I  could  wish.  Ilowc'vcr  tliat  may  he, 
(for  if  w«>  all  w«Mit  tou  knots,  T  sliouM  not  think  it  fast  enough.)  yet 
I  would  have  you  be  assiu'etl  that  I  know  and  iv.el  Uiat  the  Snperh 
does  all  whieli  is  possible  for  a  ship  to  acconiplish;  and  I  desin^  that 
you  will  not  fret  ujton  the  occasion.  .  .  .  Whatever  may  happen, 
believe  me  ever,  my  dear  Keats,  your  most  obliged  and  sincere  frieml, 

NkLSON    and    IJUONTE. 


A  week  seems  to  have  elapsed  before  he  coultl  get  a  suitable 
opportunity  for  sending  this,  and  he  then,  on  the  27th  of  May, 
added:  " Our  passage,  although  not  very  quick,  has  been  far 
from  a  bad  one  ; "  and  he  thought  that  tlu>y  would  gain  four- 
teen days  upon  the  allies.  The  actual  gain  was  ton,  the  latter 
being  thirty-foui*  da^'s  from  Cadiz  to  Martinicpie,  the  British 
twenty-four  to  l>arl)adoes.  The  enemy  were  therefore  three 
weeks  in  the  West  Indies  before  Nelson  arrived  ;  but  in  that 
time  they  neither  accomplished  nor  undertook  anything  but 
the  recapture  of  Diamond  Rock,  a  precipitous  islet  otf  the 
south  end  of  Mai'tinique,  which  the  British  had  held  for  some 
time,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  main  island. 

Reaching  Barbadoes  on  the  afternoon  of  June  4th,  Nelson 
found  that  the  day  before  information  had  boon  received  from 
General  Brereton,  commanding  the  troops  at  Santa  Lucia,  that 
the  allied  fleets  had  passed  there,  going  south,  during  tlio 
night  of  May  28-29.     The  intelligence  was  so  circumstantial 


MISLED   MY    FALSK   INFORMATION 


(!.•)» 


that  it  conipelled  respect,  coining  from  the  quarter  it  did. 
"Tlicro  is  not  a  doubt  in  any  of  tlic  Admirals'  or  (lenerals' 
minds,"  wrote  Nelson  to  the  Admiralty,  in  the  despatch 
announcing  his  arrival,  "but  that  Tobago  and  Trinidacla  are 
the  enemy's  objects."  Nelson  himsiilf  was  sceptical,  —  the 
improbability  seemed  grcjat  to  his  sound  military  perceptions; 
but,  confident  as  he  was  in  his  own  conclusions  in  dilemnuis, 
his  mind  was  too  sane  and  well  balanced  to  refuse  direct  and 
credible  evidence.  Summing  up  the  situation  with  lamenta- 
tions, six  weeks  later,  he  said  to  i  ♦avison  :  "  When  I  follow 
my  own  head,  I  am,  in  general,  n  uch  more  correct  in  my 
judgment,  than  following  the  opinion  of  others.  I  re- 
sisted the  opinion  of  General  Krereton's  information  till  it 
would  have  been  the  height  of  presumption  to  have  carried 
my  disbelief  further.  I  could  not,  in  the  face  of  generals 
and  admirals,  go  N.  W.,  when  it  was  ajrparenthj  clear  that 
the  enemy  had  gone  south."  His  purpose  had  been  not  to 
anchor,  but  to  pick  up  such  ships-of  the-line  as  he  found 
there,  —  two  seventy-fours,'  as  it  turned  out,  — and  to  proccfMl 
with  them  to  INIartinique,  which  he  naturally  assumed  to  be 
the  enemy's  headquarters.  As  it  was,  receiving  a  pressing 
request  from  the  commanding  general  at  Barbadoes  to  let  him 
accompany  the  fleet  Avith  two  thousand  troops,  he  anchored  in 
Carlisle  Bay  at  5  i*.  m.  At  half-past  nine  the  next  morning  he 
was  again  under  way  for  Trinidad.  Some  curious  misunder- 
standings maintained  this  mistaken  impression  as  to  the 
enemy's  actions,  until  communication  with  Trinidad  was  had 
on  the  evening  of  Juno  7th.  It  was  found  then  that  no  hostile 
force  had  appeared,  although  the  British  fleet  for  a  moment 
had  been  believed  to  be  such. 

Nelson  at  once  started  north  again.  A  report  reached  him 
that  a  second  squadron,  of  fourteen  French  and  Spanish  ships 
from  Ferrol,  had  arrived  at  Martinique.  He  said  frankly  that 
he  thought  this  very  doubtful,  but  added  proudly :  *'  Powerful 
as  their  force  may  be,  they  shall  not  with  impunity  make  any 
great  attacks.  Mine  is  compact,  theirs  must  be  unwieldy,  and 
although  a  very  pretty  fiddle,  I  don't  believe  that  either 
Gravina  or  Yilleneuve  know  how  to  play  upon  it."  On  the 
9th  he  for  the  first  time  got  accurate  information.  An  official 
»  The  "Noithuiiiberliuid"  ami  the  " Spartiate." 


'Q 


i  ■ 

iiii- 


i 


!^- 


:'^'i 


il  -i    f 


lM;;.r 


ril, 


iri! 


eeo 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


letter  from  Dominica  *  announced  that  eighteen  ships-of-the- 
line,  with  smaller  vessels,  had  passed  there  on  the  6th  of 
June.  But  for  the  false  tidings  which  on  the  4th  had  led 
liim,  first  to  pause,  and  then  to  take  a  wrong  direction,  Nelson 
argued,  and  not  unjustly,  that  he  would  have  overtaken  them 
at  this  point,  a  bare  hundred  miles  from  Barbadoes.  "But 
for  wrong  information,  I  should  have  fought  the  battle  on 
June  6th  where  Rodney  fought  his."  The  famous  victory  of 
the  latter  was  immediately  north  of  Dominica,  by  which  name 
it  is  known  in  French  naval  history.  "There  would  have 
been  no  occasion  for  opinions,"  wrote  Nelson  wrathfully,  as  he 
thought  of  his  long  anxieties,  and  the  narrow  margin  by  which 
he  failed,  "  had  not  General  Brereton  sent  his  damned  intelli- 
gence from  St.  Lucia ;  nor  would  I  have  received  it  to  have 
acted  by  it,  but  that  I  was  assured  that  his  information  was 
very  correct.  It  has  almost  broke  my  heart,  but  I  must  not 
despair."  It  was  hard  to  have  borne  so  much,  and  then  to 
miss  success  from  such  a  cause.  "  Brereton's  wrong  informa- 
tion could  not  be  doubted,"  he  told  his  intimates,  "  and  by 
following  it,  I  lost  the  opportunity  of  fighting  the  enemy." 
"  What  a  race  I  have  run  after  these  fellows  ;  but  God  is  just, 
and  I  may  be  repaid  for  all  my  moments  of  anxiety." 

When  Villeneuve,  with  his  ill-trained  and  sickly  ^  fleet,  left 
Martinique  on  the  4th  of  June,  he  had,  of  course,  no  knowl- 
edge of  Nelson's  approach.  Nearly  up  to  that  date  it  was  not 
known,  even  in  London,  where  the  latter  had  gone.  A  frigate 
had  reached  the  French  admiral  on  the  29th  of  May,  with 
orders  from  Napoleon  to  make  some  attempts  against  the 
British  islands  during  the  time  he  was  awaiting  the  Brest 
squadron.  For  this  reason  he  sailed,  and  just  outside  the 
harbor  was  joined  by  two  ships  from  France,  raising  his  force 
to  twenty  of  the  line.  He  steered  north,  intending  to  gain  to 
windward,  and  thence  return  upon  Barbadoes,  his  first  pro- 
posed conquest.  On  the  8th  of  June,  off  Antigua,  were  cap- 
tured fourteen  British  merchant-ships,  which  had  imprudently 
put  to  sea  from  that  island.  From  these  Villeneuve  got  a 
report  that  Nelson  had  arrived  with  fourteen  ships-of-the-line, 

*  The  island  immediately  north  of  Martinique. 

2  "The  French  and  Spaniards  landed  1,000  sick  when  they  arrived  at  Mar- 
tinico,  and  buried  full  that  number  during  their  stay."    Nicolas,  vol.  vi.  p.  480. 


DECISION  TO  RETURN  TO  EUROPE 


661 


to  which  his  imagination  added  five  he  believed  to  be  at  Bar- 
badoes.  He  decided  at  once  to  return  to  Europe,  abandoning 
all  his  projects  against  the  British  possessions.  Transferring 
hastily  a  number  of  troops  to  frigates,  as  garrisons  for  the 
French  islands,  he  sailed  the  next  day  for  the  northward  to 
gain  the  westerly  winds  which  prevail  in  the  higher  latitudes. 
Of  the  forty  days  he  was  to  remain  in  the  West  Indies  —  re- 
duced to  thirty -five  by  subsequent  instructions  —  only  twenty- 
six  had  passed.  Whatever  else  might  result  in  the  future, 
Nelson  was  justified  in  claiming  that  his  pursuit,  effected 
under  such  discouragements,  had  driven  the  enemy  out  of  the 
West  Indies,  saved  the  islands,  and,  as  he  added,  two  hundred 
sail  of  sugar  ships.  Only  extreme  imprudence,  he  fairly 
maintained,  was  responsible  for  the  loss  of  the  fourteen  from 
Antigua. 

Nelson  himself  was  off  Antigua  on  the  12th  of  June,  exactly 
one  week  after  he  left  Barbadoes.  There  he  received  all  the 
information  that  has  just  been  mentioned  as  to  the  enemy's 
movements.  A  rapid  decision  was  necessary,  if  he  might  hope 
yet  to  overtake  his  fortune,  and  to  baffle  finally  the  objects  of 
the  allies,  whatever  they  might  be.  "  I  must  be  satisfied  they 
have  bent  their  course  for  Europe  before  I  push  after  them, 
which  will  be  to  the  Straits'  mouth ;  "  but  later  in  the  same 
day  he  has  learned  that  they  were  standing  to  the  northward 
when  last  seen,  and  had  sent  back  their  troops  to  Guadaloupe, 
therefore,  "  I  hope  to  sail  in  the  morning  after  them  for  the 
Straits'  mouth."  That  night  the  troops  were  landed,  and  a 
brig  of  war,  the  "  Curieux,"  was  despatched  to  England  with 
word  of  his  intentions.  At  the  same  time,  while  believing 
the  allies  were  bound  back  to  the  Mediterranean,  he  recognized 
that  it  was  possible  they  might  be  going  farther  north,  to  one 
of  the  Biscay  ports,  and  consecjuently  took  measures  to  notify 
the  commanding  officer  off  Ferrolto  be  on  his  guard.  The  frigate 
charged  with  this  communication  was  kept  with  the  fleet  until 
the  19th,  by  which  time  he  had  obtained  at  sea  additional  and 
more  precise  knowledge  of  Villeneuve's  direction.  This  im- 
portant warning  was  duly  received,  and  in  advance  of  the 
enemy's  appearance,  by  the  admiral  for  whom  it  was  intended. 

In  taking  this  second  decision,  to  abandon  the  West  Indies 
once  more  to  themselves,  as  a  month  before  he  had  abandoned 


Si   rt 


'  1- 1 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


tlie  Mediterranean,  Nelson  Iiad  to  rely  only  upon  his  own 
natural  sagacity  and  practised  judgment.  "I  hear  all,  and 
even  feel  obliged,  for  all  is  meant  as  kindness  to  me,  that  I 
should  get  at  them.  In  this  diversity  of  opinions  I  may  as 
well  follow  }ny  own,  which  is,  that  the  Spaniards  are  gone  to 
the  Havannah,and  that  the  French  will  either  stand  for  Cadiz 
or  Toulon  —  I  feel  most  inclined  to  the  latter  place  ;  and  then 
they  may  fancy  that  they  will  get  to  Egypt  without  any  inter- 
ruption." '*  So  far  from  being  infallible,  like  the  Pope,  I  believe 
my  opinions  to  be  very  fallible,  and  therefore  I  may  be  mis- 
taken that  the  enemy's  fleet  has  gone  to  Europe  ;  but  I  cannot 
bring  myself  to  think  otherwise,  notwithstanding  the  variety 
of  opinions  which  different  people  of  good  judgment  form." 

Still,  as  before,  his  judgments,  if  rapid,  are  not  precipitate. 
Though  characterized  by  even  more  of  insight  than  of  reason- 
ing, no  conditions  are  loft  out  of  sight,  nor,  as  he  declared, 
was  a  deaf  ear  turned  to  any  suggestion.  Upon  the  whole, 
one  is  more  struck  by  the  accuracy  of  the  inferences  than  by 
the  antecedent  processes  as  summarized  by  himself ;  yet  the 
weight  of  evidence  will  be  found  on  the  side  he  espouses. 
Erroneous  in  particulars,  the  general  conclusions  upon  which 
he  bases  his  future  course  are  justified,  not  only  by  the  results 
now  known  to  us,  but  to  impartial  review  of  their  probability 
at  the  moment.  Most  impressive  of  all,  however,  is  the 
strength  of  conviction,  which  lifts  him  from  the  plane  of 
doubt,  where  unaided  reason  alone  would  leave  him,  to  that  of 
unhesitating  action,  incapable  of  looking  backward.  In  the 
most  complete  presentation  of  all  his  views,  the  one  he  wished 
brought  before  the  Prime  Minister,  if  his  conduct  on  this 
momentous  occasion  were  called  in  question,  he  ends  thus  : 
*'  My  opinion  is  firm  as  a  rock,  that  some  cause,  orders,  or 
inahility  to  perform  any  service  in  these  seas,  has  made  them 
resolve  to  proceed  direct  for  Europe,  sending  the  Spanish  ships 
to  the  Havannah."  It  is  such  conviction,  in  which  opinion 
rather  possesses  a  man  than  is  possessed  by  him,  that  exalts 
genius  above  talent,  ana  imbues  faith  with  a  power  which 
reason  has  not  in  her  gift. 

There  were  among  his  conclusions  certain  ones  which  placed 
Nelson's  mind,  however  fretted  by  disappointment,  at  ease 
concerning  any  future  harm  the  enemy  might  be  able  to  do. 


HIS   MILITARY   UEASONINGS 


(m 


Anotlier  wreath  of  liuiivl,  wliic-li  seemed  almost  within  his 
grasp,  luul  indeed  evaded  liiiii,  and  no  man  felt  more  keenly 
sucli  a  loss  :  but  he  was  reasonably  sure  that,  if  Villeneuve 
■were  gone  to  Europe,  he  eould  not  outstrip  pursuit  by  long 
enough  to  do  much  harn>.  The  harassing  fear,  which  he  had 
borne  through  the  long  beat  down  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
retarded  voyage  to  ISIartinique,  had  now  disappeared.  Going 
out  he  had  gained  ten  days  upon  the  allies ;  they  had  only  five 
days'  start  of  him  in  the  return.  He  recognized,  moreover, 
tlie  groat  significance  of  their  inactivity  during  the  three  weeks 
they  had  the  Windward  Islands,  if  not  all  the  West  Indies, 
defenceless  before  them.  "If  they  were  not  able  to  make  an 
attack  for  three  weeks  after  their  arrival,  tlioy  could  not  hope 
for  greater  success  after  our  means  of  resistance  increased,  and 
their  means  of  offence  were  diminished."  If  this  considera- 
tion, on  the  one  hand,  showed  the  improbability  of  their  pro- 
ceeding against  Jamaica,  after  Nelson's  coming,  when  they 
had  not  ventured  before,  it  gave  also  an  inkling  of  their  prob- 
able efficiency  for  immediate  action  in  Europe.  "They  will 
not  giv^e  me  credit  for  quitting  the  West  Indies  for  a  month  to 
come  ; "  therefore  it  was  unlikely  that  they  would  think  it 
necessary  to  proceed  at  once  upon  their  next  enterprise,  after 
reaching  port.  "I  must  not  despair  of  getting  up  with  them 
before  they  enter  the  Straits,"  he  writes  Elliot.  "At  least, 
they  will  have  no  time  to  carry  any  of  their  future  plans  into 
execution,  and  do  harm  to  any  of  the  countries  under  my 
charge."  If  his  thirst  for  glory  was  unslaked,  his  fears  of 
disaster  had  disappeared. 

Villeneuve,  guided  by  instructions  recently  received  from 
Napoleon,  to  meet  the  case  of  the  Brest  squadron  not  getting 
away,  had  gone  actually  for  Ferrol,  where  he  was  to  join  a 
Sf^uadron  of  five  French  and  nine  Spanish  ships,  which  would 
raise  his  own  force  to  thirty-four  of  the  line ;  but  Nelson, 
unable  to  know  this,  argued  correctly  that,  in  the  uncertainty, 
he  must  leave  this  chance  to  the  Biscay  ships,  and  that  for 
himself  the  Mediterranean  possessed  the  first  claim.  At  noon 
of  June  13th,  nine  days  after  reaching  Barbadoes,  he  got 
away  from  Antigua.  The  necessity  for  gaining  the  westerly 
winds  made  his  course  for  some  time  the  same  as  that  of 
Villeneuve,  and  left  him  not  without  hopes  that  he  might  yet 


,  I  1 
i  I 

I 


■  *  ■*  1 


'  Hi 


,    '! 


il'M 


t: 


H64 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


fall  in  with  the  allies,  especially  if,  as  he  thought,  they  were 
destined  to  the  Straits.  On  tlie  17th  an  American  schooner 
was  spoken,  which  had  seen  the  combined  squadron  two  days  be- 
fore, steering  also  to  the  ncu'thward.  This  report,  wrote  Nelson 
to  the  Admiralty,  "  can  leave  me  no  room  to  doubt  but  that  I  am 
hard  upon  the  heels  of  the  enemy's  fleet.  I  think  we  cannot 
be  more  than  eighty  leagues  from  them  at  this  moment,  and 
by  carrying  every  sail,  and  using  my  utmost  efforts,  I  shall 
hope  to  close  with  them  before  thej'^  get  to  either  Cadiz  or 
Toulon."  The  news  was  sent  ahead  by  two  vessels,  which 
parted  from  the  fleet  on  the  19th  of  June,  —  one  for  Gibraltar, 
with  despatches  and  letters  for  the  admiral  and  ministers  in 
the  Mediterranean  ;  one  for  Lisbon,  whence  this  important 
intelligence  would  be  forwarded  to  England  and  to  the  com- 
manding officer  off  Ferrol.  Still  believing  them  bound  for 
the  Straits,  Nelson  expressed  in  the  fleet  the  opinion  that  they 
would  keep  well  to  the  southward  of  the  Azores,  so  as  not  to 
be  seen  by  British  cruisers  centred  there.  In  this  he  was 
mistaken,  as  he  was  in  their  final  destination  j  both  fleets 
sighted  the  islands,  —  the  French  on  the  30th  of  June  to  the 
northward  of  the  group,  while  the  British  passed  through  it  on 
the  8th  of  July.  He  admitted,  however,  that  he  was  doubt- 
ful in  the  matter.  "  It  is  very  uncertain  whether  they  will  go 
to  Ferrol  or  Cadiz  ;  "  and  nothing  can  indicate  more  clearly  his 
perplexity,  and  his  sense  of  the  urgency  of  the  case,  than  his 
pf  "ting  on  the  same  day  with  two  of  the  four  small  cruisers 
he  had  with  him,  in  order  to  insure  that  Ferrol  as  well  as 
Gibraltar  should  have  prompt  waiMiing. 

It  was  at  about  this  time  that  Nelson  expressed,  to  one  or 
more  of  his  captains,  his  views  as  to  what  he  had  so  far 
effected,  what  he  had  proposed  to  do  if  he  had  met  the  hostile 
fleets,  and  what  his  future  course  would  be  if  they  were  yet 
found.  "  I  am  thankful  that  the  enemy  have  been  driven 
from  the  West  India  Islands  with  so  little  loss  to  our  Country. 
I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  great  sacrifices;  for  I  had  deter- 
mined, notwithstanding  his  vast  superiority,  to  stop  his  career, 
and  to  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  do  any  further  mischief.  Yet 
do  not  imagine  I  am  one  of  those  hot  brained  people,  who 
fight  at  an  immense  disadvantage,  iclthout  an  adequate  object} 

*  Author's  italics. 


HIS  MILITARY  REASONINGS 


665 


My  object  is  partly  gained,"  that  is,  tlie  allies  had  been  forced 
out  of  the  West  Indies.  "If  we  meet  them,  we  shall  find  them 
not  less  than  eighteen,  I  rather  think  twenty  sail  of  the  line, 
and  therefore  do  not  be  surprised  if  I  should  not  fall  on  them 
immediately  :  we  wonH  part  without  a  battle.^  I  think  they 
will  be  glad  to  leave  me  alone,  if  I  will  let  them  alone; 
which  I  will  do,  either  till  we  approach  the  shores  of  Europe, 
or  they  give  me  an  advantage  too  tempting  to  be  resisted." 

It  is  rare  to  find  so  much  sagacious  appreciation  of  con- 
ditions, combined  with  so  much  exalted  resolution  and  sound 
discretion,  as  in  this  compact  utterance.  Among  the  external 
interests  of  Great  Britain,  the  West  Indies  were  the  greatest. 
They  were  critically  threatened  by  the  ^orce  he  was  pursuing ; 
therefore  at  all  costs  that  force  should  be  so  disabled,  that  it 
could  do  nothing  effective  against  the  defences  with  which  the 
scattered  islands  were  provided.  For  this  end  he  was  prepared 
to  risk  the  destruction  of  his  squadron.  The  West  Indies 
were  now  delivered ;  but  the  enemy's  force  remained,  and 
other  British  interests.  Three  months  before,  he  had  said,  "  I 
had  rather  see  half  my  squadron  burnt  than  risk  what  the 
French  fleet  may  do  in  the  Mediterranean."  In  the  same 
spirit  he  now  repeats :  "  Though  we  are  but  eleven  to  eigh- 
teen or  twenty,  we  won't  part  without  a  battle."  Why 
fight  such  odds  ?  He  himself  has  told  us  a  little  later.  "  By 
the  time  the  enemy  has  beat  our  fleet  soundly,  they  will  do  us 
no  harm  this  year."  Granting  this  conclusion,  —  the  reason- 
ableness of  which  was  substantiated  at  Trafalgar,  —  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  the  sacrifice  would  be  justified,  the  enemy's 
combinations  being  disconcerted.  Yet  there  shall  b;j  no  head- 
long, reckless  attack.  "I  will  leave  them  alone  till  they  offer 
me  an  opportunity  too  tempting  to  be  resisted,"  —  that  speaks 
for  itself,  —  or,  "  until  we  approach  the  shores  of  Europe," 
Avhen.the  matter  can  no  longer  be  deferred,  and  the  twenty 
ships  must  be  taken  out  of  Napoleon's  hosts,  even  though 
eleven  be  destroyed  to  effect  this.  The  preparedness  of  mind 
is  to  be  noted,  and  yet  more  the  firmness  of  the  conviction,  in 
the  strength  of  which  alone  such  deeds  are  done.  It  is  the 
man  of  faith  who  is  ever  the  man  of  works. 

Singularly  enough,  his  plans  were  quickly  to  receive  the 

1  Author's  italic^. 


^ 


i' '  y 


I         I 


i 


008 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


best  of  illustrations  by  the  failure  of  contrary  methods. 
Scarcely  a  month  later  fifteen  IJritish  ships,  under  another 
admiral,  met  these  twenty,  which  Nelson  with  eleven  now 
sought  in  vain.  They  did  not  part  without  a  battle,  but  they 
did  part  without  a  decisive  battle;  they  were  not  kept  in 
sight  afterwards;  they  joined  and  were  incorporated  with 
Napoleon's  great  armada;  they  had  further  wide  opportuni- 
ties of  mischief;  and  there  followed  for  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  a  period  of  bitter  suspense  and  wide-spread  panic. 
'*  What  a  game  had  Villeneuve  to  play  !  "  said  Napoleon  ot 
those  moments.  "  Does  not  the  thought  of  the  ])ossibilities 
remaining  to  Villeneuve,"  wrote  Lord  Radstock  of  Calder's 
fruitless  battle,  "make  your  blood  boil  when  you  reflect  on  the 
never  to  be  forgotten  22d  of  July  ?  Notwithstanding  the 
inferiority  of  Lord  Nelson's  numbers,"  he  says  at  the  same 
time,  with  keen  appreciation  of  the  man  he  knew  so  well, 
"  should  he  be  so  lucky  as  to  fall  in  with  the  enemy,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  would  never  quit  them  *  until  he  should  have 
destroyed  or  taken  some  of  the  French  ships ;  and  that  he 
himself  would  seek  the  French  admiral's  ship,  if  possible,  I 
would  pledge  my  life  on  it."  "  There  is  such  an  universal 
bustle  and  cry  about  invasion,  that  no  other  subject  will  bo 
listened  to  at  present  by  those  in  power.  I  found  London 
almost  a  desert,  and  no  good  news  stirring  to  animate  it  ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  few  faces  I  saw  at  the  Admiralty  at  once 
confirmed  the  truth  of  the  report  of  the  combined  squadron 
having  safelv  arrived  at  Ferrol."  This  was  after  Calder  had 
met  and  fought  them,  and  let  them  get  out  of  his  sight. 

Lord  Minto,  speaking  oi  the  same  crisis,  says  :  "  There  has 
been  the  greatest  alarm  ever  known  in  the  city  of  London, 
since  the  combined  fleet  [Villeneuve's]  sailed  from  Ferrol. 
If  they  had  captured  our  homeward-bound  convoys,  it  is  said 
the  India  Company  and  half  the  city  must  have  been  bank- 
rupt." These  gleams  of  the  feelings  of  the  times,  reflected 
by  two  men  in  close  contact  with  the  popular  ai)prehensions, 
show  what  Nelson  was  among  British  admirals  to  tlie  men  of 
his  day,  and  why  he  was  so.  "Great  and  important  as  the 
victory  is,"  wrote  Minto,  three  months  later,  after  the  news 
of  Trafalgar,  "  it  is  bought  too  dearly,  even  for  our  interest, 

*  Author's  italics. 


DEPRESSION  AND   PERSEVEUANCE 


667 


by  the  death  of  Nelson.  \Ve  shall  want  more  victories  yet, 
and  to  whom  can  we  look  for  them?  The  navy  is  certainly 
full  of  the  bravest  men,  but  they  are  mostly  below  the  rank 
of  admiral ;  and  brave  as  they  almost  all  are,  there  was  a  sort 
of  heroic  cast  about  Nelson  that  I  never  saw  in  any  other 
man,  and  which  seems  wanting  to  the  achievement  of  impossi- 
hle  thltKjs  which  became  easy  to  him,  and  on  which  the  main- 
tenance of  our  superiority  at  sea  seems  to  depend  against  the 
growing  navy  of  the  enemy."  "The  clamour  against  poor 
Sir  Kobert  Calder  is  paining  ground  daily,"  wrote  Kadstock, 
condemnatory  yet  pitiful  towards  the  admiral  who  had  failed 
duly  to  utilize  the  opportunity  Nelson  then  was  seeking  in 
vain,  ''and  there  is  a  general  cry  against  him  from  all  quar- 
ters. Thus  much  one  may  venture  to  say,  that  had  your  old 
chief  commanded  our  squadron,  the  enemy  would  have  had  but 
little  room  for  lying  or  vapouring,  as  I  have  not  a  shadow 
of  a  doubt  but  that  he  would  cither  have  taken  or  destroyed 
the  French  admiral." 

But  there  was  but  one  Nelson,  and  he  meantime,  faint  yet 
pursuing,  toiled  fruitlessly  on,  bearing  still  the  sickness  of 
hope  deferred  and  suspense  protracted.  ''Midnight,"  he 
notes  in  his  private  diary  of  June  21st.  "  Neaily  calm,  saw 
three  planks  which  I  think  came  from  the  French  tleet.  Very 
miserable,  which  is  very  fo- Voi  ."  "We  crawled  thirty -three 
miles  the  last  twentv-four  hours,"  he  enters  on  the  8th  of 
July.  "  My  only  hope  is,  that  the  enemy's  fleet  are  near  us, 
and  in  the  same  situation.  All  night  light  breezes,  standing 
to  the  eastward,  to  go  to  the  northward  of  St.  Michael's.* 
At  times  squally  with  rain."  Amid  these  unavoidable  delays, 
he  was  forecasting  and  preparing  that  no  time  should  be  lost 
when  he  reached  the  Straits  and  once  more  came  within  the 
range  of  intelligence.  The  light  winds,  when  boats  could  pass 
without  retarding  the  ships,  were  utilized  in  preparing  let- 
ters to  the  oflicials  at  Gibraltar  and  Tangiers,  to  have  ready 
the  stores  necessary  for  the  fleet  upon  arrival.  These  papers 
wore  already  on  board  the  two  frigates  remaining  with  him, 
with  the  necessary?  instructions  for  their  captains,  so  that  they 
might  part  at  any  moment  judged  fitting,  irrespective  of 
weather  conditions.  Again  he  cautions  the  authorities  to 
^  One  of  the  eiisteriiniost  of  tlie  Azoiivs. 


:,     I ! 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


keep  his  approach  a  profound  secret.  No  private  letters  for 
Gibraltar  were  permitted  in  the  mail-bags,  lust  they  should 
unwittingly  betray  counsel.  The  vessels  were  directed  to 
rejoin  him  forty  miles  west  of  Cape  Spartel,  giving  him  tiuis 
time  to  decide  upon  his  course  before  he  reached  Gibraltar ; 
for  it  was  (juite  on  the  cards  that  he  might  tind  it  imperative 
to  hurry  north  without  anchoring.  On  the  llitli  of  July,  hve 
hundred  miles  from  Cape  St.  Vincent,  one  of  these  ships  left 
him,  probably  tlio  last  to  go. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  Cape  Spartel  was  sighted.  "  No  Frencli 
fleet,"  wrote  the  admiral  in  his  diary,  "  nor  any  information 
about  them :  how  sorrowful  this  makes  me,  but  1  cannot  help 
myself!"  "I  am,  my  dear  Mr.  Marsden,"  he  wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Admiralty,  ''as  completely  miserable  as  my 
greatest  enemy  could  wish  me  ;  but  J  blame  neither  fortune  or 
my  own  judgment.  Oh,  General  Brereton !  General  13rereton !  " 
To  his  friend  Davison  he  revealed  yet  more  frankly  tho  bitter- 
ness of  his  spirit,  now  that  the  last  hope  was  dashed,  and  it  was 
even  possible  that  the  mis-step  of  going  to  Trinidad  had  caused 
him  to  incur  a  further  mistake,  by  leaving  the  allies  in  the 
West  Indies.  "  But  for  General  Brereton's  damned  information, 
Nelson,"  he  said,  half  prophetically,  "would  have  been,  living 
or  dead,  the  greatest  man  in  his  profession  that  England  ever 
saw.  Now  alas  !  I  am  nothing  —  perhaps  shall  incur  censure 
for  misfortunes  which  may  happen,  and  have  happened." 

But  if  he  himself  were  disappointed,  and  foreboded  the  dis- 
content of  others,  the  greatness  of  what  he  had  done  was 
quickly  apparent,  and  received  due  recognition  from  thought- 
ful men.  "  Either  the  distances  between  the  different  quar- 
ters of  the  globe  are  diminished,"  wrote  Mr.  Elliot  from  Naples, 
"  or  you  have  extended  the  powers  of  human  action.  After 
an  unremitting  cruise  of  two  long  years  in  the  stormy  Gulf  of 
Lyons,  to  have  proceeded  without  going  into  port  to  Alexan- 
dria, from  Alexandria  to  the  West  Indies,  from  the  West  In- 
dies back  again  to  Gibraltar ;  to  have  kept  your  ships  afloat, 
your  rigging  standing,  and  your  crews  in  health  and  spirits  — 
is  an  effort  such  as  never  was  realized  in  former  times,  nor,  I 
doubt,  will  ever  again  be  repeated  by  any  other  admiral.  You 
have  protected  us  for  two  long  years,  and  you  saved  the  West 
Indies  by  only  a,  few  days,"     Thus  truly  pun^u^arjzed,  such 


REGAINS  THE   STRAITS 


(lUU 


lur  censuvo 


achievements  are  seen  to  possess  claims  to  admiration,  not  to 
Ih!  exceeded  even  by  the  glory  of  Trafalgar. 

Although  no  French  Heet  was  visible,  as  Nelson  approached 
the  Straits,  there  were  a  half-dozen  British  ships-of-the-line, 
under  the  command  of  his  old  friend  Collingwood,  blockad- 
ing Cadiz.  When  Orde  was  driven  off  that  station  by  Ville- 
neuve  on  the  9f  h  of  April,  and  retired  upon  lirest,  he  had  already 
sent  in  an  application  to  be  relieved  from  a  duty  which  he 
himself  had  sought,  and  had  held  for  so  short  a  time;  alleging 
a  bundle  of  grievances  which  show  clearly  enough  the  im- 
practicable touchiness  of  the  man.  His  request  was  at  once 
granted.  Early  in  May,  Collingwood  was  sent  from  Englaiid 
with  eight  sail-of-the-line  for  the  West  Indies;  but  learning 
on  the  way  that  Nelson  had  gone  thither,  he  detached  to  him 
two  of  his  swiftest  seventy-fours,  and,  with  great  good  judg- 
ment, himself  took  position  off  Cadiz,  where  he  covered  the 
entrance  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  effectually  prevented  any 
ships  from  either  Cartagena  or  Ferrol  concentrating  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Straits. 

Nelson  received  word  from  some  of  his  lookouts  appointed 
to  mee*;  him  here,  that  nothing  had  been  heard  of  tho  allied 
squadrons.  The  anxiety  which  had  never  ceased  to  attend 
him  was  increased  by  this  prolonged  silence.  He  had  no 
certainty  that  the  enemy  might  not  have  doubled  back,  and 
gone  to  Jamaica.  He  would  not  stop  now  to  exchange  with 
Collingwood  speculations  about  the  enemy's  course.  "  My 
dear  Collingwood,  I  am,  as  you  may  suppose,  miserable  at  not 
having  fallen  in  with  the  enemy's  fleet;  and  I  am  almost 
increased  in  sorrow  by  not  finding  them  [here].  The  name 
of  General  Brereton  will  not  soon  be  forgot.  I  must  now 
only  hope  that  the  enemy  have  not  tricked  me,  and  gone  to 
Jamaica;  but  if  the  account,*  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy,  is 
correct,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  they  are  either  gone  to 
the  northward,  or,  if  bound  to  the  Mediterranean,  not  yet 
arrived."  His  surmise  remains  accurate.  He  then  continues, 
with  that  delicate  and  respectful  recognition  of  the  position 
and  ability  of  others,  which  won  him  so  much  love  :  "  The 
moment  the  fleet  is  watered,  and  got  some  refreshments,  of 

^  The  report  of  the  American  schooner,  which  saw  the  allied  fleet,  June 
15tb. 


H   If 

•  ■    t  ', 


\U 


■i 
i- 


670 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


).  I'i 


which  we  are  in  great  want,  I  shall  come  out  and  make  you  a 
visit ;  not,  my  dear  friend,  to  take  your  command  from  you, 
(for  I  may  probably  add  mine  to  you,)  but  to  consult  how  we 
can  best  serve  our  Country,  by  detaching  a  part  of  this  large 
force."  Circumstances  prevented  his  neighborly  intention 
from  taking  effect.  A  week  later  Nelson  returned  north  with 
his  squadron,  and  the  friends  did  not  meet  until  shortly  before 
Trafalgar. 

In  reply  to  Nelson's  letter,  Colling  wood  summed  up  his 
view  of  the  situation  as  so  far  developed.  "I  have  always 
had  an  idea  that  Ireland  alone  was  the  object  they  had  in 
view,  and  still  believe  that  to  be  their  ultimate  destination  — 
that  they  will  now  liberate  the  Ferrol  squadron  from  Calder, 
make  the  round  of  the  Bay,^  and,  taking  the  Rochefort  people 
with  them,  appear  off  Ushant  —  perhaps  with  thirty-four 
sail,  there  to  be  joined  by  twenty  more.  Admiral  Cornwallis 
collecting  his  out  squadrons  may  ha>'e  thirty  and  upwards. 
This  appears  to  be  a  probable  plan ;  for  unless  it  is  to 
bring  their  great  fleets  and  armies  to  some  point  of  ser- 
vice —  some  rash  attempt  at  conquest  —  they  have  been  only 
subjecting  them  to  chance  of  loss,  which  I  do  not  believe 
the  Corsican  would  do,  without  the  hope  of  an  adequate 
reward." 

It  is  upon  this  letter,  the  sagacious  and  well-ordered  infer- 
ences of  which  must  be  candidly  admitted,  that  a  claim  for 
superiority  of  discernment  over  Nelson  has  been  made  for  its 
writer.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  not  as  a  matter  of 
invidious  detraction  from  one  man,  but  in  simple  justice  to 
the  other,  whose  insight  and  belief  had  taken  form  in  such 
wonderful  work,  that  Nelson  also  had  fully  belie^'-ed  that  the 


enemy,  if  they  left  the  Mediterranean,  would  proceed  to 
Ireland ;  and  further,  and  yet  more  particularly,  Collingwood's 
views  had  been  confirmed  to  him  by  the  fact,  as  yet  un- 
known to  Nelson,  that  the  Rochefort  squadron,  which  sailed 
at  the  time  Villeneuve  first  escaped  in  January,  had  since 
returned  to  Europe  on  the  26tli  of  May.  "  The  flight  to  the 
West  Indies,"  Collingwood  said,  in  a  letter  dated  the  day  after 
the  one  just  quoted,  ''  was  to  take  off  our  naval  force,  which 
is  the  great  impediment  to  their  undertaking.     The  Roche- 

1  Of  Biscay. 


I]  ! 


H 


lake  you  a 
from  you, 

It  how  we 

this  large 

intention 

north  with 

rtly  before 

ed  up  his 
ive  always 
ey  had  in 
bination  — 
Dui  Calder, 
:ort  people 
bhirty-four 
Cornwallis 

upwards. 
s  it  is  to 
tit  of  ser- 
been  only 
lot  believe 

adequate 

3red  iufer- 
claim  for 
ade  for  its 
I  matter  of 
justice  to 
m  in  such 
d  that  the 
jroceed  to 
lingwood's 
is  yet  un- 
liich  sailed 
had  since 
ght  to  the 
e  day  after 
rce,  which 
'he  Koche- 


'        :i 


ADMIRAL   COLLINGWOOD, 

From  thepjintinsr  by  Heiny  I7(hoa>J,  at  Greenwich  Hospital. 


'f     M.l.x*" 


•  i-.i*.       Hi  •:,.   :  I  s*  '!'  .t;    1  i  ;  .  ,1  ..  I  ' 

'  t'  i!'    I    )'l,;  V     j  .f  )i  I'll  il  •,      f,i  ji)    I 


\:",'A   '■(:!  I  :■'     HI,!    iii'll-,.     ',i>li 

,'    •■  !,1  iliii    *'!    ''   .    3  «i 

'  '.'''',  -i'  V'"\    ill  '}'.  ji    V\l  ' 


I    'ill     I-*-'.       '1..;  .  1  •  M-       ■■  '-,         '■'■}'''  I   1  ^•'".'    *'.l'^ 


'    :  1 


i"-  'i 


li    oi:     i    -'..vi; 


..  i'; 


.-.  !l.il      ) 


i,.    '^ 


\:.(IIUML   (.,11)  !,  \ 


'  :    1    -      n  :.(  \     .111  .  .       !  Il '  rt  ',       :Miii      i'  n  \    I'll 

:.  -'i      -i!,!;*  .     !•>,      i.lllr  ,:     I'      ,:. 

Ill     - '  I  .  i;*       J  mi  11!      !,■'•      ','  •/ 
;     ..  ,     il/,  ,r    ti,  <   ;,     !.;•: 
I     liii    i)f  •'  ,  -t' 


-II    . 


M-,       ill,; 


'1    ;  I  '  i;  ^i 


.  t     \ . 


;    I"       I  i     :.-a    -t-.  .     u,  •• 

I    ■  ,    il"        i;i     .  i 'n  !(li'      •  li-  ■  '."' 
''    I      '         '      '''ill     '  I  ,i  ii'l     I  1., 


I 


1'' 


\', 


i  I    • 

..  'I'   , 

■■<<-,-    ■  ( 

'I "  •     •  I  •  I 


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MI         ... 

I  "1  ■  ;  I  ,  '  '  I  .     '  I 
!  Ill-   til'  il!    I 

,11  .'I  i     -,   in       ,'.!  ■ 


■I  uW:'''r.r  1-.  .1,.  ir  i,-,.!-i,,i...,iji-       lli;      '..-,  , 


..     .  ,    sv.'.t    MS^T 


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til* 

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.    .  <    4 

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!,.  !■ 

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t  ■ " , 

.111 

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iK. 

« 

V.I  '1 

i  1 

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fe 


;*2av 


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5.  n 


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it: 


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U't: 


,;!  r 


:?  I?): :  . 


Mm     > ', 


'''   w-t 


>  III .  1 


i 


COLLINGWOOD  AND  NELSON 


671 


fort  Squadron's  return  confirnied  nie."  "I  well  know  what 
your  lordship's  disappointment  is,"  ho  wrote,  with  generous 
sympathy;  "and  I  shave  the  mortitication  of  it.  It  would 
have  been  a  happy  day  for  England,  could  you  have  met 
them;  small  as  your  force  was,  I  trust  it  would  have  been 
found  enough.  This  summer  is  big  with  events.  Sincerely 
I  wish  your  Lordship  strength  of  body  to  go  through  —  and 
to  all  others,  your  strcnf/th  of  mind. ^^  Testy  even  to  petulance 
as  these  two  great  seamen  were  at  times  in  small  matters, 
when  overwrought  with  their  manifold  anxieties,  they  no- 
where betray  any  egotistic  concern  as  to  the  value  attached  by 
others  to  their  respective  speculations,  the  uncertainties  of 
which  none  knew  better  than  they,  who  had  to  act  upon  their 
conclusions. 

Meantime,  at  the  very  moment  they  were  exchanging  let- 
ters, pregnant  movements  were  taking  place,  unknown  to 
either.  The  brig  "Curieux,"  despatched  to.  England  by 
Nelson  the  night  before  he  left  Antigua,  had  fallen  in  with 
the  allied  squadrons,  nine  hundred  miles  north-northeast  from 
Antigua,  on  the  19th  of  Juno  — just  a  week  after  she  sailed. 
Keeping  company  with  them  long  enough  to  ascertain  their 
course  and  approximate  numbers,  the  captain  then  hastened 
on,  anchoring  in  Plymouth  on  the  7th  of  July.  "  I  am  sorry," 
wrote  Nelson  when  he  heard  of  this  meeting,  "  that  Captain 
Bettesworth  did  not  stand  back  and  try  to  find  us  out; "  but 
grateful  as  the  word  would  have  been  to  him,  the  captain  was 
better  advised  to  make  for  a  fixed  and  certain  destination. 
At  daylight  of  the  9th  the  news  was  in  the  hands  of  the  First 
Lord,  who  issued  instant  orders  for  the  blockading  squadrons 
oft'  Rochefort  and  Ferrol  to  unite,  and  to  take  post  one  hun- 
dred miles  west  of  Cape  Finisterre.  On  the  19th  of  July  Ad- 
miral Calder  was  in  this  position,  with  fifteen  ships-of  the-line, 
and  received  through  Lisbon  the  information  of  the  French 
movements,  which  Nelson  had  forwarded  thither  an  exact 
month  before.  On  the  20th  Nelson's  fleet  anchored  at  Gib- 
raltar, and  he  went  ashore,  "  for  the  first  time  since  the  16th 
of  June,  1803."  On  the  22(1  Calder  and  Villeneuve  met  and 
fought.  Two  Spanish  ships-of-the-line  were  captured,  but  the 
battle  was  otherwise  indecisive.  Calder  hesitated  to  attack 
again,  and  on  the  26tli  lost  sight  of  the  enemy,  who,  on  the 


■I  '    ' , 


672 


THE  LIFE   OF  NELSON 


'r 

'f 

.h 

'^/ 

..,1 

>/ 

^1 ' 

ilf! 

f.X' 

1 

28th,  put  into  Vigo  Bay ;  whence,  by  a  lucky  slant  of  wind, 
they  reached  Fevrol  on  the  first  of  August  with  fifteen  ships, 
having  left  three  in  Vigo.  Calder  sent  five  of  his  fleet  to 
resume  the  blockade  of  Rochefort,  and  himself  with  nine 
joined  Corn'vallis  off  Brest,  rjiising  the  force  there  to  twenty- 
six.  This  junction  was  made  August  14th.  The  next  day 
appeared  there  the  iiidefatigable  Nelson,  with  his  unwearied 
and  ever  ready  squadro!;  of  eleven  ships  —  veterans  in  the 
highest  sense  of  the  word,  in  organization,  practice,  and  en- 
durance ;  alert,  and  solid  as  men  of  iron. 

This  important  and  most  opportune  arrival  came  about  as 
follows.  Anchoring  on  the  19th  of  July  at  Gibraltar,  Nelson 
found  everything  ready  for  the  re-equipment  of  his  ships,  owing 
to  his  foresight  in  directing  it.  All  set  to  work  at  once  to 
prepare  for  immediate  departure.  When  I  have  "completed 
the  fleet  to  four  months'  provisions,  and  with  stores  for  Chan- 
nel service,"  he  wrote  to  the  Admiralty,  "I  shall  get  outside 
the  Mediterranean,  leaving  a  sufficient  force  to  watch  Cartha- 
gena,  and  proceed  as  upon  a  due  consideration,  (on  reading 
Vice-Admiral  Collingwood's  orders,  and  those  which  Kear- 
Admiral  Sir  Richard  Bickerton  may  have  received  during  my 
absence,)  may_  suggest  to  be  most  proper.  Should  I  hear  that 
the  enemy  are  gone  to  some  of  the  ports  in  the  Bay,  I  shall 
join  the  squadron  off  Ferrol,  or  off  Ushant,  as  I  think  the  case 
requires."  There  will  be  observed  here  the  same  striking 
combination  of  rapidity,  circumspection,  and  purpose  prepared 
by  reflection  for  instant  action  in  emergencies,  that  character- 
ized him  usually,  and  especially  in  these  four  months  of  chase, 
"  The  squadron  is  in  the  most  perfect  health,"  he  continues, 
"  except  some  symptoms  of  scurvy,  which  I  hope  to  eradicate 
by  bullocks  and  refreshments  from  Tetuan,  to  which  I  will 
proceed  to-morrow."  The  getting  fresh  beef  at  Tetuan,  it 
will  be  remembered,  had  been  stopped  by  a  fair  wind  on  the 
5th  of  May.  Since  then,  and  in  fact  since  a  7nonth  earlie. ,  no 
opportunity  of  obtaining  fresh  provisions  had  offered  during 
his  rapid  movements.  "  The  fleet  recei^'ed  not  the  smallest 
refreshment,  not  even  a  cup  of  water  in  the  West  Indies,"  he 
told  the  Queen  of  Naples.  The  admiral  himself  got  only  a 
few  sheep,  in  the  nine  days'  round. 

Even  now,  the  intention  to  go  to  Tetuan,  advisable  as  the 


ant  of  wind, 
fifteen  ships, 
E  his  fleet  to 
If  with  nine 
re  to  twenty- 
.'he  next  day 
lis  unwearied 
;erans  in  the 
jtice,  and  en- 

ime  about  as 
altar,  Nelson 
3  ships,  owing 
rk  at  once  to 
B  "  completed 
ives  for  Chan- 
il  get  outside 
v^atch  Cartha- 
,  (on  reading 
which  Bear- 
ed during  my 
d  I  hear  that 
Bay,  I  shall 
;hink  the  case 
ame   striking 
pose  prepared 
lat  character- 
iths  of  chase, 
le  continues, 
e  to  eradicate 
which  I  will 
it  Tetuan,  it 
wind  on  the 
ith  earlie.',  no 
ffered  during 
the  smallest 
t  Indies,"  he 
If  got  only  a 

isable  as  the 


RAPIDITY  OF  MOVEMENT 


im 


step  was,  was  contingent  upon  the  opportunity  offering  of 
reaching  a  position  v/hence  he  could  move  with  facility. 
Nelson  did  not  mean  to  be  back-strapped  again  within  the 
Mediterranean,  with  a  west  wind,  and  a  current  setting  to 
leeward,  if  the  enemy  turned  up  in  the  Atlantic.  "  If  the 
wind  is  westerly,"  he  wrote  on  the  early  morning  of  the  22(1, 
"I  shall  go  to  Tetuan:  if  easterly,  out  of  the  straits."  At 
half-past  nine  that  day  the  fleet  weighed,  and  at  half-past 
seven  in  the  evening  anchored  at  Tetuan,  whither  orders  liad 
already  gone  to  prepare  bullocks  and  fresh  vegetables  for 
delivery.  At  noon  of  the  23d  the  ships  again  lifted  their 
anchors,  and  started.  "  The  fleet  is  complete,"  he  wrote  the 
First  Lord  that  day,  "and  the  first  easterly  wind,  I  shall 
pass  the  Straits."  Fortune  apparently  had  made  up  her  mind 
now  to  balk  him  no  more.  Thirty-six  hours  later,  at  3.30  a.  m. 
of  July  25th,  being  then  off  Tarifa,  a  little  west  of  Gibraltar, 
the  sloop-of-war  "Termagant,"  one  of  his  own  Mediterra- 
nean cruisers,  came  alongside,  and  brought  him  a  new.spaper, 
received  from  Lisbon,  containing  an  account  of  the  report 
carried  to  England  by  the  "Curieux."  "I  know  it's  true," 
he  wrote  to  the  Admiralty,  "  from  my  words  being  repeated, 
therefore  I  shall  not  lose  a  moment,  after  I  have  communi- 
cated with  Admiral  Collingwood,  in  getting  to  the  northward 
to  eitiier  Ferrol,  Ireland,  or  Ushant ;  as  information  or  cir- 
cumstances may  point  out  to  be  proper."  In  his  haste  to  pro- 
ceed, and  wishing  to  summon  the  "  Amazon "  frigate  to 
rejoin  him,  he  sent  the  "Termagant"  at  once  to  Gibraltar, 
without  understanding  that  she  was  just  from  there  and  had 
on  board  his  clothes  left  for  washing ;  in  consequence  of 
which  precipitancy  she  "carried  all  my  things,  even  to  my 
last  shirt,  back  again."  "As  I  fancied  he  came  from  Lisbon," 
he  explained,  "I  would  not  allow  him  to  stop."  "My  dear 
Parker,"  he  wrote  the  frigate-captain,  "  make  haste  and  join 
me.  If  all  places  fail  you  will  find  me  at  Spithead."  Parker, 
who  was  a  favorite  of  the  admiral's,  followed  out  the  careful 
detailed  instructions  which  accompanied  this  note,  but  could 
not  overtake  the  fleet,  and  from  incidents  of  the  service  never 
met  Nelson  again. 

With  a  fresh  easterly  gale  the  squadron  pressed  again  into 
the  Atlantic.     As  it  went  on  for  Cape  St.  Vincent,  Colling- 

43 


h& 


li 


I 


I 


i  I 


074 


THK   LIKK   OF   NKLSON 


rood's  (liviHion  was  seen  soino  tlistanco  to  leeward,   but,  as 
not  inliequcntly  happens  in  and  near  tlio  Mediterranean,  the 
wind  with  it  came  from  the  opposite  quarter  xo  that  which 
Nelson  had.     The  latter,  therefore,   would  not  stop,  nor  lose 
a  mile  of  the  ground  over  which  his  fair  breeze  was  carrying 
him.     "My  dear  Collingwood,''  he  wrote,  "  We  are  in  a  fresh 
Levanter.     You  have  a  westerly  wind,  thei-efore  J  must  forego 
the  pleasure  of  taking  you  by  the  luind  until  October  next, 
when,  if  I  am  well  enough,  1  shall  (if  the  Admiralty  please) 
resume  the  command.     I  am  very  far  from  well ;  but  I  am 
anxious  that  not  a  moment  of  the  services  of  this  fleet  should 
be  lost."     Matters  therefore  were  left  standing  much  as  they 
were  when  he  passed  in  a. week  before.     He  had  taken  upon 
himself,    however,   with  a  discretion   he   could  now    assun)c 
freely,  to  change  the  Admiralty's  orders,  issued  during  his 
absence,  withdrawing  most  of  tlie  small  cruisers  from  about 
Malta,   to  reinforce   Collingwood's   division.     When  he  first 
learned  of  this  step,  he  said  it  was  a  mistake,  for  double  the 
number  he  had  left  there  were  needed ;  "  but  the  orders  of 
the  Admiralty  must  be  obeyed.     I  only  hope  officers  will  not 
be  blamed  for  the  events  which  it  is  not  difficult  to  foresee 
will  happen."    With  the  crowd  of  enemy's  privateers  in  those 
waters,  IVIalta,  he  was  assured,  would  be  cut  off  from  all  com- 
munication.    He  soon  made  up  his  r  ind  that  he  would  use 
his  own  discretion  and  modify  the  dispositions  taken.    "  Malta 
cannot  more   .han  exist,  and  our  troops  would  be  placed  in  a 
position  cf  great  distress,"  he  told  the  Admiralty.     "I  trans- 
mit a  statement  of  the  force  I  think  necessary  to  the  eastward 
of   Carthagena  for  performing  the  services  intrusted  to   my 
care,  and  when  I  get  the  lists  I  shall  apportion  them  as  far 
as  their  number  will  allow,  and  my  judgment  will  admit." 
"  I  hope  the  Board  will  consider  this  as  not  wishing  to  alter 
any  arrangement  of  theirs,  but  as  a  measure  absolutely  neces- 
sary."    Within  his  own  field  Nelson  was  now,  by  proved  pro- 
fessional genius,  above  the  restraint  of  IJoards ;  and  when  he 
reached  England  the  new  First  Lord  had  the  wisdom  to  admit 
it,  in  this  supreme  crisis,  by  giving  him  full  control,  within 
the  resources  of  the  country,  over  the  constitution    of  the 
fleet  with  which  he  fought  Trafalgar. 

Letters  left  for  I'ickerton  and  Collingwood  placed  them  in 


lat  whicjh 
,  nor  lose 


StlQUS.^:AllI^^u« 
Avrs  I,     s*^.*^i^<laloup« 
Q  Dviqinica 

St,Wncent»         ib.  rhndot 
I  'Grcniada 

^g  «lbbago 


.! 


i 

v 
I 


f  I* 


1^    A     B     li    A    D    O     R 


,.---.(, 


North  Ayiani 

\  .\>l9on  .  'unf  If*.  Hlits 

\'.\)Umtu»t   „  „  \,^l,lfri  /,,.  Hr 

l'l'iM4rs^\rtiun  tnlkiwiihinniHrrtt. 

,  VP  WUnieuvr  .Auit  30.  i.^OJ 

Mini  lutn  rrfiiTurnl  tn  it  0/  Hrili.\ 


UNOtAN 


NrwrOUNOCANO 


Vr  A 


OV*  tcOTIA       ( 


HRHMl'DA  iS  • 


# 


Q  Dvniinlca 

SI  Alncenr*        ^BarbadoMs 
^Gi'tri^ada 

'iViiiiiUd 


1'  /'(■'/  //.'^  ofWeL'^oii  I 


1 


^;;^(i 


In" 


iP  J: 
t  I' 


ilii 


ijlij 


W.l 


11 


I.  I 


JOINS  FLEKT  OFF  BKKST 


075 


possession  of  his  ideas,  including  the  revocation  of  the  Ad- 
miralty's order ;  and,  in  an  official  letter,  he  earnestly  recom- 
mended  the   latter  officer   to    adhere   to   his   arrangements. 
Word  was  also  sent  forward  to  Cornwallis,  and  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief at  Cork,  as  well  as  to  the  Admiralty,  to  notify 
them  of  his  approach.     To  tlie  northward  of  Cape  St.  Vincent 
he  met  the  northerly  winds  that  prevail  on  the  Portuguese 
coast.     Delayed  by  these,  he  was  three  full  weeks  making  the 
passage  from  Gibraltar  to  the  Channel  Fleet,  wliich  he  joined 
at  3  p.  M.  of  August  15th,  twenty-five  miles  west  of  Ushant. 
To  this  point  his  movements  were  finally  determined  by  a 
frigate,  which  was  spoken  on   the  12th  of  August,  and  in- 
formed him  that  up  to  three  days  before  no  intelligence  had 
been  received  of  the  enemy's  arrival  in  the  liay  of  liiscay,  or 
on  the  Irish  coast.     Cornwallis  excused  him  from  the  cus- 
tomary personal  visit,  and  authorized  him  to  proceed  at  once 
to  Portsmouth  with  the  "  Victory,"  in  pursuance  of  the  Ad- 
miralty's leave  which  he  so  long  had  had  in  his  hands.     On 
the  morning  of  August  18th,  the  long  and  fruitless  chase  of 
the  allied  fleet  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  dropping  of  the 
"  Victory's  "  anchor  at  Spithead.     To  Davison  Xelson  summed 
up  his  disappointment  in  the  exasperated  expression,  *'  D — u 
General  Brereton."  ^ 

From  newspapers  received  off  Ushant  he  first  learned  of 
Calder's  battle,  and  the  public  dissatisfaction  w^ith  the  results. 
He  had  undergone  too  much  frustration  and  anxiety  himself 
not  to  feel  for  an  officer  who  had  made  a  mistake,  although  it 
may  safely  be  said  that  Calder's  mistake  was  not  only  one 
Xelson  could  not  have  made,  but  was  the  exact  opposite  of 
the  course  which  Xelson  by  anticii)ation  had  said  he  would 

*  The  extent  of  Breroton's  fault  (if  at  fault)  deiientleil,  ])robal)ly,  upon  tlie 
character  and  responsibility  of  the  JUiiu  he  hail  on  lookout  at  so  critical  a 
moment,  and  the  care  with  which  he  tested  the  report  made  to  him.  Ih'crc- 
ton  did  not  know  of  Nelson's  arrival,  possibly  not  <if  his  approach.  At  the 
same  time  men  must  take  the  blame  of  carelessness,  when  harm  comes  of  it. 
I'jidl,  connnenting  to  Xelson  upon  the  incident,  said  :  ''  [  thiidc  onlcrs  should 
be  given,  thiit  when  a  fleet  is  discovered,  an  ofrK'cr  should  be  sent  fm  to  wit- 
ness it,  and  that  one  should  be  at  the  signal  hill  at  the  rising  and  setting 
of  the  sun.  I  have  often  relleeted  on  these  circumstances,  and  on  the  little 
attention  generally  paid  them."  As  it  stands,  the  whole  alf.ur  is  a  waiiiing 
to  oflicers,  of  what  results  may  flow  from  errors  small  in  themselves. 


i  If  I 

ni 


'^  a 


070 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


adopt.  lie  expressed  himself  in  words  of  generous  sj'inpathy. 
"  I  was  bewildered  by  the  account  of  Sir  llobert  Calder's  vic- 
tory, and  the  joy  of  the  event ;  together  with  the  hearing  that 
Jo/m  Bull  was  not  content,  which  I  am  sorry  for.  Who  can, 
my  dear  Fremantle,  command  all  the  success  which  our  Country 
may  wish  ?  We  have  fought  together,  and  therefore  well  know 
what  it  is.  I  have  had  the  best  disposed  fleet  of  friends,  but 
who  can  say  what  will  be  the  event  of  a  battle  ?  and  it  most 
sincerely  grieves  me,  that  in  any  of  the  papers  it  should 
be  insinuated,  that  Lord  Nelson  could  have  done  better.  I 
should  have  fought  the  enemy,  so  did  my  friend  Calder ;  but 
who  can  say  that  he  will  be  more  successful  than  another  ? 
I  only  wish  to  stand  npon  my  own  merits,  and  not  by  com- 
parison, one  way  or  the  other,  upon  the  conduct  of  a  brother 
officer.  You  will  forgive  this  dissertation,  but  I  feel  upon 
the  occasion."  These  words,  which  spoke  the  whole  of  his 
honest  heart,  were  the  more  generous,  because  he  believed 
Calder  to  be  one  of  the  few  professional  enemies  that  he 
had. 

From  the  place  where  Villeneuve  was  met.  Nelson  reasoned, 
again,  that  the  primary  intention  of  the  allies,  returning  from 
the  West  Indies,  had  been  to  enter  tlie  Straits.  "  By  all 
accounts  I  "ui  satisfied  their  original  destination  was  the 
Mediterranean,  but  they  heard  frequently  of  our  track."  This 
persistence  in  his  first  view  was  partly  due  to  the  confidence 
with  which  he  held  to  his  own  convictions,  —  the  defect  of 
a  strong  quality,  —  partly,  doubtless,  to  the  fact  that  Viller.  .'uvo 
had  blundered  in  his  homeward  course,  and  fetched  unneces- 
sarily to  leeward  of  his  port,  with  reference  to  winds  per- 
fectly understood  by  seamen  of  that  day.  In  fact  he  had  no 
business  to  be  where  he  brought  up,  except  on  the  supposition 
that  he  was  making  for  the  Straits. 


5  sympathy. 
:;alder's  vic- 
hearing  that 
Who  can, 
our  Country 
re  well  know 

friends,  but 
'  and  it  most 
rs   it   should 
le  better.     I 
L  Calder;  but 
nan  another? 
I  not  by  com- 
t  of  a  brother 
Lt  I  feel  upon 

whole  of  his 
je  he  believed 
emies  that  he 

elson  reasoned, 
returning  from 
aits.     "By  all 
Inatiou  was  the 
track."     This 
,  the  confidence 
-the  defect  of 
thatViller-nivo 
etched  unneces- 
to  wiiKls  per- 
facthehadno 
the  supposition 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Nelson's  Last  Stay  in  England. 
August  19- September  15,  1805.    Age,  4G. 

THE  "Victory"  was  delayed  in  quarantine  twenty-four 
hours,  when  orders  from  London  directed  her  release. 
At  9  p.  M.  of  the  19th  of  August,  Nelson's  flag  was  hauled 
dcwn,  and  he  left  the  ship  for  Merton,  thus  ending  an  absence 
of  two  years  and  v-hrce  months.  His  home  being  but  an  hour's 
drive  from  the  her.rt  of  London,  the  anxieties  of  the  time,  and 
his  own  eagerness  to  communicate  his  views  and  experience, 
carried  him  necessarily  and  at  once  to  the  public  offices  —  to 
the  Admiralty  first,  but  also  to  the  Secretaries  for  Foreign 
Affairs  and  for  War,  both  of  whom  had  occasion  for  the 
knowledge  and  suggestions  of  so  competent  and  practised  an 
observer.  The  present  head  of  the  Admiralty,  Lord  Barham, 
had  succeeded  to  the  office,  unexpectedly,  upon  the  sudden 
retirement  of  IMelville  the  previous  May.  He  was  a  naval 
officer,  eighty  years  of  age,  who  since  middi  i  life  had  exchanged 
the  active  sea-going  of  the  profession,  for  jivil  duties  connected 
with  it.  He  had  tlms  been  out  of  touch  with  it  on  the  military 
side  ;  and  although  Nelson  was  of  course  well  known  to  him 
by  reputation  and  acJiievement,  be  had  not  that  intimate  per- 
sonal experience  of  his  character  and  habit  of  thought,  ui)ou 
Avhich  was  based  the  absolute  confiden'^e  felt  by  St.  Vincent, 
and  by  all  others  who  had  seen  the  great  warrior  in  active 
service.  "Lord  Barljam  is  an  almost  entire  stranger  to  me," 
wrote  Nelson  ;  but  after  their  interview  lie  left  with  him  the 
journals  in  which  were  embodied  the  information  obtained 
during  his  recent  command,  with  his  coinmentsupon  the  affairs 
of  the  Mediterranean  in  particular,  and,  as  incidental  thereto, 
of  Europe  in  general.  Barham,  who  gave  proof  of  great  mili- 
tary capacity  during  liis  short  term  of  office,  was  so  much  im- 


ill 


i\i\ 


i    • 


Ml 


HI 


^•% 


f  ,    I 


I: 


078 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


III 


■,:i:rjt 


pressed  by  the  sagacity  and  power  of  Nelson's  remarks,  that 
he  assnred  the  Cabinet  he  ougiit  by  all  means  to  go  back  to 
the  IMediterranean ;  and  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  latter's 
wish  so  to  do  would  have  been  gratified,  at  the  time  of  his  own 
choosing,  had  not  other  events  interposed  to  carry  him  away 
earlier,  and  to  end  his  career. 

It  ^\  as  upon  one  of  these  visits  to  Ministers  that  Nelson  and 
"Wellington  met  for  the  only  time  in  their  lives.  The  latter 
had  just  returned  from  a  long  service  in  India,  reaching  Eng- 
land in  September,  1805.  His  account  of  the  interview,  trans- 
mitted to  us  by  Croker,  is  as  follows:  — 

VValmkk,  October  1st,  1834. 

"We  were  talking  of  Lord  Nelson,  and  some  instances  were  mentioned 
of  the  egotism  iuid  vanity  that  derogated  from  his  character.  "  Why," 
•said  the  Duke,  "I  am  not  surprised  at  such  instances,  for  Lord  Nelson 
was,  in  different  circumstances,  two  quite  different  men,  as  I  myself 
can  vouch,  though  I  only  saw  him  once  in  my  life,  and  for,  perhaps, 
an  hour.  It  was  soon  after  I  returned  from  India.  I  went  to  the 
Colonial  OlHee  ^  in  Downing  Street,  and  there  I  was  shown  into  the 
little  waiting-room  on  the  right  hand,  where  1  found,  also  waiting  to 
see  the  Seci'etary  of  State,  a  gentleman,  wliom,  from  Ixis  likeness  to 
his  pictures  and  tlie  loss  of  an  arm,  I  inunediately  recognized  as  Lord 
Nelson.  He  could  not  know  who  I  was,  but  lie  entered  at  once  into 
conversation  with  me,  it"  I  can  call  it  conversation,  for  it  was  almost 
all  on  his  side  and  all  about  himself,  and  in,  really,  a  style  so  vain 
and  so  silly  as  to  surprise  and  almost  disgust  me.  I  suppose  some- 
thing that  I  happened  to  say  may  have  made  him  guess  that  I  was 
somebody,  and  he  went  out  of  the  room  for  a  moment,  J  have  no  doubt 
to  ask  the  olfice-keeper  who  I  was,  for  when  he  came  back  he  was  al- 
together a  different  man,  both  in  manner  and  matter.  All  that  I  had 
thought  a  charlatan  style  had  vanished,  and  he  talked  of  the  state  of 
this  country  and  of  the  aspect  and  probabilities  of  aifairs  on  the  Con- 
tinent with  a  good  sense,  and  a  knowledge  of  subjects  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  that  surprised  me  eciually  and  more  agreeably  than  the 
first  part  of  our  interview  had  done  ;  in  fact,  \w  talked  like  an  officer 
and  a  statesman.  The  St'cretary  of  State  ke]>t  us  long  waiting,  and 
certainly,  for  the  last  half  or  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  I  don't  know 

1  In  a  letter  to  the  Eiirl  of  Moniington,  dated  December  21st,  1805,  "Wel- 
lington, then  "Wei ley] ey,  said,  "  I  arrived  in  England  about  Septenjber  lOtli." 
The  margin  of  time  for  meeting  Nelson,  who  left  Me  "■■■  on  the  13th,  was 
therefore  small,  and  fixes  very  closely  the  date  of  this  iuterestnig  interview. 
The  Colonial  and  War  OUices  seem  liicu  to  have  been  under  one  head. 


5!  ! 


Ills  MILITAUY  OPINIONS 


679 


jiuarks,  that 
I  go  back  to 
,  the  latter's 
e  of  his  own 
L-y  him  away 

;  Nelson  and 

The  latter 

:^aching  Eng- 

srview,  trans- 


Ler  1st,  1834. 
ere  mentioned 
;ter.     "Why," 
ir  Lord  Nelson 
jn,  as  I  myself 
1  for,  perhaps, 
I  went  to  the 
shown  into  the 
also  waiting  to 
his  likeness  to 
gnized  as  Lord 
lid  at  once  into 
it  was  almost 
style  so  vain 
suppose  some- 
ess  that  I  was 
ave  no  doubt 
ack  he  was  al- 
AU  that  I  had 
of  the  state  of 
on  the  Con- 
both  at  home 
iably  than  ti\e 
like  an  olTicer 
waiting,  and 
I  don't  know 

1st,  1805,  Wul- 
'ptoniber  10th." 
the  13tli,  Wiis 
ting  interview, 
le  head. 


that  I  ever  had  a  conversation  tliat  interested  mo  more.  Now,  if  the 
Secretary  of  State  had  been  punctual,  and  admitted  Lord  Nelson  in 
the  first  quarter  of  an  hour,  I  shouhl  have  had  the  same  impression  of 
a  light  and  trivial  character  that  other  pe()i)le  have  had;  but  luckily 
I  saw  enough  to  be  satisfied  tliat  he  was  really  a  very  superior  man  ; 
but  certainly  a  more  sudden   and   complete  metamorphosis  1  never 


saw, 


"1 


This  is  not  the  only  record  that  remains  to  us  of  those 
interesting  interviews  with  Cabinet  Ministers,  although  the 
most  have  passed  away  unnoted.  It  was  iu  one  of  them  that 
he  uttered  a  military  opinion,  for  whose  preservation  we  are 
indebted  to  his  own  mention  of  it  in  a  private  letter;  an  opin- 
ion so  characteristic  of  his  habits  of  thought,  his  reasoned 
motives  of  action,  that,  although  it  has  before  been  quoted,  it 
is  fitting  to  repeat  it  in  his  own  words  and  in  full. 

When  he  readied  England,  the  naval  situation,  as  far  as 
then  known,  was  that  Napoleon  had  twenty-one  French  ships- 
of-the-line  in  Brest,  and  twenty  eight  or  nine,  French  and 
Spanish,  in  Ferrol ;  while  Cornwallis  had  thirty-five  British 
off  Brest.  This  was  the  condition  on  the  15th  of  August, 
when  Nelson  parted  from  the  fleet  ofE  Ushant.  Very  soon 
after  his  arrival  in  town,  news  was  received  that  Villeneuve 
had  gone  to  sea  from  Ferrol,  and  that  Cornwallis,  when  in- 
formed of  the  fact,  had  divided  his  fleet,  with  great  lack  of 
judgment,  keeping  himself  seventeen  ships  to  confront  the 
Brest  squadron,  while  eighteen  were  sent  to  look  for  Villeneuve 
under  the  command  of  Admiral  Calder.  In  the  public  discon- 
tent with  the  latter,  it  was  not  reassuring  to  know  that,  at  a 
moment  when  every  one's  nerves  were  on  the  rack,  he  was 
again  intrusted  with  the  always  difficult  task  of  coping  with  a 
much  superior  force.  While  this  state  of  excitement  prevailed, 
Nelson  called  upon  the  Secretary  of  State,  Lord  Castlereagh, 
on  the  23d  of  August.  "  Yesterday,"  he  wrote  to  Captain 
Keats,  "  the  Secretary  of  State,  which  is  a  man  who  has  only 
sat  one  solitary  day  in  his  office,  and  of  course  knows  but  little 
of  what  is  passed,  and  indeed  the  Minister,^  were  all  full  of 
the  enemy's  fleet,  and  as  I  am  now  set  up  for  a  Conjuror, 
and  God  knows  they  will  very  soon  find  out  I  am  far  from 

1  Correspondence  and  Diaries  of  John  Wilson  Croker,  vol.  ii.  p.  233. 

2  The  Prime  Minister  Pitt. 


l;  J 


'ji 


n 


680 


THE  LIFE  OF   NELSUN 


being  one,  I  was  asked  my  opinion,  against  my  inclination, 
for  if  I  make  one  wrong  guess  the  charm  will  be  broken;  but 
this  I  ventured  without  any  fear,  that  if  Calder  got  close  along- 
side their  twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight  sail,  that  by  the  time 
the  enemy  had  beat  our  fleet  soundly,  they  would  do  us  no 
harm  this  year." 

This  acute  perception  of  the  reason  why  it  was  at  times 
desirable  and  proper  to  hurl  a  smaller  though  more  efficient 
force  against  superior  numbers,  content  that  the  latter,  a?  a 
factor,  were  for  the  campaign  annihilated, — this  realization 
of  the  possible  fruitfulness  of  a  defeat,  or  rather,  of  a  battle 
wisely  lost,  as  contrasted  with  what  Jomini  calls  the  sterile 
glory  of  fighting  battles  merely  to  win  them,  —  is  one  of  the 
most  marked  and  decisive  features  of  Nelson's  genius  as  a 
general  officer.  It  recurs  over  and  over  again,  and  at  all 
periods,  in  his  correspondence,  this  clear  and  full  appreciation 
of  the  relation  of  the  parts  to  the  wliole.^  It  underlay  his 
sustained  purpose  during  the  long  pursuit  of  the  preceding 
months,  that,  if  he  found  the  allied  squadron,  "thoy  would 
not  part  without  a  battle."  Wliatever  else  the  result,  that 
particular  division  would  do  no  harm  that  year,  and  with  it 
necessarily  fell  the  great  combination,  whatever  that  might 
be,  of  which  it  was  an  essential  factor.  "  The  event  would 
have  been  in  the  hands  of  Providence,"  he  wrote  to  Bar- 
ham  ;  "  but  we  may  without,  I  hope,  vanity,  believe  that  the 
enemy  would  have  been  fit  for  no  active  service  after  such 
a  battle."  There  is  wanting  to  the  completeness  of  this  admir- 
able impulse  only  the  steadying  resolve  that  he  would  bide 
his  time,  so  as,  to  use  Napoleon's  phrase,  to  have  the  most  of 
the  chances  on  his  side  when  he  attacked.  This  also  we  know 
he  meant  to  do.  "  I  will  wait,  till  they  give  me  an  opportunity 
too  tempting  to  be  resisted,  or  till  they  draw  near  the  shores 
of  Europe."  In  such  qualification  is  to  be  seen  the  equipoise 
of  the  highest  order  of  ability.  This  union  of  desperate 
energy  with  calculating  wariness  was  in  him  not  so  much  a 
matter  of  reasoning,  though  reason  fully  endorses  it,  as  it 
was  the  gift  of  nature,  —  genius,  in  short.  Reasoning  of  a 
very  high  order  illuminates  Nelson's  mental  processes  and 
justifies  his  conclusions,  but  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  reason, 
1  Compare,  for  example,  ante,  p.  361. 


THE  POPULAR   ENTHUSIASM 


681 


fuclination, 
roken;  but 
jlose  aloug- 
oy  the  time 
d  do  us  no 

as  at  times 
ive  efficient 
latter,  ap  a 
realization 
,  of  a  battle 
the  sterile 
5  one  of  the 
genius  as  a 
and  at  all 
appreciation 
inderlay  his 
le  preceding 
"they  would 
result,  that 
,  and  with  it 
i'  that  might 
event  would 
•ote   to   Bar- 
eve  that  the 
e  after  such 
>f  this  admir- 
would  bide 
the  most  of 
Jso  we  know 
opportunity 
the  shores 
lie  equipoise 
if  desperate 
so  much  a 
,es  it,  as  it 
,soning  of  a 
•ocesses  and 
r  of  reason, 


when  face  to  face  with  emergency,  to  bridge  the  chasm  that 
separates  perception,  however  clear,  from  the  inward  convic- 
tion which  alone  sustains  the  loftiest  action.  "  Responsi- 
bility," said  St.  Vincent,  "  is  the  test  of  a  man's  courage." 
Emergency,  it  may  be  said,  is  the  test  of  his  faith  in  his 
beliefs. 

While  those  at  the  head  of  the  State  tlius  hung  upon  his 
counsels,  and  drew  encouragement  from  his  indomitable  con- 
fidence, the  people  in  the  streets  looked  up  to  him  with  that 
wistful  and  reverent  dependence  which  does  not  wholly  under- 
stand, but  centres  all  its  trust  upon  a  tried  name.  They 
knew  what  he  had  done  in  the  now  distant  past,  and  they  had 
heard  lately  that  he  had  boon  to  the  West  Indies,  and  had 
returned,  having  saved  the  chief  jewel  among  the  colonies  of 
the  empire.  They  knew,  also,  that  their  rulers  were  fearful 
about  invasion,  and  that  in  some  undefined  way  Nelson  had 
stood,  and  would  yet  stand,  between  them  and  harm.  J'he 
rapidity  of  his  movements  left  little  interval  between  the 
news  of  his  being  back  at  Gibraltar  and  the  announcement  of 
his  arrival  at  Portsmouth,  which  was  not  generally  expected. 
On  the  19th  of  August,  a  day  after  the  "  Victory "  anchored 
at  Spithead,  Lord  Radstock  wrote:  *"T  is  extraordinary  no 
official  accounts  have  been  received  ivom  Lord  Nelson  since 
the  27th  of  July.  He  then  hinted  that  he  might  perhaps  go 
to  Ireland ;  nevertheless,  we  have  had  no  tidings  of  him  on 
that  coast.  I  confess  I  begin  to  be  fearful  that  he  has  wor- 
ried his  mind  up  to  that  pitch,  that  he  cannot  bear  the  idia 
of  showing  himself  again  to  the  world,  until  he  shall  have 
struck  some  blow,  and  that  it  is  this  hope  that  is  now  making 
him  run  about,  half-frantic,  in  quest  of  adventures.  That 
such  unparalleled  perseverance  and  true  valor  should  thus 
evaporate  in  air  is  truly  melancholy." 

If  any  doubt  of  the  approval  of  his  countrymen  mingled 
with  the  distress  Nelson  unquestionably  felt  at  having  missed 
the  enemy,  he  was  touchingly  undeceived.  As  soon  as  the 
"  Victory  "  and  his  flag  were  made  out,  the  people  flocked  to 
Portsmouth,  collecting  on  the  ramparts  of  the  town  and  other 
points  of  view,  in  inaudible  testimony  of  welcome.  As  the 
barge  pulled  to  the  shore,  and  upon  landing,  ho  was  greeted 
with  loud  and  long-continued  cheering.     In  London  the  same 


'ilj 


IK 


!| 


682 


TIIK   LIFK   OF  NKLSON 


B!''f'il 


demonstrations  continued  whenever  he  was  recognized  in  imblic- 
**  Lord  Nelson  arrived  a  few  days  ago,"  wrote  Kadstoek.  '*  He 
was  received  in  town  almost  as  a  concjueror,  'uul  was  followed 
round  by  the  people  witii  huzzas.  So  much  for  a  great  and 
good  name  most  nobly  and  deservedly  acquired."  "  I  met 
Nelson  in  a  mob  in  riccadilly,"  wrote  iNIinto  at  the  same  time, 
"and  got  hold  of  his  arm,  so  that  1  was  mobbed  too.  It  is 
really  quite  affecting  to  see  the  wonder  and  admiration,  and 
love  and  respect  of  tlie  whole  world ;  and  the  genuine  expres- 
sion of  all  these  sentiments  at  once,  from  gentle  and  simple,  the 
moment  he  is  seen.  It  is  beyond  anything  represented  in  a 
play  or  in  a  poem  of  fame."  In  these  few  days  was  concen- 
trated the  outward  reward  of  a  life  spent  in  the  service  of  his 
country.  During  them,  Nelson  was  conspicuously  the  first 
man  in  England,  —  first  alike  in  the  love  of  the  people  and 
in  importance  to  the  State. 

On  the  private  side,  also,  his  life  for  this  brief  respite  was 
eminently  happy,  marred  only  by  the  prospect  of  a  si)eedy 
departure,  the  signal  for  which  sounded  even  sooner  than  was 
expected.  By  his  own  account,  he  was  only  four  times  in 
London,  and  all  the  moments  that  could  be  spared  from 
external  calls  he  spent  at  Merton,  where  there  gathered  a 
large  family  party,  including  all  his  surviving  brothers  and 
sisters  with  several  of  their  children.  "I  cannot  move  at 
present,"  he  writes  on  the  31st  of  August,  in  declining  an 
invitation,  "as  all  my  family  are  with  me,  ami  my  stay  is  very 
uncertain ;  and,  besides,  I  have  refused  for  the  present  all 
invitations."  "  I  went  to  Merton  on  Saturday  "  (August  24th), 
wrote  Minto,  "  and  found  Nelson  just  sitting  down  to  dinner, 
surrounded  by  a  family  party,  of  his  brotlier  the  Dean,  Mrs. 
Nelson,  their  children,  and  the  children  of  a  sister.  Lady 
Hamilton  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  Mother  Cadogan  ^  at 
the  bottom.  I  had  a  hearty  welcome.  He  looks  remarkably 
well  and  full  of  spirits.  His  conversation  is  a  cordial  in  these 
low  times.  Lady  Hamilton  has  improved  and  added  to  the 
house  and  the  place  extremely  well,  without  his  knowing 
she  was  about  it.  He  found  it  already  done.  She  is  a  clever 
being,  after  all :  the  passion  is  as  hot  as  ever." 

Over  all  hung,  unseen,  the  sword  of  Damocles.  Nelson 
1  Lady  Haniilton's  mother. 


,  U 


PRESENTIMENTS 


083 


.  in  public 
•t'k.  "He 
s  t'oUoweil 

great  and 
I     »i  met 
saiue  time, 
too.     It  i« 
ration,  and 
ino  expves- 
simple,  tlie 
sentecl  in  a 
,vas  concen- 
rvice  of  bis 
\y  the  first 
:  people  and 

respite  was 
of  a  speedy 
iiev  than  was 
our  times  in 
spared   from 
3  gathered  a 
brothers  and 
not  move  at 
declining  an 
stay  is  very 
present  all 
ugust  24th), 
Lvn  to  dinner, 
Dean,  Mrs. 
aster.    Lady 
Cadogan^  at 
remarkably 
•dial  in  these 
idded  to  the 
|his  knowing 
he  is  a  clever 

lies.    Nelson 


himself  seems  to  have  been  possessed  already  by  vague  pro- 
monitions  of  the  coniing  end,  which  deepened  luid  durkeiud 
around  him  as  he  went  forward  to  liis  fate.  Tlie  story  told 
of  his  saying  to  the  upholsterer,  who  had  in  charge  tlie  collin 
made  from  the  mast  of  the  "Orient,"  that  a  certificate  of  its 
identity  should  be  engraved  on  tlic  lid,  becrausc  lie  thought  it 
highly  probable  that  ho  might  want  it  on  his  return,  is,  indeed, 
but  a  commonplace,  liglit-liearted  remark,  which  derives  what 
significance  it  has  purely  from  the  event ;  but  it  is  easy  to 
recognize  in  his  writings  the  recurrent,  though  intermittent, 
strain  of  unusual  foreboding.  Life  then  held  much  for  him  ; 
and  it  is  when  richest  that  the  possibility  of  approaching  loss 
possesses  the  consciousness  with  the  sense  of  probability. 
Upon  a  soul  of  his  heroic  temper,  however,  such  presentiments, 
though  they  might  solemnize  and  consecrate  the  passing 
moments,  had  no  power  to  appall,  nor  to  convert  cheerfulness 
into  gloom.  The  light  that  led  him  never  burned  more 
brightly,  nor  did  he  ever  follow  with  more  unfaltering  step. 

Fixed  in  his  mind  to  return  to  his  command  in  October,  he 
soon  felt  that,  in  the  uncertainties  of  the  French  movements, 
a  call  might  come  at  any  moment.  Although  lie  nowhere  says 
so,  his  mind  was  doubtless  made  up  that,  if  Villeneuve's 
twenty-nine  sail  went  to,  or  near,  the  JMediterranean,  he  would 
go  out  at  once.  "  Every  ship,"  he  writes  on  the  31st  of 
August,  "even  the  Victory,  is  ordered  out,  for  there  is  an 
entire  ignorance  whether  the  Ferrol  fleet  is  coming  to  the 
northward,  gone  to  the  Mediterranean,  or  cruizing  for  our 
valuable  homeward-bound  fleet."  "  Mr.  Pitt,"  he  tells  a  friend 
as  early  as  the  29th,  "  is  pL  ".  to  think  that  my  services 
may  be  wanted.  I  hope  Calan-'s  victory  (which  I  am  most 
anxiously  expecting)  will  render  my  going  forth  unnecessary." 
"  I  hold  myself  ready,"  he  writes  again  on  the  3d  of  Septem- 
ber, "  to  go  forth  whenever  I  am  desired,  although  God  knows 
I  want  rest ;  but  self  is  entirely  out  of  the  question."  ^ 

It  was  not,  therefore,  to  a  mind  or  wi.l  unprepared  that  the 
sudden  intimation  came  on  the  2d  of  Se;>tember  —  just  a  fort- 
night after  he  left  the  "Victory."  That  morning  there  arrived 
in  town  Captain  Blackwood  of  the  frigate  "  Euryalus,"  which 

1  Nelson  to  Right  Hon.  George  Rose,  August  29  ami  September  3,  1805  : 
Kicolas,  vol.  vii.  pp.  18,  19,  29. 


« 


i\ 


684 


THE   LIFE  OF  NELSON 


liad  been  despatched  by  CoUingwood  to  notify  the  Admiralty 
tliat  the  missing  V^illeneuve  had  turned  up  with  his  squadron 
at  Cadiz,  on  the  20th  of  August.  Hhickwood  was  an  ohl 
friend  and  follower.  It  was  he  who  liad  connnanded  the 
"  Penelope  "  in  March,  1800,  and  more  than  any  one  present 
had  insured  the  capture  of  the  "  Guillaume  Tell,"  when  she 
ran  out  from  Malta,'  —  the  greatest  service,  probably,  ren- 
dered to  Nelson's  reputation  by  any  man  who  ever  sailed 
under  his  orders.  He  stopped  first  at  Merton  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  found  Nelson  already  up  and  dressed. 
The  latter  said  at  once,  "  I  am  sure  you  bring  me  news  of  the 
French  and  Spanish* fleets,  and  I  think  I  shall  yet  have  to 
beat  them."  Later  in  the  day  he  called  at  the  Admiralty, 
and  there  saw  Blackwood  agtan.  In  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion, which  turned  chiefly  upon  future  operations  in  the  Med- 
iterranean, he  frequently  repeated,  "Depend  on  it,  l*)lackwood, 
I  shall  yet  give  Mr.  Villeneuve  a  drubbing,"  an  expression 
whose  wording  evinces  animation  and  resolve, —  far  removed 
from  the  troubled  indecision  from  which,  by  her  own  account, 
Lady  Hamilton  freed  him. 

It  was  speedily  determined  by  the  Government  that  the  com- 
bined fleets  in  Cadiz  should  be  held  there,  or  forced  to  tight  if 
they  left ;  the  country  had  passed  through  a  fortnight  of  too 
great  anxiety,  to  risk  any  chance  of  its  repetition  by  a  re- 
newed evasion.  Ignorant  of  the  reasons  which  dictated  Vil- 
leneuve's  course,  and  that  it  was  not  accordant  but  contrary 
to  his  orders,  it  was  natural  to  suppose  that  there  was  some 
further  object  indicated  by  the  position  now  taken,  and  that 
that  object  was  the  Mediterranean.  Moreover,  so  large  a 
body  of  commissioned  ships  —  nearly  forty — as  were  now 
assembled,  could  not  fail  to  tax  severely  the  resources  of  a 
port  like  Cadiz,  and  distress  would  tend  to  drive  them  out 
soon.  Thirty  thousand  able-bodied  men  are  a  heavy  addi- 
tional load  on  the  markets  of  a  small  city,  blockaded  by  sea, 
and  with  primitive  communications  by  land.  Upon  this  rested 
Nelson's  principal  hope  of  obliging  them  to  come  forth,  if 
Napoleon  himself  did  not  compel  them.  Their  position,  he 
wrote  the  Secretary  for  War  soon  after  he  joined  the  fleet, 


1  Ante,  p.  431. 


THE   ALLIKI)   I'LEKTS   AT   C'AI)I 


fisr. 


is  squadron 
was  an  old 
nanded  the 
one  present 
,"  when  she 
obably,  ren- 

ever  sailed 
,  five  o'clock 
md  dressed. 
I  news  of  the 
yet  have  to 
3  Admiralty, 
of  conversa- 
s  in  the  Med- 
b,  Blackwood, 
ui  expression 
-far  removed 

own  account, 

that  the  com- 
■ced  to  fight  if 
■tnight  of  too 
tion  by  a  re- 
dictated  Vil- 
but  contrary 
.ere  was  some 
ken,  and  that 
Ir,  so  large  a 
as  were  now 
[esources  of  a 
ive  them  out 
heavy  addi- 
liaded  by  sea, 
)on  this  rested 
|ome  forth,  if 
position,  he 
Ined  the  fleet, 


seemed  to  favor  an  attack  by  rockets  ;  **  but  I  think  wo  have  a 
better  chance  of  forcing  tlioni  out  by  want  of  provisions  :  it  is 
said  hunger  will  break  through  stone  walls,  —  ours  is  only  a 
Avail  of  wood."  "It  is  said  that  there  is  a  great  scureity 
of  provisions  in  Cadiz."  lie  then  mentioned  that  the  tillies 
were  endeavoring  to  meet  this  difHculty  by  sending  neutral 
vessels,  loaded  with  food-stuffs,  from  French  ports  to  all 
the  small  harbors  on  either  side  of  Cadiz,  wlience  the  stores 
carried  by  them  could  be  transferred  by  coasting-boats, — a 
l)rocess  which  ships  were  powerless  to  stop.  Collingwood, 
therefore,  had  seized  the  neutrals,  and  sent  them  into  Gibraltar, 
a  step  which  Nelson  had  approved  and  continued.  For  it  ho 
then  demanded  the  authority  of  his  government.  "  Should  it 
be  thought  proper  to  allow  the  enemy's  fleet  to  be  victualled, 
I  request  that  I  may  be  informed  as  soon  as  possible." 

In  connection  with  this  subject  Nelson  made  an  allusion  to 
a  policy  with  which  Castlereagh,  tlie  minister  he  was  address- 
ing, was  afterwards  identified, — that  of  the  celebrated  Orders 
in  Council  of  1807,  and  the  license  system  connected  with  it. 
This  is  one  of  the  few  intimations  we  have  of  the  wide  range 
of  subjects  upon  which  he  conversed  with  members  of  the 
Cabinet  while  in  England ;  and  it  is  interesting,  not  only  as 
showing  how  far  back  those  measures  originated,  but  also  as 
illustrating  his  own  prophetic  intuition  of  the  construction 
which  would  be  placed  upon  such  proceedings.  **  I  can  have 
nothing,  as  an  Admiral,  to  say  upon  tlie  propriety  of  granting 
licences ;  but  from  what  your  Lordship  told  me  of  the  inten- 
tion of  Ministers  respecting  the  neutral  trade,  it  strikes  me, 
some  day  it  may  be  urged  that  it  was  not  for  the  sake  of  block- 
ade, but  for  the  purpose  of  taking  all  the  trade  into  her  own 
hands,  that  Great  Britain  excluded  the  Neutrals.  Your  Lord- 
ship's wisdom  will  readily  conceive  all  that  Neutral  Courts 
may  urge  at  this  apparent  injustice,  and  of  might  overcoming 
right."  ^  This  shrewdly  accurate  forecast  of  a  contention 
which  was  not  to  arise  till  after  his  death  is  but  one  instance 

^  This  is  the  t'iirliest  intimation  that  has  coniu  under  the  author's  eye  of 
the  formulation  (as  distinguished  from  the  development)  of  the  groups  of  Or- 
ders in  Council  of  1807,  hearing  ujioii  the  Neutral  Trade,  which  were  issued 
and  carried  out  by  a  Ministry  other  than  the  one  which  Nelson  knew.  The 
measure  was  clearly  under  consideration  before  Trafalgar. 


I 
> 

'     iti 


I  ! 


■     !. 


080 


THK   LIFK   OF   NKLSON 


I 


:t,l 


1/ 


f* 


■:       ? 


among  many  of  Xolson's  clearness  of  judgment,  in  political  as 
well  as  in  military  matters. 

Xelson's  services,  upon  this,  his  final  departure  from  Eng- 
land, were  ratiuu"  requested  by  the  Government  than  by  him 
volunteered  —  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  He  went 
willingly  enough,  doubtless,  but  in  obedience,  proud  and  glad, 
to  the  summons,  not  only  of  the  popular  cry,  but  of  the  Cabi- 
net's wish.  *'  I  own  1  want  much  more  rest,"  ho  wrote  to 
Elliot,  immetliately  after  joining  the  fleet  off  Cadiz;  "bi.t  it 
was  thought  right  to  desire  mo  to  come  forth,  and  I  obeyjd." 
"  I  expected  to  lay  my  weary  bones  quiet  for  the  winter,"  he 
told  another  friend  in  Naples,  "  but  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  bo 
proud  of  the  giMun-al  call  which  has  made  me  to  go  forth." 
The  poimlarly  received  account,  therefore,  derived  from  Lady 
Hamilton,  of  her  controlling  influence  in  the  matter,  may  bo 
dismissed  as  being — if  not  apocryphal  —  merely  one  side  of 
the  dealing  by  which  ho  had  to  reconcile  the  claims  of  jatri- 
otic  duty  with  the  appeals  of  the  aff'ections.  As  told  by 
Southey,  her  part  in  his  decision  was  as  follows :  "  Waeu 
IJlackwood  had  left  him,  he  wanted  resolution  to  declare  ids 
wishes  to  Lady  Hamilton  and  his  sisters,  and  endeavoured  lo 
drive  away  the  thought.  He  had  done  enough,  he  said:  '  L'.'t 
the  man  trudge  it  who  has  lost  his  budget !'  His  countenar.ee 
belied  his  lips  ;  and  as  he  was  pacing  one  of  the  walks  in  the 
garden,  which  he  used  to  call  the  quarter-deck,  Lady  Hamil- 
ton came  up  to  him,  and  said  she  saw  he  was  uneasy.  He 
smiled,  and  said :  *  No,  he  was  as  happy  as  possible ;  he  was 
surrounded  by  his  family,  his  health  was  better  since  he  had 
beeu  ou  shore,  and  he  would  not  give  sixpence  to  call  the 
king  his  uncle.'  She  replied,  that  she  did  not  believe  liim, 
that  she  knew  he  was  longing  to  get  at  the  combined  fleets, 
that  he  considered  them  as  his  own  property,  that  he  would 
be  miserable  if  any  man  but  himself  did  the  business,  and 
that  he  ought  to  have  them,  as  the  price  and  reward  of  I'.is  two 
years'  long  watching,  and  his  hard  chase.  '  Xelson,'  s:dd  she, 
'however  we  may  lament  your  absence,  offer  your  services; 
they  will  be  accepted,  and  you  will  gain  a  quiet  hrart  by  it; 
you  will  have  a  glorious  victory,  and  then  you  may  return 
here,  and  be  happy.'  He  looked  at  her  with  tears  in  his 
eyes:    'Brave    Emma!     Good  Emma !     If  there  were   more 


I'KKrAlfKS   TO    KKSII.ME   HIS   COMMAND 


(W, 


.  political  as 

rt  from  Eng- 
tliau  by  liiiu 
I.     He  went 
lid  and  glad, 
of  the  Cabl- 
he  wrote  to 
diz;  "but  it 
d  I  obeyed." 
3  winter,"  he 
irliaps,  to  be 
to  go  forth." 
il  from  Lady 
itter,  may  bo 
y  one  side  of 
,ims  of  1  atri- 
As  told  by 
)ws:    "Waen 
bo  declare  ids 
ideavoured  to 
10  said :  *  L'-'t 
5  countenance 
walks  in  the 
Lady  Ha  mil- 
uneasy.     He 
ible ;   he  was 
since  he  had 
to  call  the 
believe  him, 
ibined  fleets, 
;iat  he  would 
lusines^,  and 
Ird  of  his  two 
Ion,'  Slid  she, 
lur  iervices; 
hrart  by  it; 
may  return 
tears  in   his 
were   more 


Emmas,  there  woiild  bo   more  Nelsons.'     Ills   services  were 
as  willingly  aciic^ptiMl  as  they  wore  olTiM-cd." 

Tlio  fidelity  witli  whii^h  Xclson  destroyed  Lady  Hamilton's 
letters  prevents  our  knowing  just  what  was  licr  attitude! 
towards  his  aspirations  for  glory,  and  her  acciuiesoiaiee  in  his 
perils,  in  view  of  the  entire  dependence  of  her  future  upon  his 
life  ;  a  dependence  such  as  an  hononid  wife  (iould  by  no  means 
feel,  for  the  widow  of  Xelson  could  n-ly  safi'ly  ui)()n  the  love 
of  the  nation.  CV'rtain  it  is  that  his  letters  to  her  contain 
enough  appeals  to  the  sense  she  should  have  of  his  honor,  to 
show  thpt  he  stood  in  need  of  no  strengthening  at  her  hands  ; 
and  it  seems  legible  enough,  between  the  lines,  that  he  had 
rather  to  resist  the  pull  of  her  weakness,  or  her  interest,  than 
to  look  for  encouragement  in  the  path  of  hardship  and  self- 
denial.  It  is  certain,  too,  that  some  days  before  lUaekwood 
arrived.  Nelson  understood  tiuit  ho  might  be  wanted  soon,  and 
avowed  his  entire  willingness  to  go,  while  not  alTecting  to  con- 
ceal his  hope  that  eireumstauces  might  permit  him  to  remain 
until  October,  the  time  he  had  fixed  to  Collingwood  for  his 
return.  Whatever  the  inside  history,  the  matter  was  quickly 
settled.  On  September  od,  the  day  aitcn-  Ulackwood's  arrival, 
ho  writes  to  Ivose  :  "I  shall  rejoice  to  see  you  on  board  the 
Victory,  if  onh*  for  a  moment ;  but  I  shall  certainly  not  be  an 
advocate  for  being  at  Portsmouth  till  one  of  the  Victory's 
anchors  are  at  the  bows.'" '  The  next  day,  the  4th,  Lord 
]\rinto  writes:  "Lord  Nelson  has  been  here  to-day.  He  is 
g  >ing  to  resume  the  command  of  the  jNlediterranean  as  soon  as 
the  Victory  is  ready,  which  will  be  within  a  weidi."  On  th(>- 
6th  he  himself  tells  a  friend,  "  ^Ul  ini/  thimjs  are  this  day 
going  off  for  Portsmouth. " 

The  ten  days  that  followed  were  for  him,  necessarily,  very 
busy  ;  but  mental  preoccupation  —  definiteness  of  object  — 
was  always  beneficial  to  him.  Even  the  harassing  run  to  and 
from  the  West  Indies  had  done  him  good.  "  I  am  but  so-so," 
ho  had  written  to  his  brother  upon  arrival ;  "yet,  wliat  is  very 
odd,  the  better  for  going  to  the  West  Lulies,  even  with  the 
anxiety."  To  tiiis  had  succeeded  the  delightful  fortnight  at 
home,   and  now   the  animation   and   stir  of   expected  active 

^  That  is,  the  ship  ready  to  sail  in  half  an  hour,  oiiu  of  the  two  anchors 
which  moor  a  sliii)  being  lifted. 


.^ 


088 


TllK  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


service.  Miiito  luul  iilready  noted  his  cxhilaviition  amid  the 
general  ])ublie  gloom,  and  ai'ter  his  death,  sjjeaking  of  these 
last  days,  said,  "  lie  was  remarkably  well  and  Iresh,  and  lull 
of  hope  and  spirit."  Tlie  care  of  providing  hiui  with  adetpiate 
force  he  tlirew  ort'  upon  the  Admiralty.  There  was,  of  course, 
a  consultation  between  him  and  it  as  to  the  numbers  and 
kind  of  vessels  he  thought  necessary,  but  his  estimate  was 
acceptol  without  question,  and  the  ships  were  promised,  as 
far  as  the  resources  went.  When  Lord  liarham  asked  him  to 
select  his  own  ofHcors,  he  is  said  to  have  replied,  ''Choose 
yourself,  my  lord,  the  same  spirit  actuates  the  whole  pro- 
fession ;  you  cannot  choose  wrong."  He  did,  nevertheless, 
iii'.licate  his  wishes  in  individual  cases;  and  tiie  expression, 
though  characteristic  enough  of  his  proud  conlidence  in  the 
oliicers  of  the  navy,  must  be  taken  rather  as  a  resolve  not  to 
be  burdened  with  invidious  distinctions,  than  as  an  unqualified 
assertion  of  fact. 

Kelson,  however,  gave  one  general  admonition  to  the  Cab- 
inet which  is  vvorthy  .'••o  be  borne  in  mind,  as  a  broad  principle 
of  unvarying  application,  more  valuable  than  much  labored 
detail.     What  is  wanted,  he  said,    is  the  annihilation  of  the 


enemy  —  "  Only  numbers  can  annihilate.*'  ^  It  is  brilliant  and 
inspiring,  indeed,  to  see  skill  and  heroism  bearing  up  against 
enormous  odds,  and  even  wrenching  victory  therefrom ;  but  it 
is  the  business  of  governments  to  insure  that  such  skill  and 
heroism  be  more  profitably  employed,  in  utterly  destroying, 
with  superior  forces,  the  power  of  the  foe,  and  so  compelling 
peace.     Ko   general  has  won  more   striking  successes  over 


'I: 


n( 


^  The  author  wishes  to  guard  himself  from  seeming  to  sliare  the  pervei'sion, 
ns  he  thinks  it,  of  this  saying,  into  an  argument  against  heavy  shijis,  because 
the  heavier  the  ships,  the  smaller  the  nuniljer.  Without  hero  cxiiressing  any 
u|>iiiiou  upon  this  controverted  subjtict,  he  wouhl  simply  quote  on  the  other 
side  the  view  attributed  to  Nelson  during  the  cJiase  to  the  "West  Indies.  "  He 
knew  that  tl'u  French  had  no  three-decked  ships  in  their  fleet,  and  he 
reckoned  on  the  great  superiority  in  close  action  of  three  batteries  of  guns 
over  two."  (Liist  of  Nelson's  Captains,  j).  137.)  With  this  may  l)e  joined 
a  quotation  from  himself  iuvolving  inii»licitly  the  same  idea:  "Two  [two- 
deckers]  alongside  an  enemy  are  better  than  three-deckers  a  great  wajoff." 
This  evidently  suggests  the  idea  that  one  three-decker  was  better  than  two 
seventy-fours,  conditions  being  similar.  In  truth,  numbers  should  be  read 
"  jiumbers  of  guns  "  —  or,  better  still,  "  numbers,  other  things  being  equal." 


MINTO  TAKKS   LKAVK   OF  HIM 


089 


ainiil  the 
^  of  these 

1,  luul  full 
I  adeiiuate 
of  course, 
uhcrs  and 
imate  was 
amised,  as 
Led  him  to 
[,  '  <  Choose 
whole  pro- 
ivertheless, 
expression, 
;nce  in  the 
olve  not  to 
unqualified 

to  the  Cab- 
id  principle 
Ach  labored 
ition  of  the 
irilliant  and 
up  against 
jrom ;  but  it 
:h  skill  and 
destroying, 
compelling 
icsses   over 

the  pervci-sion, 
1  ships,  becauso 
jjxiirossing  any 
lo  on  the  other 
llniUos.     "Ho 
ileet,  and  ho 
Ueries  of  guns 
[nay  l)e  joined 
"Two  [two- 
\rcat  waij  off.'* 
Itter  than  two 
lioukl  be  read 
being  eijual." 


superior  numbers  than  did  Napoleon  ;  no  ruler  has  been  more 
careful  to  see  that  adequate  superiority  for  his  own  forces  was 
proviiled  froui  the  beginning.  Nelson  believed  that  he  had 
fully  impressed  the  rriiue  Minister  that  what  was  needed  now, 
after  two  and  a  half  years  of  colorless  war,  was  not  a  brilliant 
victtory  for  tlieliritish  Navy,  but  a  crushing  defeat  for  the  foe. 
"  1  hope  my  absence  will  not  be  long,"  ]ic  wrote  to  Davison, 
"  and  that  I  shall  soon  meet  the  combined  fleets  with  a  force 
sufficient  to  dn  the  job  well :  for  half  a  victory  would  but  half 
content  me.  But  I  do  not  believe  the  Admiralty  can  give  me 
a  force  within  fifteen  or  sixteen  sail-of-the-line  of  the  enemy ; 
and  therefore,  if  every  ship  took  her  opponent,  we  should 
have  to  contend  with  a  fresh  fleet  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  sail-of- 
the-line.  But  I  will  do  my  best ;  and  I  hope  God  Abnighty 
will  go  with  me.  I  have  much  to  lose,  but  little  to  gain; 
ar  d  I  go  because  it  *s  right,  and  I  will  serve  the  Country  faith- 
fully." He  doubtless  did  not  know  then  that  Calder,  fii.ding 
Yilleneuve  had  gone  to  Cadiz,  had  taken  thither  the  eightt.?u 
ships  detached  with  him  from  the  Brest  blockade,  and  that 
Bickerton  had  also  joined  from  within  the  Mediterranean,  so 
that  Collingwood,  at  the  moment  he  was  writing,  had  with 
him  twenty-six  of  the  line.  His  anticipation,  liowever,  was 
substantially  correct.  Despite  every  effort,  the  Admiralty  up 
to  a  fortnight  before  Trafalgar  had  not  given  him  the  number 
of  ships  he  thought  necessary,  to  insure  certain  watching,  and 
crushing  defeat.  lie  was  particularly  short  of  the  smaller 
cruisers  wanted. 

On  the  12th  of  September  Minto  took  his  leave  of  him.  **  I 
Avent  yesterday  to  Merton,"  lie  wrote  on  the  13th,  "  in  a  great 
huri/,  as  Lord  Nelson  said  he  was  to  be  at  home  all  day,  and 
he  dines  at  half-past  three.  But  I  found  he  had  been  sent  for 
to  Carleton  House,  and  he  and  Lady  Hamilton  did  not  return 
till  half-past  five."  The  Prince  of  Wales  had  sent  an  urgent 
command  that  he  particularly  wished  to  see  him  before  he  left 
England.  "  I  stayed  till  ten  at  night,"  continues  Minto,  "and 
I  took  a  final  leave  of  him.  He  goes  to  I'ortsmouth  to-night. 
Lady  Hamilton  was  in  tears  all  day  yesterday,  could  not  eat, 
and  hardly  drink,  and  near  swooning,  and  all  at  liable.  It  is  a 
strange  picture.  She  tells  me  nothing  can  be  more  pi.re  and 
ardent  than  this  flame,"    Lady  llaniiltou  may  have  had  the 

44 


...-.' 


090 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I 


\i 


self-control  of  an  actress,  but  clearly  not  the  reticence  of  a 
well-brcil  woman. 

On  the  fc'llovvjng  night  Xelson  left  home  finally.  His  last 
act  before  leaving  the  house,  it  is  said,  was  to  visit  the  bed 
where  his  child,  then  between  four  and  five,  was  sleeping,  and 
pray  over  her.  The  solemn  anticipation  of  death,  which  from 
this  time  forward  deepened  more  and  more  over  his  fearless 
spirit,  as  the  hour  of  battle  approached,  is  apparent  in  the 
record  of  his  departure  made  in  his  private  diary :  — 

Friday  Night,  September  13th. 

At  half -past  ten  drove  from  dear  dear  Mertoii,  where  I  left  all  which 
I  hold  dear  in  this  world,  to  go  to  serve  my  King  and  Country.  May 
the  great  God  wliom  I  adore  enable  me  to  fulfil  the  expectations  of 
my  Country  ;  and  if  it  is  Tlis  good  pleasure  that  I  should  return,  my 
thanks  will  never  cesise  being  offered  up  to  the  Throne  of  His  Mercy. 
If  it  is  His  good  Providence  to  cut  short  my  days  upon  earth,  I  bow 
with  the  greatest  submission,  relying  that  He  will  protect  those  so 
dear  to  me,  that  1  may  leave  belaud.  His  will  be  doue  :  Amen,  Amen, 
Amen. 

At  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  Nelson  arrived  at 
Portsmouth.  At  half-past  eleven  his  flag  was  again  hoisted 
on  board  the  "Victory,"  and  at  2  p.  m.  he  embarked.  His 
youngest  and  favorite  sister,  Mrs.  Matcham,  with  her  husband, 
had  gone  to  Portsmouth  to  see  him  off.  As  tlujy  were  part- 
ing, he  said  to  her:  "Oh,  Katty!  that  gypsy;"  referring  to 
his  fortune  told  by  a  gypsy  in  the  West  Indies  many  years 
before,  that  he  should  arrive  at  the  head  of  his  profession  by 
the  imo  he  was  forty.  "  "What  thgn  ?  "  he  had  asked  at  the 
jnoment ;  but  'Aie  roplied,  "  I  can  tall  j'ou  no  more  ;  the  book 
is  closed."  ^  The  Battle  of  the  Kile,  preceding  closely  the 
completion  of  his  fortieth  year,  not  unnaturally  recalled  the 
prediction  to  mind,  where  the  singularity  of  the  coincidence 
left  it  impressed ;  and  now,  standing  as  he  did  on  the  brink 
of  great  events,  with  half-acknowledged  foreboding  weighing 
on  his  heart,  he  well  may  have  }  earned  to  know  what  lay 
beyond  that  silence,  within  the  closed  covers  of  the  book  of 
fate. 

1  Tlie  iUiDior  has  to  thank  the  present  i.arl  Nelson  for  this  anecdote. 


eticence  of  a 


ly.  His  last 
visit  the  bed 
sleeping,  and 
h,  which  from 
T  his  fearless 
parent  in  the 


eptember  13th. 
5 1  left  all  which 
Country.  May 
exjiectations  of 
lould  return,  my 
,e  of  His  Mercy, 
on  earth,  I  bow 
protect  those  so 
1 :  Amen,  Amen, 


Ison  arrived  at 
again  hoisted 
nbarked.  His 
h  her  husband, 
u.y  were  part- 
"  referring  to 
|es  many  years 

profession  by 
Id  asked  at  the 
Lore  ;  the  book 
lig  closely  the 
ly  recalled  the 
lie  coincidence 
on  the  brink 
[ding  weighing 
[now  what  lay 

)f  the  book  of 


this  anecdote. 


I 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Antecedents  of  Tuafalgar. 
September  15-Octobeh  19,  1805.     Age,  47. 

THE  crowds  that  had  assembled  to  greet  Nelson's  arrival 
at  Portsmouth,  four  weeks  before,  now  clustered  again 
around  his  footsteps  to  bid  him  a  loving  farewell.  Although, 
to  avoid  such  demonstrations,  he  had  chosen  for  his  embarka- 
tion another  than  the  usual  landing-place,  the  multitude  col- 
lected and  followed  him  to  the  boat.  "  They  pressed  forward 
to  obtain  sight  of  his  face,"  says  Southey ;  "  Many  were  in 
tears,  and  many  knelt  down  before  him,  and  blessed  him  as  he 
passed.  England  has  had  many  heroes,  but  never  one,"  he 
justly  adds,  "  who  so  entirely  possessed  the  love  of  his  fellow 
countrymen  as  Nelson."  There  attached  to  him  not  only  the 
memory  of  many  brilliant  deeds,  nor  yet  only  the  knowledge 
that  more  than  any  other  he  stood  between  them  and  harm,  — 
his  very  name  a  tower  of  strength  over  against  their  enemies. 
The  deep  human  sympathy  which  won  its  way  to  the  affections 
of  those  under  his  command,  in  immediate  contact  with  his 
person,  seamen  as  well  as  officers,  had  spread  from  them  with 
quick  contagion  throughout  all*  ranks  of  men;  and  heart 
answered  to  heart  in  profound  trust,  among  those  Avho  never 
luid  seen  his  face.  "  I  had  their  huzzas  before,"  he  said  to 
Captain  Hardy,  who  sat  beside  him  in  the  boat.  "Now  I 
have  their  hearts." 

He  was  accompanied  to  the  ship  by  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr. 
Rose,  intimate  associates  of  Mr.  Pitt,  and  they  remained  on 
board  to  dine.  Nelson  noted  that  just  twenty -five  days  had 
been  passed  ashore,  "  from  dinner  to  dinner."  The  next 
morning,  Sunday,  September  loth,  at  8  a.m.,  the  "Vicoory  " 
got  under  way  and  left  St.  Helen's,  where  she  had  been  lying 
at  single  anchor,  waiting  to  start.    Three  other  line-of-battle 


I 


i  J 


'i^-' 


^'!l;;i 


'rlS 


THE  LIFE  OF   NELSON 


ships  belonging  to  liis  fleet,  and  which  followed  him  in  time 
for  Trafalgar,  were  then  at  Spithead,  but  not  yet  ready.  The 
"  Victory  "  therefore  sailed  without  them,  accompanied  only 
by  Blackwood's  frigate,  the  "  Euryalus."  The  wind  outside, 
being  west-southwest,  was  dead  foul,  and  it  was  not  till  the 
17th  that  the  ship  was  off  Plymouth.  There  it  fell  nearly 
calm,  and  she  was  joined  by  two  seventy-fours  from  tiie 
harbor.  The  little  squadron  continued  its  course,  the  wind 
still  ahead,  until  the  20th  of  the  month,  when  it  liad  not  yet 
gained  a  hundred  miles  southwest  from  Scilly.  Here  Nelson 
met  his  former  long-tried  second  in  the  Mediterranean,  Sir 
Richard  Bickerton,  going  home  ill ;  having  endured  the  pro- 
tracted drudgery  off  Toulon  only  to  lose,  by  a  hair's  breadth, 
his  share  in  the  approaching  triumph. 

On  the  25th  the  "  Victory  "  was  off  Lisbon.  "  We  have 
had  only  one  day's  real  fair  wind,"  wrote  Nalson  to  Lady 
Hamilton,  **but  by  perseverance  we  have  done  much."  The 
admiral  sent  in  letters  to  the  British  consul  and  naval  officers, 
urging  them  to  secure  as  many  men  as  possible  for  the  fleet, 
but  enjoining  profound  secrecy  about  his  coming,  conscious 
that  his  presence  vv^ould  be  a  deterrent  to  the  enemy  and 
might  prevent  the  attempt  to  leave  Cadiz,  upon  which  he 
based  his  hopes  of  a  speedy  issue,  and  a  speedy  return  home 
for  needed  repose.  His  departure  from  England,  indeed,  could 
not  remain  long  unknown  in  Paris;  but  communications  by 
land  were  slow  in  those  times,  and  a  few  days'  ignorance  of 
his  arrival,  and  of  the  reinforcement  he  brought,  might  induce 
Villeneuve  to  dare  the  hazard  which  he  otherwise  might  fear. 
"  Day  by  day,"  he  wrote  to  Davison,  "  I  am  expecting  the 
allied  fleet  to  put  to  sea  —  every  day,  hour,  and  moment." 
"  I  am  convinced,"  he  tells  Blackwood,  who  took  charge  of  the 
inshore  lookout,  "  that  you  estimate,  as  I  do,  the  importance 
of  not  letting  these  rogues  escape  us  without  a  fair  fight, 
which  I  pant  for  by  day,  and  dream  of  by  night."  For  the 
same  reasons  of  secrecy  he  sent  a  frigate  ahead  to  Colling- 
wood,  with  orders  that,  when  the  '*  Victory  "  appeared,  not 
only  should  no  salutes  be  fired,  but  no  colors  should  be  shown, 
if  in  sight  of  the  port.  The  like  precautions  were  continued 
when  any  new  ship  joined.  Every  care  was  takeii  to  lull  the 
enemy  into  confidence,  and  to  lure  him  out  of  port. 


I 


JOYFUL  GREETING  OF  THE  CAPI'AINS 


C93 


ng,  conscious 


At  6  p.  M.  of  Saturday,  September  28th,  tlie  "  Victory  " 
reached  the  fleet,  then  numbering  twenty-nine  of  the  line; 
the  main  body  being  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  west  of  Cadiz, 
with  six  8hip3  close  in  with  the  port.  The  next  day  was 
Nelson's  birthday  —  forty-seven  years  old.  The  junior  ad- 
mirals and  the  captains  visited  the  commander-in-chief,  ,03 
customary,  but  with  demonstrations  of  gladness  and  confidence 
that  few  leaders  have  elicited  in  equal  measure  from  their 
followers.  "  The  reception  I  met  with  on  joininj^  the  fleet 
caused  the  sweetest  sensation  of  my  life.  The  oflicers  who 
came  on  board  to  welcome  my  return,  forgot  my  rank  as 
commander-in-chief  in  the  enthusiasm  with  which  they  greeted 
me.  As  soon  as  these  emotions  were  past,  I  laid  before  them 
the  plan  I  had  previously  arranged  for  attacking  the  enemy  ; 
and  it  was  not  only  my  pleasure  to  find  it  generally  approved, 
but  clearly  perceived  and  understood."  To  Lady  Hamilton 
he  gave  an  account  of  this  scene  which  diff'ers  little  from  the 
above,  except  in  its  greater  vividness.  "I  believe  my  arrival 
was  most  welcome,  not  only  to  the  Commander  of  the  fleet, 
but  also  to  every  individual  in  it ;  and,  when  I  came  to  explain 
to  them  the  '  Nelson  touch,'  it  was  like  an  electric  shock. 
Some  shed  tears,  all  approved  —  '  It  was  new  —  it  was  singu- 
lar —  it  was  simple  ! '  and,  from  admirals  downwards,  it  was 
repeated  —  '  It  must  succeed,  if  ever  they  will  allow  us  to  get 
at  them !  You  are,  my  Lord,  surrounded  by  friends  wliom 
you  inspire  with  confidence.'  Some  may  be  Judas's  ;  but  the 
majority  are  certainly  much  pleased  with  my  commanding 
them."  No  more  joyful  birthday  levee  was  ever  held  than 
that  of  this  little  naval  court.  Besides  the  adoration  for 
Nelson  personally,  which  they  shared  with  their  countrymen 
in  general,  there  mingled  with  the  delight  of  the  captains  the 
sentiment  of  professional  appreciation  and  confidence,  and  a 
certain  relief,  noticed  by  Codrington,  from  the  dry,  unsympa- 
thetic rule  of  Collingwood,  a  man  just,  conscientious,  highly 
trained,  and  efficient,  but  self-centred,  rigid,  uncommunicative; 
one  who  fostered,  if  he  did  not  impose,  restrictions  upon  the 
intercourse  between  the  ships,  against  which  he  had  inveighed 
bitterly  when  himself  one  of  St.  Vincent's  captains.  Nelson, 
on  the  contrary,  at  once  invited  cordial  social  relations  with 
the  commanding  officers.     Half  of  the  thirty-odd  were  sum- 


!  1 


n 

k 


I) 


m 


604 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


]t>^ 


J 


i    I 


I 


l! 


\:\ 


moned  to  dine  on  board  the  flagship  the  first  day,  and  half  the 
second.  Not  till  the  third  did  lie  permit  himself  the  luxury 
of  a  quiet  dinner  chat  with  his  old  chum,  the  second  in  com- 
mand, whose  sterling  merits,  under  a  crusty  exterior,  he  knew 
and  appreciated.  Codrington  mentions  also  an  incident,  trivial 
in  itself,  but  illustrative  of  that  outward  graciousness  of 
manner,  which,  in  a  man  of  Nelson's  temperament  and  posi- 
tion, is  rarely  the  result  of  careful  cultivation,  but  bespeaks 
rather  the  inner  graciousness  of  tiie  heart  that  he  abundantly 
possessed.  They  had  never  met  before,  and  the  admiral, 
greeting  him  with  his  usual  easy  courtesy,  handed  him  a  letter 
from  his  wife,  saying  that  being  intrusted  with  it  by  a  lady, 
he  made  a  point  of  delivering  it  himself,  instead  of  sending  it 
by  another. 

The  "  Nelson  touch,"  or  Plan  of  Attack,  expounded  to  his 
captains  at  the  first  meeting,  was  afterwards  formulated  in  an 
Order,  copies  of  which  were  issued  to  the  fleet  on  the  9th  of 
October.  In  this  "  Memorandum,"  which  was  doubtless  suffi- 
cient for  those  who  had  listened  to  the  vivid  oral  explanation 
of  its  framer,  the  writer  finds  the  simplicity,  but  not  the  abso- 
lute clearness,  that  they  recognized.  It  embodies,  however, 
the  essential  ideas,  though  not  the  precise  method  of  execution, 
actually  followed  at  Trafalgar,  under  conditions  considerably 
different  from  those  which  Nelson  probably  anticipated ;  and 
it  is  not  the  least  of  its  merits  as  a  military  conception  that  it 
could  thus,  with  few  signals  and  without  confusion,  adapt 
itself  at  a  moment's  notice  to  diverse  circumstances.  This 
great  order  not  only  reflects  the  ripened  experience  of  its 
author,  but  contains  also  the  proof  of  constant  mental  activity 
and  development  in  his  thought ;  for  it  differs  materially  in 
detail  from  the  one  issued  a  few  months  before  to  the  fleet, 
when  in  pursuit  of  Villeneuve  to  the  West  Indies.  As  the 
final,  and  in  the  main  consecutive,  illustrations  of  his  military 
views,  the  two  are  presented  here  together. 

PLAN  OF  ATTACK.i 

The  business  of  an  English  Commander-in-Chief  being  first  to 
bring  an  Enemy's  Fleet  to  Battle,  on  the  most  advantageous  terms  to 

1  May,  1805. 


ly,  and  half  the 
self  the  luxury 
second  in  com- 
berior,  he  knew 
ncident,  trivial 
raeiousness   of 
ment  and  posi- 
,  but  bespeaks 
he  abundantly 
I  the  admiral, 
3d  him  a  letter 
h  it  by  a  lady, 
1  of  sending  it 

(ounded  to  his 
■Ululated  in  an 

on  the  9th  of 
loubtless  suffi- 
il  explanation 

not  the  abso- 
ies,  however, 

of  execution, 

considerably 
icipated;  and 
eption  that  it 
fusion,  adapt 
tances.  This 
rience  of  its 
2ntal  activity 
materially  in 

to  the  fleet, 
lies.  As  the 
'  his  military 


Jeing  first  to 
feous  terms  to 


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PLANS   FOR   IJATTLE 


rtO.i 


hi'"««'If,  (r  ,nea„  Uui^JZ~7r~~. 1 

,"   ''""•"«••  to  coiiiniaii.l   will   I  .  ^■'I'tJiins  of  U...  H,.,    i   ,.     " 

'•"Possihle  for  i.p  ;       '  '•"■'  ^■"'•y  I""Ik.1.Iv,  fro,,    V  "•"'"'■  ''"  ""«- 

French  tyraiiiiv  •„„l         ■""' '.»•  •'■'"l  nill,  it  ||iat„f  ,1   T-  ^        '""' 

Ships  of  f   fr        ■  "^''  '"^•■^^^'^  "'i»J'  a  J  o.    f  '   ^ '     "  '-'^'"^^  t"  ^^••''"• 

would  certat  ;j  T":^""^  co.uluct  of  t!o  a?,,  'f"^^  tho  Action, 
Knemy  wo^a^,f^f----o:  the  second  o  ilu  '  i>  ! ''^',' ^''^^'^''^"'■^' 
account  of     hf         *'"^  ^^'''''^  '^'''l  our  Shf  1     '""'^'r^'-'l^  of  the 

■sard^t:  trf  Ti"''  '^'*^  '^^^^uC:;:T'r^'  °--  ^'^i''^ 

tVomk  owf      u  ^^'"'''  '^^'-^^I'nost  Slii       ,    '"^ ''^^^' ^^"t  comn.andi n,. 

J'-^'-ge,  could  cut  fh,  i^r     '''  "'^'^  ^'^^"g  on  a  m i.wl  '^'"''  ^'■"'" 

Enen  y  would   L.'^'''*^"  vou  nfease  ^;V"•ir^'"'  )'""  «'>'"S 


:|n 


•  ^. ' 


rtOrt 


THE   LIFE  OP  NELSON 


imrsiUMl,  I  Hco  nothing?  ^o  prcvcjut  tlu)  cuptun!  of  tlio  fivo  or  six 
Ships  of  tho  Eiieiiiy's  Viin.  Tho  two  or  tlneo  Ships  of  the  KiK'iiiy's 
llt'ivr*  must  either  bear  up,  or  wear;  and,  in  either  case,  although  they 
woultl  be  iu  a  better  pli^lit  probably  thau  our  two  Van-Ships  (now 
in  the  Rear)  yet  they  would  be  separated,  and  at  a  distance  to  lee- 
ward, 80  as  to  give  our  Sliii)s  time  to  retit ;  and  by  that  time,  I 
believe,  the  Battle  woidd,  from  the  judgment  of  the  Admiral  and 
Captains,  bo  ove:  with  the  rest  of  thenj.  Signals  from  these  moments 
are  useless,  when  every  num  is  disposed  to  do  his  duty.  The  great 
object  is  for  us  to  support  each  other,  aiul  to  keep  close  to  the 
Kn<!my,  and  to  leeward  of  him. 

If  the  Enemy  arc  running  away,  then  the  only  signals  nece8.sary 
w  ill  be,  to  engage  the  Enemy  as  arriving  up  with  them ;  and  the 
other  ships  to  pass  on  for  the  second,  third,  &c..  giving,  it  possible, 
a  close  fire  into  tlu;  Enemy  in  passing,  taking  care  to  give  our  Ships 
engaged  notice  of  your  intention. 


ilf.i 
m 


,  ) 


General  Con- 
Hideratioiis. 


MEMOUAXDUM. 
(Secret) 

Victory,  oQ"  Cadiz,  9th  October,  ISC'). 

Thinking  it  ahuost  impossible  to  bring  a  Fleet  of  forty  Sail  of  the 
Line  into  a  Line  of  IHttle  in  variable  wiiuls,  thick  weather,  and  other 
circumstances  which  must  occur,  without  such  a  loss  of  time  that  the 
opportunity  would  probably  be  lost  of  bringing  the  Enemy  to  IJattlo 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  business  decisive,  I  have  therefore 
made  up  my  mind  to  keep  the  Fleet  iu  that  position  of  sailing  (with 
the  exception  of  the  First  and  Second  in  Command)  that  the  Order 
of  Sailing  is  to  be  the  Order  of  Battle,  placing  the  Fleet  in  two  Lines 

1  The  author  does  not  here  understand  the  speaking  of  "  two  or  three  "  rcnr 
ships,  when  the  van  is  supposed  to  be  five  or  six  —  making  a  total  of  not 
over  nine  or  ten  enemies.  If  this  order  of  attack  was  issued,  as  expressly 
stated  by  Clarke  and  M 'Arthur,  on  the  chase  to  the  West  Indies,  Nelson  then 
was  fully  aware  that  he  with  ten  ships  was  in  pursuit  of  eighteen.  (See  ante, 
p.  656.)  It  appears  to  the  author  more  probable  that  it  was  issued  to  the 
fleet  when  off  Toulon,  in  anticipation  of  a  iiossiblo  meeting  with  the  French 
squadron  there,  when  the  disparity  of  forcio  was  less  —  say,  eight  to  ten. 
This  impression  is  confirmed  by  the  "l^lan  of  Attack"  speaking  of  tlic 
junior  "Admirals"  —  in  the  plural.  There  was  but  one  such  iu  tlie  pur- 
suit to  the  West  Indies.  It  is  quite  possible,  however,  tliat  the  same  order 
was  re-issued  upon  the  later  occasion,  re-copied  without  change  of  words. 
In  any  event,  it  confirms  other  statements  and  actions  of  Nelson's,  that  an 
enemy  should  not  bo  fouglit  ship  to  ship,  but  by  a  concentration  on  part 
of  his  order. 


PLANS  FOR  BATTLE 


(197 


Im  five  or  six 
if  tho  Eiii'iny'rt 
',  although  tht'y 
r'aii-Shiiw  (now 
lirttuuco  to  lee- 
ly  that  tiino,  I 
(•  Admiral  and 
theso  inoiiu'iitrt 
ity.  Tlu!  great 
p  closo   to  tho 

gnals  necessary 

tiu'iu ;  and  tho 

ing,  it  possible, 

J  givo  our  Ships 


of 


h  October,  1805. 

forty  Sail  of  the 
?ather,  and  other 
of  time  that  tho 
[Enemy  to  Uattlo 
|I  have  therefore 

of  sailing  (with 
that  tho  Order 

set  in  two  Lines 

Iwo  or  three"  rear 
tig  a  totid  of  not 
kueil,  as  expressly 
lilies,  Nelson  then 
|teen.  (See  ante, 
k-as  issued  to  the 
I  with  the  French 
ky,  eight  to  ten. 
Ispeaking  of  tin' 
|uch  in  tho  pur- 
tlio  same  onli'i' 
lliange  of  words, 
felson's,  that  an 
titration  on  part 


sixteen  Ships  eaeh,  with  an  Advanced  S(iuadroii  of  eight  of  the 
fastest  sailing  Two-<lecked  Ships,  which  will  always  niaki!,  if  wanted, 
a  Line  of  twenty-four  Sail,  on  whichever  Line  the  Coniniander-in- 
Chief  may  direct. 

The  Second  in  Command  will,  after  my  intentions  are  made  known 
to  him,  have  the  entire  direction  of  his  Line  to  make  tne  attack 
upon  the  Enemy,  and  to  follow  up  the  blow  until  they  are  captured 
or  destroyed. 

If  the  Enemy's  Fleet  shouM  be  seen  to  windward  in  Line  of  Battle, 
and  that  the  two  Lines  and  tho  Advanced  Sipiadron  can  fetch  them, 
they  will  probably  be  so  extended  that  their  Van  could  not  succour 
their  Rear. 

I  should  therefore  probably  make  the  Second  in  Command's  signal 
to  lead  through,  about  their  twelfth  Ship  from  their  Rear,  (or  wher- 
ever  he  could  fetch,  if  not  able  to  get  so  far  advanced)  ;  my  Lino 
would  lead  through  about  their  Centre,  and  the  Advanced  Squadron 
to  cut  two  or  three  or  four  Ships  a-head  of  their  Centre,  so  as  to 
ensure  getting  at  their  Commander-in-Chief,  on  whom  every  effort 
ninst  be  made  to  capture. 

Tlie  whole  impression  of  the  British  Fleet  must  be  to  overpower 
from  two  or  three  Ships  a-head  of  their  Commander-in-Chief,  sujv 
posed  to  be  in  the  Centre,  to  the  Rear  of  their  Fleet.  I  will  suppose 
twenty  Sail  of  the  Enemy's  Line  to  be  untouched,  it  must  be  some 
time  before  they  could  perform  a  manoeuvre  to  bring  their  force  com- 
pact to  attack  any  part  of  the  British  Fleet  engaged,  or  to  succoiu' 
their  own  Ships,  which  indeed  would  be  impossible  without  mixing 
with  the  Ships  engaged. 

Something  must  be  left  to  chance  ;  nothing  is  sure  in  a  Sea  Fight 
beyond  all  others.  Shot  will  carry  away  the  masts  and  yards  of 
friends  as  well  as  foes ;  but  I  look  with  confidence  to  a  Victory  before 
the  Van  of  the  Enemy  could  succour  their  Rear,  and  then  that  the 
British  Fleet  would  most  of  them  be  ready  to  receive  their  twenty 
Sail  of  the  Line,  or  to  pm-sue  them,  should  they  endeavour  to 
make  off. 

If  the  Van  of  the  Enemy  tacks,  the  Captured  Ships  must  run  to 
leeward  of  the  British  Fleet ;  if  the  Enemy  wears,  the  British  must 
place  themselves  between  the  Enemy  and  the  Captured,  and  disabled 
British  Ships ;  and  should  the  Enemy  close,  I  have  no  fears  as  to  the 
result. 

The  Second  in  Command  will  in  all  possible  things  direct  the 
movements  of  his  Line,  by  keeping  them  as  compact  as  the  nature  of 
the  circumstances  will  admit.  Captains  are  to  look  to  their  particular 
Line  as  their  rallying  point.  But,  in  case  Signals  can  neither  be  seen 
or  perfectly  understood,  no  Captain  can  do  very  wrong  if  be  places 
his  Ship  alongside  that  of  an  Enemy. 


Powom  o( 
Bocuiiil  ill 
Cuuiiuaiul. 


The  Attack 
from  to 
Leeward. 


Tlie  Oennral 
CoiitroUiiiff 
Idea,  uiiili^r 
all  CouditiouB, 


Duties  of 
Subordinates. 


4 


I'n 


!  '1 


i'  I 


•I     1 


!  I" 

1  ( 


ms 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


Of  the  intended  attack  from  to  windward,  the  Enemy  in  Line  of 
Battle  ready  to  receive  an  attacii, 


Wind.i 


's 


B 


E 


B  =  British.  I 
E  =  Enemy. » 


i; 
r4 


Tiie  Attack  Th(!  divisions  of  the  British  Fleet  will  be  hroiig^ht  nearly  within 

Windward.  3""  ^'"**'  "^  *''^'  l'^"en»y'.s  Centre.  The  signal  will  most  probably  then 
be  made  for  tin-  Lc^e  Line  to  bear  np  together,  to  set  all  their  sails, 
even  steering  sails,  in  order  to  get  as  qnickly  as  possible  to  the  Enemy's 
Line,  and  to  cut  through,  beginning  from  the  12  Ship  from  the 
Enemy's  Rear.  Somi"  Ships  may  not  get  through  their  exact  place, 
but  they  will  always  be  at  hand  to  assist  their  friends ;  and  if  any 
are  thrown  round  the  Rear  of  the  Enemy,  they  will  effectually  com- 
plete the  business  of  twelve  Sail  of  the  Enemy. 

Should  the  Enemy  wr'ar  together,  or  bear  up  and  sail  large,  still 
the  twelve  Ships  composing,  in  the  first  position,  the  Enemy's  Rear, 
are  to  be  the  object  of  attack  of  the  Lee  Line,  unless  otherwise  di- 
rected from  the  Commander-in-Chief,  which  is  scarcely  to  be  expected, 
as  the  entire  management  of  the  Lee  Line,  after  the  intentions  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief,  is  signified,  is  intended  to  be  left  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Admiral  commanding  that  Line, 
special  Charge      The  remainder  of  the  Enemy's  Fleet,  :U  Sail,  are  to  be  left  to  the 
Commander-     management  of  the  Cominander-in-Clii(!f,  who  will  endeavour  to  take 
iii-ciiief.  car<!  that  the  movements  of   the   Second  in  Command  are  as  little 


iiiterrupted  as  is  possible. 


Nklsox  and  Buonte. 


It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  first  of  these  instructions 
was  issued  for  the  liandling  of  a  small  body  of  ships  —  ten  — 
expecting  to  meet  fifteen  to  eighteen  enemies ;  whereas  the 
second  contemplated  the  wielding  of  a  great  mass  of  vessels, 
as  many  as  forty  British,  directed  o,gainst  a  possible  combi- 
nation of  forty -six  French  and  Spanish.  In  the  former  case, 
however,  although  the  aggregate  numbers  were  smaller,  the 

*  Iiisertetl  by  author. 


;my  in  Line  of 
Wind.i 

B  =  Rritish.' 
E  =  Enemy.* 


t  nearly  within 
st  probably  then 
3t  all  their  sails, 
e  to  the  Enemy's 
I  Ship  from  the 
heir  exact  place, 
lids;  and  if  any 
effectually  com- 

d  sail  large,  still 

e  Enemy's  Rear, 

s8  otherwise  di- 

to  be  expected, 

ntentions  of  the 

left  to  the  judg- 

I  to  be  left  to  the 
lideavour  to  take 
lind  are  as  little 

AND   BUONTE. 

5C  instructions 

ships  —  ten  — 

whereas  the 

lass  of  vessels, 

jssible  conibi- 

fonner  case, 

Buialler,  the 


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Hi 

Hm 

^■u^j' 

TACTICAL  METHODS 


099 


disproportion  of  force  was  much  greater,  even  after  allowance 
made  for  tlie  British  three-deckers ;  and  we  know,  from  other 
contemporary  remarks  of  Xelson,  that  his  object  here  was  not 
so  much  a  crushing  defeat  of  the  enemy  —  "  only  numbers  can 
annihilate  "  —  as  the  disorganization  and  neutralization  of  a 
particular  detachment,  as  the  result  of  which  the  greater  com- 
bination of  the  enemy  would  fall  to  pieces.  "  After  they  have 
beaten  our  fleet  soundly,  they  will  do  us  no  more  harm  this 
suuimer."  ^  Consequently,  he  relies  much  upon  the  confusion 
introduced  into  the  enemy's  movements  by  an  ai-^ack,  which, 
though  of  much  inferior  force,  should  be  sudden  in  character, 
developing  only  at  the  last  moment,  into  which  the  enemy 
should  be  i)recipitated  unawares,  while  the  British  should 
encounter  it,  or  rather  should  enter  it,  with  minds  fully  pre- 
pared, —  not  only  for  the  immediate  manocuv  re,  but  for  all 
probable  consequences. 

In  accordance  with  the  same  general  object  —  confusion  — 
he  directs  his  assault  upon  the  van,  instead  of,  as  at  Trafalgar, 
upon  the  rear  ;  according  to  his  saying  in  the  Baltic,  recorded 
by  Stewart,'^  "  Close  with  a  Frenchman,  but  out-niano3uvre  a 
Ivussian,"  for  which  purpose  he  would  throw  his  own  force, 
preferably,  upon  the  van  of  the  latter.  The  reason  is  obvious, 
upon  reflection;  for  in  attacking  and  cutting  off  the  head  — 
van  and  centre — of  a  column  of  ships,  the  rear,  coming  up 
under  full  way,  has  iniincdiate  a^-tion  forced  upon  it.  There 
is  no  time  for  deliberation.  The  vtm.  is  already  engaged,  and 
access  to  it  more  or  less  impeded,  by  the  hostile  dispositions. 
The  decision  must  be  instant  —  to  the  right  hand,  or  to  the 
left,  to  windward,  or  to  leeward — and  there  is  at  least  an 
even  chance  that  the  wrong  thing  will  be  done,  as  well  as  a 
probability,  falling  little  short  of  certainty,  that  all  the  ships 
of  the  rear  will  not  do  the  same  thing ;  that  is,  they  will  be 
thrown  into  confusion  with  all  its  dire  train  of  evils,  doubt, 
hesitancy,  faltering,  and  inconsequent  action.  It  is  hard  work 
to  knit  again  a  shattered  line  under  the  unremittent  assault 
of  hardened  veterans,  such  as  Nelson's  ^Mediterranean  ships. 

The  method  employed  in  the  second  of  these  instructions, 
the  celebrated  Memorandum,  differs  essentially  from  that  of 


il 


•  m 
liJl 


:Wj 


1  AiUc,  pp.  Oej,  680. 


*  Ante,  p.  475. 


700 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


;  ! 


: 


i1 


the  Plan  of  Attack,  though  both  are  simply  developments  of 
the  one  idea  of  concentration.  It  is  unfortunate  for  us  that 
Kelson,  like  most  men  of  action,  reveals  his  reasoning  pro- 
cesses, not  in  ordered  discussion,  but  b;y  stray  gleams  of  ex- 
pression, too  often  unrecorded,  from  which  we  can  infer  only 
the  general  tenor  of  his  thought.  It  is  in  the  chance  phrase, 
transmitted  by  Stewart,  coupled  with  the  change  of  object,  so 
definitely  announced  in  the  second  instance,  —  the  crushing, 
namely,  of  the  enemy's  great  fleet,  and  not  the  mere  crippling 
of  a  detachment  such  as  went  to  the  West  Indies,  — that  the 
author  thinks  to  find  the  clew  to  the  difference  of  dispositions, 
in  the  first  case,  from  those  prescribed  and  followed  for  Trafal- 
gar—  the  "Nelson  touch"  that  thrilled  the  captains.  There 
is  again,  indeed,  in  the  latter,  the  distinct  reliance  upon  con- 
fusion, for  the  line  of  the  foe  is  to  be  broken  in  two  places ; 
but  now  the  confusion  introduced  is  in  the  part  of  the  enemy 
that  is  assailed,  not,  as  before,  in  that  which  is  left  out  of 
action.  Confusion,  in  short,  is  now  imposed  by  external  force, 
rather  than  induced  by  internal  perplexity,  —  a  condition 
surer,  and  tlierefore  more  liable  to  result  in  a  crushing  victory, 
for  it  depends  upon  the  vigor  of  the  offensive,  and  not  on  the 
weakness  of  the  defensive,  which  may  prove  a  deceitful  reliance. 
Moreover,  tiTectual  crushing  requires  time,  even  when,  as  in 
the  final  memorandum,  a  great  concentration  of  superiority 
is  intended  on  part  of  an  enemy's  order.  Now,  when  the  van 
and  centre  are  attacked,  the  rear  is  pointed  fair,  and,  if  it  does 
lot  lose  its  liead,  comes  quickly  up  to  the  rescue ;  but  when, 
in  the  contrary  case,  the  centre  and  rear  receive  the  assault, 
the  van,  being  left  out  of  actio  i,  not  only  has  'o  turn  round, 
])ut  naturally  stands  away,  for  an  interval  dependent  upon  the 
initiative  of  its  immediate  commander,  as  occurred  to  an 
extreme  degree  at  Trafalgar.  Thus  time,  the  invaluable  five 
minutes  or  half  hour,  is  gained  for  the  offensive  to  bring  its 
first  concentration  to  a  successful  issue,  as  well  as  to  prepare 
to  repel  the  van  of  the  defen.sive,^  if  it  countermarches,  as  it 
should.  "  I  look  with  confidence  to  a  victory  before  the 
van  of  the  enemy  could  succour  their  rear,  and  then  that 
the  British  fleet  would  Uiost  of  them  be  ready  to  receive  their 
twenty  sail  of  the  line,  or  to  pursue  them,  should  they  en- 
deavour to  make  off." 


TACTICAL  METHODS 


701 


The  organization  of  a  distinct  body  of  eigho  fast-sailing 
ships-of-tlie-line,  to  be  carried  to  such  part  of  the  field  as  might 
appear  necessary  to  the  commander-in-chief  in  a  particular 
emergency,  resulted  inevitably,  perhaps,  from  the  consider- 
ations presented  by  Nelson  in  the  opei.ing  sentences  of  the 
Memorandum,  and  from  the  great  number  of  ships  he  then 
hoped  to  have.  There  were  precedents  for  such  a  formation, 
in  the  practice  of  the  day  ;  but,  as  far  as  recalled  by  the 
author,  they  were  tlie  advanced  guards,  the  skirmish  line,  of 
the  fleet,  not,  as  in  this  case,  essentially  a  reserve.  In 
Nelson's  present  thought,  the  employment  of  this  force  would 
be,  not  antecedent  to,  but  consequent  upon,  the  particular 
indications  of  the  day.  Probably  they  would  not  be  held  back 
as  long  —  for  as  distinct  indications  —  as  in  the  case  of  an 
army's  reserve  ;  but  nevertheless,  the  chief  object  of  their 
separate  organization  was  to  redress,  at  the  moment,  the  un- 
foreseen developments  of  a  battle,  whetlier  at  the  instant  of 
engagement  or  during  its  subsequent  progress.  The  imi fortu- 
nate Villeneuve,  who  commanded  the  allies,  an  accomplished 
though  irresolute  seaman,  had  adopt^ed  a  similar  arrangement, 
placing  twelve  detached  ships  under  his  colleague  Gravina ; 
but,  with  sailing  vessels,  the  effective  use  of  such  a  force 
depended  largely  upon  the  windward  position,  which  the  allies 
did.  not  have.  If  placed  to  leeward  of  a  lee  line,  it  Avas  in  the 
power  of  the  assailant  to  throw  them  out  of  action  altogether ; 
if  to  windward,  to  attack  them  separately  ;  therefore  at  Tr.v 
falgar  Villeneuve  ordered  them  back  into  the  line.  Nelsori  like- 
wise then  embodied  his  reserve  in  the  two  columns  of  atcack, 
because  he  had  fewer  vessels  than  he  expected,  and  because 
the  light  wind  forbade  the  wasting  of  time  in  evolutionary 
refinements.  The  incident  of  the  simultaneous  adoption  of 
the  same  provision  by  the  two  opposing  admirals,  however,  is 
interesting  as  indicative  of  the  progress  of  naval  thought, 
though  still  hampered  by  the  uncertainties  of  the  motive 
power. 

The  second  of  these  Orders,  that  of  October  9,  is  memorable, 
not  only  for  the  sagacity  and  comprehensiveness  of  its  genei'al 
dispositions,  but  even  more  for  the  magnanimous  confidence 
with  which  the  details  of  execution  were  freely  intrusted  to 
those  upon  whom  they  had  to  fall.     It  was  evidently  drawn 


'  1 


702 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


]':■■■■■ 


llfU 


M  1 

ll 

i| 

N  \  ' 

n  ' 

H  ^1    ■'•  ' 

|i|: 

ll  '< 

up  in  the  first  instance  for  Collingwood  only  j  the  word 
"your"  in  the  original  draught  having  been  struck  out,  and 
"second  in  command,"  substituted.  The  comparison  already 
made  between  it  and  its  preuecessor  of  May,  may  not 
uninstructively  be  followed  by  a  study  of  the  difference  in 
details  between  itself  and  the  execution  it  actually  received 
at  the  Battle  of  Trafalgar.  To  aid  this  purpose  the  author 
has  traced,  in  marginal  notes,  the  succession  of  the  leading 
ideas. 

After  a  statement  of  General  Consid -^rations,  and  a  frank 
attribution  of  full  powers  to  the  seconu  in  command  for 
carrying  out  his  part,  Nelson  lays  down  the  manner  of  Attack 
from  to  Leeward.  This  condition  not  obtaining  at  Trafalgar, 
the  plan  cannot  be  contrasted  with  the  performance  of  that 
day.  Upon  this  follows  a  luminous  enunciation  of  the  general 
idea,  namely,  Coliingwood's  engaging  the  twelve  rear  ships, 
which  underlies  the  method  jjrescribed  for  each  attack  — 
from  to  leeward  and  to  windward.  Of  the  latter  Nelson 
fortunately  gives  an  outline  diagram,  which  illustrates  the 
picture  before  his  own  mind,  facilitating  our  comprehen- 
sion of  his  probable  expectations  and  allowing  a  comparison 
between  them  and  the  event  as  it  actually  occurred.  It  is 
not  to  the  discredit,  but  greatly  to  the  credit,  of  his  concep- 
tion, that  it  was  susceptible  of  large  modification  in  practice 
while  retaining  its  characteristic  idea. 

Looking  a;,  his  diagram,^  and  following  his  words,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  British  lines  are  not  formed  perpendicularly 
to  that  of  the  enemy  (as  they  were  at  Trafalgar),  but  parallel 
to  it.  Starting  from  this  disposition,  near  the  enemy  and 
abreast  his  centre,  the  lee  line  of  sixteen  ships  was  to  bear  up 
together,  and  advance  in  line,  not  in  column  (as  happened  at 
Trafalgar)  ;  their  object  being  the  twelve  rear  ships  of  the 
enemy.  This  first  move  stands  by  itself;  the  action  of  the 
weather  line,  and  of  the  reserve  squadron  still  farther  to 
windward,  are  held  in  suspense  under  the  eye  of  tlie  com- 
mander-in-chief, to  take  the  direction  which  the  latter  sluill 
prescribe  as  the  struggle  develops.  The  mere  menace  of  such 
a  force,  just  out  of  gunshot  to  windward,  would  be  sufficient 

^  The  autlior  has  introduced  an  arrow  to  sliow  the  direction  of  the  wind  us 
viewed  by  Nelson  ;  the  arrow  Hying  with  the  wiiid. 


■  the  word 
ck  out,  and 
sou  already 
(,  uiay  uot 
litt'ereuce  iu 
lly  received 
the  author 
the  leading 

and  a  frank 
juimand   for 
er  of  Attack 
It  Trafalgar, 
ance  of  that 
f  the  general 
2  rear  ships, 
ch  attack  — 
atter  Nelson 
lustrates  the 
eomprehen- 
\  comparison 
urred.     It  is 
f  his  concep- 
in  practice 

mrds,  it  will 
•pendicularly 
but  parallel 
enemy  and 
Is  to  bear  up 
[happened  at 
ships  of  the 
Iction  of  the 
farther  to 
|of  the  corn- 
latter  shall 
liace  of  such 
)e  sufficient 

1  of  the  wiiiil  as 


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TACTICAL  MKl'llUDS 


103 


to  prevent  any  extensive  mam  mi v re  of  tha  unengaged  enomii'S. 
Nelson  doubtless  had  in  mind  the  dispositions,  more  than  a 
cent  \ry  old,  of  Tourville  ami  De  Kuyter,  by  which  a  lew  ships, 
spa'  [  to  windwail  of  an  enemy's  vim,  could  check  its 
tacK.  ig,  bocau'jip  of  t)' d  raking  tire  to  v'lieh  they  would  sub- 
3"ct  ii..  UnqueK«"ioMably,  he  would  no*^  iiave  kept  long  in  idle 
ex}  tan(\y  twenty-foi  •  ships,  tlie  number  he  had  in  mind  ; 
but  '  jarly  also  he  projjosed  to  Jiold  them  until  he  saw  how 
thi'igs  went  with  <'oll"  igwood.  Thus  much  time  would  allow, 
granting  the  position  ho  assumed  and  a  reasonable  breeze. 
His  twenty-four  to  windward  held  an  absolute  check  over 
the  supposed  thirty-four  unengaged,  of  the  enemy. 

The  attack  as  planned,  therefore,  ditfered  from  that  executed 
(1)  in  that  the  lee  line  wa^  not  to  advance  in  column,  but  in  line, 
thereby  dispersing  the  enemy's  fire,  and  avoiding  the  terrific 
concentration  which  crushed  the  Jeaders  at  T'rafalgar ;  and  (2) 
in  that  the  weather  squadrons  were  not  to  attack  simul- 
taneously with  the  lee,  but  after  it  had  engaged,  in  order 
to  permit  the  remedying  of  any  mishap  that  might  arisf 
in  delivering  the  crucial  blow.  In  both  these  matters  ot 
det;  11  the  plan  was  better  than  the  moditication ;  but  the 
latter  was  forced  upon  Nelson  by  conditions  beyond  his 
control. 

It  will  be  observed  that,  when  considering  attacking  from 
to  leeward,  he  orders  a  simultaneous  movement  of  the  three 
British  divisions,  —  lee,  wiiather,  and  reserve  ;  for  the  obvious 
reason  that  if  he  held  his  own  divisions  in  reserve  to  leeward 
he  could  not  at  all  count  upon  bringing  them  into  action  at 
will ;  and,  moreover,  such  an  attack  would  probably  have  to 
be  in  columns,  and,  if  simultaneous,  would  be  loss  liable  to 
disaster  than  in  succession,  mutual  support  diverting  the 
enemies'  fire.  In  fact,  the  highest  order  of  offensive  condji- 
nation  was  only  possible  when  having  the  advantage  of  the 
wind  —  fair,  and  enough  of  it. 

The  plan  upon  which  Trafalgar  was  to  be  fought,  as  above 
described  and  analyzed,  was  formed  some  time  before 
leaving  England,  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  sujjpose 
that  it  was  in  fact  a  modifioation  of  the  earlier  idea,  laid 
down  during  the  chase  to  the  West  Indies.  On  the  10th 
of  Septen.ber.  three  days  only  before  quitting  ^lerton,  Nelson 


n 


I 


i^;' 


\l 


?!       I 


1M 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


called  upon  his  old  friend,  Lord  Sidiuouth,'  who  until  recently 
had  been  I'rinie  Minister.  In  the  course  of  the  interview  ho 
explained  his  intentions  as  regards  the  attack.  "  Rodney," 
lie  said,  *'  broke  the  enemy's  line  in  one  place,''  1  will  break  it 
in -two;"  and  with  his  linger  he  indicated  upon  a  table  the 
general  character  of  the  assault,  to  be  made  in  two  lines,  led 
by  himself  and  CoUingwood.  JIo  felt  confident,  according  to 
►Sidmouth's  narration,  that  he  should  capture  either  their  van 
and  centre  or  their  centre  and  rear.  It  was  of  course  out  of 
his  power  to  prevent  the  enemy  inverting  their  order,  by  the 
simultaneous  turning  round  of  every  ship,  at  the  time  of 
engagement,  so  that  the  attack  intended  for  the  rear  should 
fall  upon  it  become  the  van.  Against  this  contingency  he 
provided  by  the  words,  "shoidd  the  enemy  wear  together, 
still  the  twelve  ships  composing,  in  the  first  pnsltif>n,  the 
enemy's  rear,  are  to  be  the  object  of  attack  of  tlie  lee  line." 
Sidmouth  did  not  commit  his  recollection  of  this  incident  to 
writing  until  many  years  later,  ajul,  not  being  a  seaman,  very 
likely  failed  to  comprehend  some  of  the  details  —  there  seems 
to  the  author  to  be  in  the  story  a  confusion  of  what  Nelson 
planned  with  what  Nelson  did;  but  a  great  conception  is 
largely  independent  of  details,  and  the  essential  features  of 
Trafalgar  are  in  Sidmouth's  accoinit.  The  idea  was  doubtless 
imparted  also  to  the  family  circle  at  IVferton,  where  probably 
the  expression,  "  Nelson  touch,"  originated.  It  occurs  chiefly, 
if  not  wholly,  in  his  letters  to  Lady  Hamilton,  to  whom,  some 
days  before  reaching  the  fleet,  he  wrote,  "I  am  anxious  to 
join,  for  it  would  add  to  my  grief  if  any  other  man  was  to 
give  them  the  Nelson  touch,  which  we  say  is  warranted  never 
to  fail ;  "  but  there  may  be  a  quaint  iilJusion  to  it  in  the  motto 
he  told  Hose  he  had  adopted  :  "  Touch  and  Take." 

When  Nelson  left  England,  he  was  intrusted  by  the  First 
Lord  with  the  delicate  and  unpleasant  mission  of  communi- 
cating to  Sir  Robert  Calder  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Govern- 
ment with  liis  conduct,  in  the  encounter  with  the  allied  fleets 
the  previous  July ;  especially  for  failing  to  keep  touch  with 

1  Formcrlj'  Mr.  Adilington,  who  was  at  the  heiul  of  the  (lovernment  diiriny 
the  Co])eiihiig('ii  exiUMlition. 

2  This  was  a  mistake  on  Xelson's  part.  Iiotln'ey'a  fleet  a<!tnally,  thougli 
accidentally,  broke  through  Do  Grasse's  onh-r  in  two  (if  not  three)  phices. 


)  until  recently 
0  interview  ho 
L.     ''  Kodney," 
1  will  break  it 
un  a  table  the 
two  lines,  led 
it,  according  to 
litlier  their  van 
if  course  out  of 
r  order,  by  the 
at  the  time  of 
the  rear  should 
contingency  ho 
wear  together, 
<st  position,  the 
)t'  the  lee  line." 
this  incident  to 
a  seaman,  very 
s  —  there  seems 
of  what  Nelson 
it  conception   is 
iitial  features  of 
la  was  doubtless 
where  probably 
t  occurs  chiefly, 
to  whom,  some 
am  anxious  to 
licr  man  was  to 
ivarranted  never 
it  in  the  motto 

te." 

k\  by  the  First 
\\\  of  communi- 
of  the  Govern- 
Ithe  allied  fteets 
]eep  touch  with 

bovernmcnt  durinj,' 

It  aotuiilly,  though 
three)  winces. 


THE   CALDEIl   INCIDENT 


705 


them  and  bring  them  again  to  action.  The  national  outcry 
was  too  strong  to  be  disregarded,  nor  is  it  probable  that  tlio 
Admiralty  took  a  more  lenient  view  of  tho  matter.  At  all 
events,  an  inquiry  was  inevitable,  and  the  autliorities  seem  to 
have  felt  that  it  was  a  favor  to  Calder  to  permit  him  to  ask 
for  the  Court  which  in  any  case  must  bo  ordered.  "I  did  not 
fail,"  Avrote  Nelson  to  l»arham,  "immediately  on  my  arrival, 
to  deliver  your  message  to  Sir  Robert  Cahler  ;  and  it  will 
give  your  Lordship  pleasure  to  find,  as  it  has  me,  that  an  in- 
quiry is  what  tho  Vice-Admiral  wishes,  and  that  he  had  written 
to  you  by  the  Nautilus,  which  I  detained,  to  say  so.  Sir 
Robert  tliinks  that  he  can  clearly  prove,  that  it  was  not  in  Ids 
power  to  bring  tlie  combined  squadrons  again  to  battle." 

Nelson  felt  a  profound  sympathy  for  tho  unfortunate  officer, 
pursued  by  the  undiscriminating  and  ignorant  fury  of  popular 
clamor,  the  extent  and  intensity  of  which  he  had  had  oppor- 
tunity to  reali'.e  when  in  England.  AVhile  ho  probably  did 
not  look  for  so  tragic  an  issue,  the  execution  of  Ryng  under  a 
similar  odium  and  a  similar  charge,  although  expressly  cleared 
of  cowardice  and  disaifection,  was  still  fresh  in  the  naval 
mind.  "  Sir  Robert  has  an  ordeal  to  pass  through,"  he  wrote 
Collingwood,  "  which  he  little  expects."  His  own  opinion 
upon  the  case  seems  to  have  undergone  some  modification, 
since  the  geneioiis  outburst  with  which  he  at  first  deprecated 
the  prejudgment  of  a  disappointed  and  frightened  people ; 
nor  could  it  well  fail,  as  details  became  known  to  him,  that 
he  should  pass  a  silent  censure  upon  proceedings,  which  con- 
trayened  alike  his  inward  professional  convictions,  and  his 
expressed  jmrposes  of  action  for  a  similar  contingency.  "  I 
have  had,  as  you  will  believe,  a  very  distressi)ig  scene  with 
poor  Sir  Robert  Calder,"  he  told  Lady  Hamilton.  "  He  has 
wrote  home  to  beg  an  inquir}'-,  feeling  confident  that  he  can 
fully  justify  himself.  I  sincerely  hope  he  may,  but  —  I  have 
given  him  the  advice  as  to  my  dearest  friend.  He  is  in  ad- 
versity, and  if  he  ever  has  been  my  enemy,  he  now  feels  the 
pang  of  it,  and  finds  me  one  of  his  best  friends."  "  Sir  Robert 
Calder,"  he  wrote  to  another  correspondent,  "  has  just  left  us 
to  stand  his  trial,  which  I  think  of  a  very  serious  nature." 
Nelson  was  obliged  to  detain  him  until  reinforcements  arrived 
from  England,  because  Calder  was  unwilling  to  undergo  the 

45 


:-H 


\ 


HM] 


TIIK   \.\VK  OK  NKLSON 


aiii)ar('Mt  huiniliatiou  of  loaviujj  his  llaj;slii|)  iiiidor  (•hai'f,'t'S, 
and  she  could  in>l.  yet  bo  span'd.  It  was  not  the  least  of  this 
unlucky  man's  nnsrortuncs  that  ho  left  tho  licet  just  a  wcok 
bd'oro  tho  l>.ittlc,  where  his  eoiuhu't  would  undoubtedly  havo 
redcenuMl  whatever  of  errors  hi^  may  have  eonunitted.  Ono 
of  the  last  rcuuirks  Nelson  made  before  the  action  bei,'an,  was, 
''Manly,  wliat  would  poor  Sir  Robert  ('alder  },Mve  to  be  with 
us  now !  " 

Caldor'a  reluetaucp  to  (juit  his  Haf^ship,  and  tho  kenri  son- 
sitiveness  with  which  lu>  (expressed  liis  feeling's,  drtnv  from 
Nelson  a  eoneession  ho  knew  to  bo  wronjj,  but  whieli  is  too 
characteristic,  both  in  tlu^  act  itself  and  in  liis  own  account  of 
it,  to  be  omitted.  ''Sir  Ivobert  feU,  so  much,"  ho  wrote  to  tho 
First  Lord,  "even  at  the  idea  of  boinjj  removed  from  Ida  own 
ship  which  lio  commanded,  in  tho  faco  of  tho  flc(!t,  that  1 
mucli  fear  I  shall  incur  the  censure  of  tho  Hoard  of  Admiralty, 
without  your  Lordship's  intluem'o  with  tho  members  of  it. 
T  may  be  th(m<;lit  wrong,  as  an  othcer,  to  disobey  tho  orders 
of  tho  Admiralty,  by  nt)t  insistinj;  on  Sir  Robert  Calder's  q\iit- 
tini;  tho  Pritico  of  Wales  for  tho  Dreadnoujj^ht,  and  for  ])art- 
injj  with  a  DO-gun  ship,  before  tho  force  arrives  which  their 
Lordsliips  havo  judijed  necessary;  but  T  trust  that  I  shall  be 
considered  to  havo  done  rijjht  as  a  man,  and  to  a  brother 
oHicer  in  affliction  —  my  heart  could  not  stand  it,  and  so  the 
thinij  must  rest.  T  shall  submit  to  tho  wisdom  of  tlio  Hoard 
to  censure  mo  or  not,  as  to  thom  may  seem  best  for  tho  Ser- 
vice; I  shall  bow  with  all  due  respect  to  their  decision/' 

From  thi»  military  point  of  vfew  this  step  was  indefensible, 
but  it  is  in  sincjular  keeping  with  Nelson's  kindness  of  heart, 
his  generosity  of  temper,  and  with  a  certain  recklessness 
of  conseciuenccs,  —  when  supported  by  inward  conviction  of 
right,  or  swayed  by  natural  impulses,  —  which  formed  no 
small  part  of  his  greatness  as  a  warrior.  "Numbers  only 
can  annihilate  ; ''  yt>t  to  spare  tho  feelings  of  an  unhappy  man, 
whom  he  believed  to  havo  been  lus  enemy,  ho  i)arted  with  one 
of  the  best  units  from  his  numbers,  although,  even  with  her 
present,  he  was  inferior  to  tho  allies.  He  felt  keenly,  how- 
ever, tho  responsibility  ho  assumed,  not  only  towards  the 
Admiralty,  but  towards  his  own  success  and  rejMitation.  At 
one  time  he  seems,  with   unusual   vacillation,  even  to   liavc 


lUSl'OSiriON  OK  TIIK   FLKKT 


707 


least  of  this 
,  just  a  wiu'k 
iihU'illy  liavo 
inittcM].  Ono 
I  l>(><^an,  was, 
;o  to  1)15  with 

,ho  koon  son- 
s,  drew  Iroin 
which  is  too 
,vn  aci'-ount  of 
1  wrote  to  tho 
from  his  own 
llcot,    that  1 
of  Ailiniralty, 
ombors  of   it. 
oy  t\w  orders 
Cahlor's  qiiit- 
,  and  for  i)art 
s  which  their 
hat  1  shall  he 
to  a  hrother 
it,  and  so  tlu^ 
of  the  r«oard 
t  for  the  Ser- 
peision." 
indefensible, 
juess  of  heart, 
recklessness 
Iconviction  ol 
[1   formed   no 
umbers  only 
nhappy  man, 
■ted  with  one 
on  with  her 
[keenly,  how- 
towards   tlu' 
[utation.     At 
en  to   have 


return«'d  upon  his  decision,  and  to  liave  notified  ('ahh'r  that 
tiie  ship  could  not  he  spiu«'d  ;  for  on  the  ll'th  of  October  the 
latter  wrote  him:  "'I'lie  (-ontents  of  your  l-(»rdship's  letter 
]iav«^  cut  me  to  the  soul.  If  I  am  to  Ix;  turned  out  of  my 
ship,  after  all  that  has  passed,  1  have  only  to  re(|uest  I  may 
be  allowed  to  takn  my  ('aptain,  and  such  oHlcers  us  I  find 
nect^ssary  for  the  justification  of  niy  conduct  as  an  officer, 
and  that  1  may  be  [M-rmifted  to  j,'o  without  a  mcuuent's 
further  loss  of  time.  My  heart  is  l)roken."  'I'liis  appeal 
broke  down  all  Nelson's  power  (A'  rcsislaucM'.  Me  deprived 
himself  on  the  (^ve  (if  battle  of  a  first-rat(!  ship,  takiu}^  only 
the  precaution  of  seiulint,'  his  entire  (!orr(!Sp(m(l<!nc(!  with 
(Wilder,  ]»jdtlic  and  ]>rivate,  t.o  explain  his  c(»urse,  thou<,'h 
S(\'ircely  to  justify  it.  'I'he  siL,'nifi«'a.uce  of  this  act  is  eidiancecl 
by  tho  known  in>portan(U(  whi(di  he  himself  attache(l  to  the 
|)reseneo  or  absence  of  even  a  tliird-rate  ship-of-thc-linc!. 
When  the  expedition  to  the  l»altic  was  on  the  ev(!  of  starting', 
a  s«n'enty-four  went  a<,'round,  in  leaving,'  t,!'*;  Downs.  Licfutcn- 
aut  Layman  havini,'  been  (Mtnspicuously  instruuuuital  in  f,'et- 
tinjjf  her  off,  Nelson  told  him  that  he-  had  in  (!oiiseque!i<!o 
written  in  his  fav(U*  Ut  the  Admiralty  ;  and  ujxm  Layman's 
remarkinj;  that  what  he  hud  doiu^  scarcely  des(!rved  so  mucdi, 
the  admiral  replied,  "  I  thiid<  dil'fVircuil  ly,  the  htss  of  one  line- 
of-battle  ship  mij^ht  be  the  loss  of  a  victory." 

When  Nelson  join(Ml  tJu!  fleet,  he  found  it  stationed  some 
fifteen  to  twenty  miles  from  C!adi/.  lie  soon  moved  the  main 
bod}'-  to  fifty  miles  west  of  the  port,  "it  is  desirable,"  ho 
admitted,  "to  be  W(!ll  np  in  easterly  winds,  but  I  must  guard 
aj^ainst  being  caught  with  a  west(M'ly  wind  near  Cadiz,  as  a 
fleet  of  ships  with  so  many  thrf^e-deckers  would  inevitably 
b(»  forced  into  tho  Straits,  and  then  Cadi/  would  bo  i)erf(!ctly 
free  for  tlu?  encMuy  to  come  oiit  with  a  westerly  wind,  as  they 
served  Lord  K(!itli  in  the  late  war."  The  memory  of  his 
weary  beat  out  of  the  MeditfM-ranean  the  previous  April, 
against  wind  and  currem  remained  vividly  in  his  mind;  and 
he  feared  also  that  the  willingness  of  the  enemy  to  come  out, 
which  was  his  great  object,  •■ould  b(!  much  cooled  by  the  cer- 
tainty that  his  fleet  could  not  be  avoided,  and  by  seeing  such 
additions  as  it  might  receive.  *'  I  think  we  are  near  enough," 
he  wrote  Collingwood,  "  for  tlie  weather  if  it  is  fine,  the  wind 


Ni 


708 


THE   MFK  OF  NKLSON 


8«;rvcH,  Jind  wo  arc  in  Hi;4lit,  tlioy  will  lutvtfr  move."  "  I  I'fAy 
on  yon,"  lio  trills  iJhickwood,  "tliiit  w«  ciin't  niisH  j^cttinK 
hold  of  thoni,  ;iri(l  I  will  },'iv(!  tli«!in  sndi  a  .sliakinj^  iiH  tlicy 
nf!V(ir  y«'t  c\]n-i'u'iw,(:d;  ist  I'jJist  I  will  lii.y  down  my  litd  in  Ma; 
aUf!Ui[»t."  An  advam^cd  Hcpiadron  of  fasl-saiJin^'  .siivonty- 
lonrs  was  thrown  ont  ton  or  twolvo  miles  cast  ol  tin;  llect, 
through  which  daily  sif^nal.s  could  bo  oxchaniLfcd  with  iJlack- 
wood'.s  H()nadron  of  frigatfjs,  that  crnisod  d;i.y  and  night  dose 
to  tho  harbor's  month.  'I'his  dis|tf>sition  received  a  fartln-r 
d(!V(!lo[»ment  after  tho  JOth  of  ()(!tob(!r,  when  the  (;ombined 
fleets  shift(;d  from  the  inner  harbor  \.(>  the  I'.ay  of  Cadi^i,  and 
^'avc  f)th(!r  tokens  of  a  speedy  start.  On  the  11  th  of  the 
month  lie  made  thfj  following  entiy  in  his  diary  :  "  Knemy  at 
the  harbour's  mouth.  I'hteed  I)e|(;iice  and  Agamemnon  from 
seven  to  ten  leagues  west  of  (liuli/,  and  Mars  and  Colossus 
five  hiagues  east  of  fleet  [that  is,  undfir  way  b(!tw<;en  the 
fl«!et  and  the  former  group],  whf)Sf!  station  is  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  lisagues  west  of  Cadi/ ;  iiiid  by  this  chain  I  hope  tf» 
liavf!  constant  communif;ation  with  thf;  frig.'ites  off  Cadiz." 
To  the  captain  of  tin;  'M)efen(;(!"  he  wrote  thiit  it  was  possi- 
ble the  (Miemy  might  try  to  driv(^  off  the  frigate  squadron, 
in  order  tf)  facilitate  their  own  evasion  ;  in  which  case  the 
iiumr  ships-of-the-linc  would  be  at  hand  to  resist  tin;  attempt. 
]>es|)ite  !;ieso  careful  dispositions,  his  mind  w;is  still  ill  at 
ease  lest  tin;  enemy  might  (!S(;a|)e  undetficted.  lie  nevfir  had 
frigat(!S  enough  to  mako  thrj  result  as  sun;  as  it  ought  t<»  be, 
where  sm-h  -'aht  issu(!S  were  at  stake.  Whihi  eight  at  least 
were  needed  to  b«;  iilways  with  the  fle<!t  before  (!;idi/,,  he.  li;id 
but  five;;  ;ind  to  maintain  (!ven  ho  many  it  was  necessary  to 
r;ut  short  other  services  and  <!ssenti;i,l  st.'i.tions.  This  ih'i]c\i-u<:y 
lie  urged  upon  the  (Jf)vernment  still  more  thiin  he  did  the 
inadcfpiacy  of  the  line-of-bii,ttle  IV)rce ;  for  hi;;  f(;ar  of  the 
enemy  (duding  him  was  greater  than  that  of  a  (;onflie,t  with 
superior  nurnbrirs.  As  regards  th(!  lattc^r  contingency,  lir; 
wrotf!  to  Lord  liarhain  th.'it,  if  the  (uiemy  came  out,  Iif;  would 


immediMtely  bring  them  to  battl 


but,  although    I   should 


not  doubt  of  s|»oilitig  .'iny  voyage  tliey  might  atteujpt,  yrit  T 
liope  for  the  ;irriv;il  of  the  s]ii[)S  from  Krighind,  that  as  an 
<^n(!my's  fleet  they  niiiy  bf!  annihilated."  On  the  other  hand, 
"the  last  fleet  was  lost  to  me  for  want  of  frigates."     J>esiUcs 


i 


t  iniHS  ^'•'''•''"^^' 
ijikiiiK'  i>^  they 
my  liir  iti  Mar 
Liliiij,'   sovcrity- 
\\.  ol  IIm;  Het't,, 
;«;(!  with  liliick- 
iiiid  ni^'lit  closf! 
;ivc.(l  a  rurtlMM- 
the.  <;()rnV>ili<;<l 
r  (»f  (';uli;i,  iiiid 
,(,   mil   (.f  thf! 
y  :  "  Krioiiiy  at, 
;;iiii<;iimoii  from 
s  and  Colossus 
y    h(!tvv«;('ii    tlio 
froiri  lif'tor!!!  to 
liaiii   \    li'.«[)C!   t,o 
U'.H   off   Cadi/." 
ill,  it,  was  possi- 
if^'iitc,  sfpiadron, 
wliicli  (!asn  t,li«! 
ist  ili(!  at,f,(!iiipt,. 
was  still  ill  at 
11''  ncv(!r  had 
t  oii^'ht  to  U', 
c\<^\\\,  at  least 
(!;idiz,  hf!  liitd 
s  iifccssary  to 
rhisih'ficiiaif.y 
III  In-    did  tlie 
fciir   of   t,h(; 
I  conflict  with 
iitin<,'('iif;y,   hf. 
out,  hf!  would 
)U<,'h   I   should 
;itt('inpt,  yet  T 
id,  that  as  an 
If;  other  hand, 
|t(!S."     JJesidoH 


COMPOSniK  OF   MINI) 


700 


his  own  direct  njpn^sentations,  iie  pressed  Itose  to  olitain  an 
intimation  to  tlu;  Admiralty  froiri  the  I'rime  Minister,  that  the 
latt(!r  was  personally  solieif,ous  that  jnore  small  fMuise-rsshoidd 
he  supplied.  iJoth  (Jollingwood  and  Nelsfjii  hfdieved  tin;  allies 
hound  to  the  Mi -(liter  randan  ;  hut  in  tiiis  tli«;y  nii<^dit  he  mi.s- 
taken,  and  as  the  real  (.hjttct  mitjht  hf,  a<,'!i,iii  the  West  Indies, 
lookouts  should  he  phuied  oil  (Jape  lllaiieo  on  the  eoast  of 
Afriea,  and  oil  the  Salvages,'  lioth  which  he  knew  had  heeii 
sighUMl  i>y  V'illeneuvt.',  in  the  outwar<l  voyage  of  the  previous 
.spring. 

To  his  concern  alK>ufc  thf  immediate  sitiiatifiii  hefore  Cadiz 
were  added  the  universal  cares  of  the  Meditfiranean,  with  all 
parts  of  which  ho  renewed  his  correspondenerj,  o(;cupying  Ids 
active  mind  with  prr>visions  for  forwarding  the  cause  of  Creat 
Jiritain  and  her  allies.  Under  his  many  anxieties,  however, 
he  |)res(.rvefl  ids  huoyf.nt,  r(!Solute  temper,  not  worrying  over 
possihle  haiipenings  against  which  he  was  iinahle  to  provide. 
"The  force  is  at  present  not  so  larg«!  as  might  he  wished,"  he 
writes  t,o  I'.all,  "hut  I  will  do  my  Ix^st  with  it;  they  will  givf; 
me  morf!  when  they  can,  and  f  am  not  couk;  forth  to  find 
difliculti(;3,  hut  to  rcuiiove  thfiiii."  "  Vour  fiordship  may 
d(![»<!rid  upon  my  (iXfutions,"  he  t(dls  I'.;irliam.  The  p')ssihility 
that  h(!  himself  might  fall  was,  as  always,  present  to  his 
tlioughts,  and  nev«!r  did  life  moan  more  to  him  than  it  now 
did;  yet,  as  th*;  twilight  defipened,  and  the  realization  of 
danger  passed  graduiilly  into  a  [irrisentiiiKHit  of  d(;;i,th,  he 
faced  the  prospect  without  ghjom — steadfast  still  in  mind. 
"Let  th<!  hattle  he  when  it  may,  it  will  nev«!r  ha,ve  heen  sur- 
passed. My  shattered  irame,  if  I  survivfs  that  day,  will 
refpiire  rest,  and  th;i,t  is  all  I  shall  ask  for.  If  I  fall  on  suf;h 
a  glorious  rx-casion,  it  shall  h(!  my  pride  to  tiike  f;ar'!  that  my 
friends  shall  not  hlush  for  iiw.  'I'liesf;  things  .arf;  in  the, 
h;i,nds  «)f  a  wisf!  and  just  I'rovidfince,  and  Mis  will  he  done! 
I  havfi  got  som»!  trille,  thank  Cofj,  t,o  h-avf;  those  f  hold  most 
dear,  and  I  h;i,ve  taken  care  not  to  neglect  it.  l)o  not  think  f 
am  low-spirited  on  this  ac.count,  or  fancy  anything  is  t(»  hajtpen 
to  mo;  fpiite  the  (tontrary  —  my  mind  is  ealm,;uid  F  hiive  only 
to  think  (d'  d(!stroying  our  inveter;ite  foe." 

Of  thes(5  days  al'  preoccupation,  while  in  hourly  expectation 
*  A  ijisf  rt  f;r<iii|>  nl  smiill  i.sliin<l:>  li<;tw<;(ii  Mfi<ifirii  aii'l  tli*;  (.'ariarii's. 


'f! 


i' 

i 


»;^''  *^ 


iii-  ' 


ii 
■I  '  ! 


710 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


of  the  issue,  overcharged  with  ofticial  anxieties,  and  facing, 
however  fearlessly,  a  growing  impression  that  he  himself 
would  not  survive  the  conflict  for  which  he  longed,  an  anecdote 
has  been  transmitted  that  shows  again  how  to  the  end,  and 
whatever  his  personal  cares,  his  quick  sympathy  went  out  to 
men  of  all  classes.  Word  had  been  passed  through  the  fleet 
that  a  mail  was  about  to  start  for  England,  which  would  not 
improbably  be  the  last  opportunity  of  writing  home  before  the 
enemy  came  forth.  The  letters  had  been  collected  as  usual, 
the  bags  were  all  on  board  the  departing  vessel,  and  she  her- 
self, under  full  sail,  had  got  already  some  distance  away, 
when  Nelson  saw  a  midshipman  come  up  r.nd  speak  to  Lieu- 
tenant Pasco,  the  signal  officer,  who,  upon  hearing  what  was 
said,  stamped  his  foot  in  evident  vexation,  aud  uttered  an 
exclamation.  The  admiral,  of  wliose  nearness  Pasco  was  not 
aware,  called  him,  and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  "  Nothing 
that  need  trouble  your  Lordship,"  was  the  reply.  "You  are 
not  the  man  to  lose  your  temper  for  nothing,"  rejoined  Nelson. 
"What  was  it  ?"  "Well,  if  you  must  know,  my  Lord,  I  will 
tell  you.  You  see  that  cockswain,"  pointing  to  one  of  the 
most  active  of  the  petty  officers ;  "  we  have  not  a  better  man 
on  board  the  Victory  and  the  message  which  put  me  out  was 
this.  I  was  told  that  he  was  so  busy  receiving  and  getting  off 
the  mail-bags,  that  he  forgot  to  droj)  his  own  letter  to  his  wife 
into  one  of  them,  and  he  has  just  discovered  it  in  his  pocket." 
"Hoist  a  signal  to  bring  her  back,"  was  Nelson's  instant 
command ;  "  who  knows  that  he  may  not  fall  in  action  to-mor- 
row. His  letter  shall  go  with  the  rest," — aud  the  despatch 
vessel  was  brought  back  for  that  alone.*  In  telling  the  story, 
Pasco  used  to  say  it  was  no  wonder  that  the  common  sailors 
idolized  Nelson,  since  he  was  always  thinking  about  them, 
and  won  their  Jiearts  by  showing  his  own. 

In  addition  to  the  combined  fleets  in  Cadiz,  which  numbered 
thirty-six  of  the  line,  besides  frigates,  the  enemy  had  a  half- 
dozen  of  the  line  in  Cartagena,  which  showed  signs  of  moving, 
and  whose  junction  must  be  prevented,  if  possible.  Partly 
for  this  reason,  partly  because  it  was  necessary  to  renew  the 
water  of  the  ships.  Nelson  sent  a  detacl.ment  of  six  of  the 

1  The  author  is  indebti-d  for  this  reminisfcnco  to  Jir.  Stuart  J.  Ri-id,  who 
received  it  from  Pasco's  son,  also  an  officer  in  the  Navy. 


!!^  *i 


AWAITING  TIIK   ENKMY'S   SAILING 


711 


line  to  Gibraltar  and  Tetuan,  iininediately  after  he  took  chaigo. 
To  the  junior  admiral  who  conunanded  it,  and  who  lamented 
that  they  might  lose  their  share  in  the  expected  battle,  he 
replied  :  "  I  have  no  other  means  of  keeping  my  Heet  complete 
in  provisions  and  water.  The  enemy  ivill  come  out,  and  we 
shall  fight  them ;  but  there  will  be  time  lor  you  to  get  back 
first."  They  did  not,  however,  return  as  thus  expeci-eil,  a 
misadventure  which  was  chiefly  due  to  their  having  to  guard  a 
convoy  past  Cartagena,  —  a  potent  illustration  of  the  influence 
exerted  by  a  powerful  squadron,  judiciously  placed  on  the 
flank  of  an  important  trade  route,  or  line  of  communication  ; 
but  even  had  they  rejoined,  six  others  were  told  off  to  leave  at 
once  in  turn.  Nelson  did  not  dare  to  take  the  fleet  in  mass 
to  Tetuan,  as  he  used  to  Madalena ;  for  he  could  never  be  sure 
of  getting  out  of  the  Straits  when  he  wished,  or  when  the 
enemy  moved.  Thus  his  fleet  was  reduced,  by  both  adminis- 
trative and  strategic  exigencies,  to  twenty -three  ships-of-tho- 
line.  Fortunately,  four  more  joined  before  the  battle,  raising 
the  numbers  actually  engaged  to  twenty-seven.  It  will  be 
recognized  that  Calder's  ninety-gun  ship  was  no  small  loss. 

Such  were  the  general  dispositions  in  which  the  sailing  of 
the  enemy  was  awaited.  A  nuiin  body  of  eighteen  to  twenty, 
fifty  miles  west  of  Cadiz,  a  frigate  squadron  close  in  to  the 
harbor,  and  two  groups  of  ships-of-the-line  extended  between 
these  extremes.  With  a  westerly  wind,  approach  to  the  port 
would  be  easy  for  all ;  with  an  easterly,  Nelson  wrote  to 
Blackwood,  he  would  habitually  beat  up  for  Cadiz,  never  going 
north  of  the  port.  His  whereabouts  in  case  of  thictk  weather 
was  thus  always  known.  He  notified  Collingwood  and  his 
other  subordinates,  that  if  the  enemy  came  out,  'u  should 
stand  for  Cape  Spartel,  the  African  outpost  of  the  Straits,  to 
bar  the  entrance  of  the  allies  to  the  Mediterranean.  Signals 
were  arranged,  precise,  yet  not  so  elaborate  as  to  tend  to  con- 
fusion, by  which  the  departure  and  general  directio/i  of  the 
enemy  could  be  continually  transmitted,  from  the  furthest 
lookouts  to  the  main  body,  by  night  as  by  day. 

On  the    13th  of  October  his  old  ship,  the  "  Agamemnon," 
ed  the  fleet.     She  was  commanded 


J 


by 


Lunrt  .T.  lii'iil,  who 


who  had  been  first  lieutenant  in  her  with  N(!lson,  had  accom- 
panied him  in  boarding  the  "  San  Nicolas  "  and  '  San  Josef  " 


Hi 


Ml 


t-   'i  I".   Ui 


712 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


at  St.  Vincent,  and  was  afterwards  liis  flag-captain  at  the  Nile. 
When  her  approach  was  reported  to  the  aduiii-al,  he  exclaimed 
gleefully,  "  Here  comes  Berry  !  Now  we  shall  have  a  battle  j " 
for  Berry,  having  been  in  more  fleet  actions  than  any  captain 
in  the  British  Navy,*  had  a  proverbial  reputation  for  such 
luck.  The  event  did  not  belie  the  prediction.  Five  daya 
later,  on  the  18th  of  the  month.  Nelson  noted  in  his  diary : 
"  Fine  weather,  wind  easterly  ;  the  combined  fleets  cannot 
have  finer  weather  to  put  to  sea; "  and  the  following  morning, 
at  half-past  nine,  the  signal,  repeated  from  masthead  to  mast- 
head, from  the  inshore  frigates  to  theii  commander-in-chief 
fifty  miles  at  sea,  announced  that  the  long-expected  battle 
was  at  hand  —  for  "  The  Enemy  are  coming  out  of  port." 

1  Besides  three  of  the  battles  associated  with  Nelson's  name  —  St.  Viucent, 
the  Nile,  and  Trafalgar  —  Berry  as  a  midshiimiau  had  been  in  the  five  lleet 
actions  between  Suifren  and  Hughes,  in  the  East  Indies,  in  1782  and  1783. 
("  The  Nelson  Memorial,"  by  John  Knox  Laughton,  pp.  83,  284.) 


am 

I" 


I  ; 

ii 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


Trafalgar. —The  Death  of  Nelson. 
October  19-21,  1805.     Age,  47. 

CONTRARY  to  the  general  policy  that  for  many  years 
had  governed  the  naval  undertakings  of  France  and 
Spain,  the  combined  fleets  put  to  sea  on  the  19th  of  October, 
1805,  with  the  fixed  purpose  of  daring  the  hazard  of  battle, 
which  they  could  scarcely  expect  to  avoid.  Tlioy  numbered 
thirty-three  ships-of-the-line,  eighteen  French  and  fifteen 
Spanish,  and  were  accompanied  by  five  frigates  and  two  brigs, 
all  of  which  were  French.  This  great  force  in  its  nggregate 
was  one.  There  were  not  two  separate  entities,  a  French  fleet 
and  a  Spanish  fleet,  acting  in  concert,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
reliances.  Whatever  the  administrative  arrangements,  for 
cruising  and  for  battle  the  vessels  of  the  two  nations  were 
blended  in  a  single  mass,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the  French 
admiral,  just  as  the  general  direction  of  the  naval  campaign 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  French  Emperor  alone.  The  com- 
mander-in-chief was  Vice-Admiral  Villeneuve,  the  same  that 
Nelson  recently  had  pursued  to  the  West  Indies  and  back  to 
Europe.  The  commander  of  the  Spanish  contingent,  Vice- 
Admiral  Gravina,  was  less  his  colleague  than  his  subordinate". 
There  were  also  flying  in  the  combined  fleet  the  flags  of  four 
junior  admirals,  two  French  and  two  Spanish,  and  the  broad 
pendants  of  several  commodores. 

In  the  allied  force  there  were  four  three-decked  ships,  of 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  guns,  all  Spanish, 
of  which  one,  the  "Santisima  Trinidad,"  was  the  largest 
vessel  then  afloat.  Among  Nelson's  twenty-seven  there  were 
seven  three-deckers,  of  ninety-eight  to  one  hundred  guns;  bu' 
in  the  lower  rates  the  British  were  at  a  disadvantage,  having 
but  one  eighty -gun  ship  and  three  sixty-fours,  whereas  the 
allies  had  six  of  the  former  and  only  one  of  the  latter.  All 
the  other  vessels  of  the  line-of-battle  were  seventy-fours,  the 
normal   medium   type,  upon  which  the   experience   of  most 


I  (l 


(     J 

1 


i| 


r'i*.: 


*714 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSOX 


■JV  .( 


W'^\ 

i  li 

m 

1 

na\  les  of  that  clay  had  fixed,  as  best  fitted  for  the  general  pur- 
poses of  fl«:;et  warfare.  Where  more  tonnage  and  heavier  bat- 
teries were  put  into  single  ships,  it  was  simply  for  the  purpose 
of  reinforcing  the  critical  points  of  an  order  of  battle ;  an  aim 
that  could  not  be  as  effectively  attained  by  the  combination  of 
two  ships,  und  3r  two  captains. 

As  Nelson  said  in  his  celebrated  order,  so  large  a  body  as 
thirty -three  heavy  vessels  is  not  easily  handled,  even  at  sea; 
and  leaving  port  with  them  is  an  operation  yet  more  difficult. 
Consequently,  the  movement  which  began  soon  after  daylight 
on  the  19th  was  not  completed  that  day.  Owing  to  the  fall- 
ing of  the  wind,  only  twelve  ships  got  fairly  clear  of  the  bay, 
outside  of  which  they  lay  becalmed.  The  following  morning 
the  attempt  was  resumed,  and  by  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  20th  the  whole  combined  fieet  was  united,  and 
standing  with  a  fresh  southwest  wind  to  the  northward  and 
westward,  to  gain  room  to  wiudwa^'d  for  entering  the  Straits. 

As  has  been  said,  the  movement  that  Blackwood  recognized 
at  7  A.  M.  of  the  19th  was  communicated  to  the  admiral  at 
iialf-past  nine.  According  to  his  announced  plan,  to  cut  the 
enemy  off  from  the  Mediterranean,  he  at  once  made  signal  for 
a  General  Chase  to  the  southeast,  —  towards  Cape  Spartel,  — 
and  the  fleet  moved  off  in  that  direction  with  a  light  southerly 
wind.  At  noon  Nelson  sat  down  in  his  cabin  to  begin  his 
last  letter  to  Lady  Hamilton.  The  words  then  written  he 
signed,  as  though  conscious  that  no  opportunity  to  continue 
might  offer ;  nor  is  it  difficult  to  trace  that  some  such  thought 
was  then  uppermost  in  his  uiind,  and  sought  expression  in  the 
tenderness  of  farewell.  The  following  day,  however,  he  added 
a  few  lines,  in  which  the  dominant  note  was  fear  that  the 
enemy  might  again  elude  him,  by  returning  into  port;  an 
appreliension  that  expelled  the  previous  haunting  sense  of 
finality.  There  he  laid  down  the  pen,  never  again  to  address 
her  directly.  The  letter,  thus  abruptly  closed  by  death,  was 
found  open  and  unsigned  upon  his  desk  after  the  battle. 


V'j'tory,  October  Ifltli,  1805,  Noon. 
JAnrz,  E.  S.  E.,  16  Lrngups. 

My  dearkst  nKi.ovF.n  Emma,  thodear  friiMid  of  myboRom.     The 
signal  has  been  mado  that  the  Knemy's  Coiiihiued  Fleet  aj-e  coming 


LAST  LETTER  TO  LADY   TLVMTLTON 


715 


out  of  Port.  W«*  have  very  lilllc  wlml,  so  lliat.  T  have  no  liopcs  of 
seeing  tluun  before  to-morrow.  May  the  (Jod  of  IJatth>s  crown  my 
endeavours  with  success;  at  all  events,  T  will  take  rare  that  my  name 
shall  ever  lie  most  dear  to  you  and  Iloratia,  hotli  of  whom  1  love  as 
much  as  my  own  life.  And  as  my  last  writinj;  before  the  Itattle 
will  be  to  you,  so  1  hojte  in  God  that  I  shall  live  to  linish  my  letter 
.after  the  Battle.     May  Heaven  bless  you  jirays  your 

Nklson  ani>  Buonte. 

October  20th. 

In  tlie  morning,  we  were  close  to  the  Mouth  of  the  Straits,  but  the 
wind  had  not  come  far  enough  to  the  Westward  to  allow  the  Combined 
Fleets  to  weather  the  Shoals  off  'I'rafalgar  ;  but  they  were  counted  as 
far  as  forty  Sail  of  Ships  of  War,  which  I  sup|)ose  to  be  thirty-four 
of  the  Line,  and  six  Frigates.  A  group  of  them  was  seen  oft'  the 
Lighthouse  of  Cadiz  this  jnorning,  but  it  blows  so  very  fresh  and 
thick  weather,  that  I  rather  believe  they  will  go  into  the  Harbour 
before  night.  May  God  Almighty  give  us  success  over  these  fellows, 
and  enable  us  to  get  a  Peace. 

He  WTote  the  same  day  to  his  daughter,  addressing  the 
letter  to  Miss  Horatia  Nelson  Tliompson,*  by  which  an  ;i^ 
she  had  hitherto  been  known.  In  the  Codicil  to  his  \V\'i], 
signed  on  the  morning  of  the  21st,  a  few  liours  before  the 
battle,  he  f.'dled  her  his  adopted  daugliter,  aiul  desired  that 
she  would  in  future  use  the  name  of  Nelson  only. 

Victory,  October  19th,  1805. 

My  dkarfst  Anoei,,  —  I  was  made  happy  by  the  pleasure  of 
receiving  your  letter  of  September  19th,  and  1  rejoice  to  hear  that  you 
are  so  very  good  a  girl,  an<l  love  my  dear  Lady  Ilannlton,  who  most 
dearly  loves  yon.  (Jive  her  a  kiss  for  me.  The  Combined  Fleets 
of  the  Enemy  are  now  reported  to  be  coming  out  of  Cadiz;  and 
therefore  1  answer  your  letter,  my  dearest  Iloratia,  to  mark  to  you 
that  you  are  ever  uppermost  in  my  thoughts.  I  shall  be  sure  of 
your  prayers  for  my  safety,  con^piest,  and  speedy  r»'turn  to  de;ir 
Merton,  and  our  dearest  good  f^ady  Hamilton.  Be  n  c'x"!  girl,  mind 
what  Miss  Connor  says  to  you.  Receive,  my  deare-i  Honitia.  the 
affectionate  parentfil  blessing  of  your  Father, 

Nki.son  ani>  Buontr. 

^  The  TiiiiiK^  Thotn]ison  was  s|ifllc(l  hy  Nelson  iiidifrficutly  «ith  or  without 
tlic  "  \\"  which,  as  Niooliis  nhsiTVcs,  coiifinns  tlic  btUof  that  it  was  fictitious. 
Tlio  fact  is  singular  ;  for,  from  a  cliaih  c  ii'niaik  of  his,  it  appears  that  ho 
meant  it  to  be  Thnmson.     (Moirison,  better  No.  569.) 


H 


1 


I     F. 


U       ;     *'       ') 


716 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


11  i 


|ii 


j 


I 


The  20th  of  Or!tol)er  oponed  with  fresh  bronzes  from  south- 
soiitliwest  and  hniivy  ruins.  A*t  daybreivk  tlie  liritish  fleet 
was  near  the  Straits'  mouth,  between  Capes  Trafalgar  and 
Spartel,  unable  to  see  anything,  but  nertain  that,  with  the 
existing  winds,  the  enemy  could  not  have  anticipated  it  there. 
IMackwood's  frigates,  out  of  sight  to  the  northward,  were 
dogging  the  path  of  the  allies,  of  whose  g(^neral  jjosition  they 
were  certain,  although  the  thick  weather  hid  them  from 
observation.  At  7  a.  m.  the  frigate  ''Vhaibo"  signalled  to 
Nelson  that  the  enemy  bore  north.  With  the  wind  as  it  was, 
and  considering  the  position  of  the  land,  they  must  be  stand- 
ing to  the  northwest,  so  that  the  liritish  fleet  wore  and 
steered  the  same  course,  keeping  ])arallel  to  the  enemy  and 
spreading  lookouts  in  their  direction.  Soon  after  noon,  the 
weather  clearing,  lilackwood  saw  the  combined  fleets  where  he 
believed  them  to  be,  under  low  sail,  and  so  close  that  the 
**  Euryalus  "  went  about  immediately.  At  1  i-.  m.  ho  left  the 
squadron  in  temporary  charge  of  a  junior  captain,  and  with 
his  own  ship  kept  away  soiith  to  speak  tlie  admii-al.  At  two 
he  sighted  the  main  body,  and  at  o.L'O  was  near  enough  to 
send  the  telegraphic  message,  "  The  enemy  appears  deter- 
mined to  push  to  the  westward."  "  That,"  wrote  Nelson  in 
his  diary,  "they  shall  not  do,  if  in  the  power  of  Nelson  and 
Bronte  to  prevent  them,"  and  he  telegi-aphed  back,  "I  rely 
upon  your  keeping  sight  of  the  enemy."  The  frigates  and  look- 
out ships,  he  noted  in  his  journal,  had  so  far  discharged  their 
duties  .1  "st  admirably,  informing  him  promptly  of  all  the 
hostile  ii')vements;  he  was  justified  therefore  in  the  con- 
fidence that  they  would  do  as  well  in  the  night  now 
approaching. 

While  lilackwood  was  communicating,  Nelson  himself  was 
much  of  the  time  on  the  "Victory's"  poop.  Seeing  there  a 
number  of  midshipmen  assembled,  he  observed  to  them, 
"This  day  or  to-morrow  will  be  a  fortunate  one  for  you, 
young  gentlemen,"  alluding  to  their  prospect  of  promotion 
after  a  successful  battle.  The  same  day  at  dinner,  he  said  to 
some  of  the  company,  "To-morrow  I  will  do  tliat  which  will 
give  you  younger  gentlemen  something  to  talk  and  think 
about  for  the  rest  of  your  lives,  but  I  shall  not  live  to  know 
about  it  myself ;  "  and  he  added  that  he  expected  to  capture 


MOVEMENTS  OF  THE   FLEETS 


717 


s  from  sonth- 
1  liritish  tioot 
rrafalgav  and 
hat,  witli  tlie 
pated  it  thoro. 
rtliward,  wove 
])osition  thoy 
id    them    from 
"  sifrnalletl  to 
^•ind  as  it  was, 
imist  be  staiul- 
Ifet  wore   and 
the  enemy  and 
iftev  noon,  the 
tlt'ots  where  he 
close  that  tlie 
•,  M.  he  left  the 
I  (tain,  and  with 
mival.     At  two 
near  enough  to 
appears   deter- 
rote  Nelson  in 
of  Nelson  and 
back,  "I  i-ely 
i  gates  and  look- 
llischarged  their 
ptly  of  all  the 
re   in  the  con- 
Ihe    night    now 

i:)n  himself  was 
Seeing  there  a 
Irved    to   them, 
one  for  you, 
of  promotion 
liner,  he  said  to 
Ihat  which  will 
Talk  and   think 
It  live  to  know 
jted  to  capture 


twenty  to  twenty-two  of  the  hostile  ficct.^  It  may  be  inferred 
from  this  remark  that  by  'he  dinner  hour,  between  three  and 
live,  ho  had  become  satisfied  that  the  enemy  either  would  not, 
or  coultl  not,  return  into  port,  according  to  the  fear  he  hud 
expresseil  to  Lady  Hamilton,  and  that  a  battle  therefore  was 
certain.  The  letter  to  her,  from  its  mention  of  the  weather 
as  thick,  must  have  been  written  in  the  forenoon.  'lis 
expectation  that  the  morrow  would  prove  the  decisive  Jay 
was  reinforced  by  one  of  those  prepossessions  lor  coincidences, 
half  jesting,  half  serious,  which  are  natural  to  nit'ii,  but  fall 
too  far  short  of  conviction  to  be  ctdled  superstiti(»us.  On  the 
21st  of  (.October,  1757,  his  uncle  Alaurico  Huckling  had  com- 
manded one  of  three  shii)s-of-tlie-line  which  had  beaten  off  a 
superior  force.  Nelson  had  several  times  said  to  (Japtain 
Hardy  and  Dr.  Scott,  ''The  21st  will  be  our  day  ; '"'  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  battle,  when  the  prediction  was  approaching 
fullilment,  he  again  remarked  that  the  21st  of  October  was 
the  happiest  day  in  the  year  for  his  family  ;  but  he  mentioned 
no  reason  other  than  that  just  given. 

The  main  bodies  of  tiie  contending  navies  did  not  come  in 


sight  of   each   other 


during 


the   20th:    the   British   lookout 


frigates,  between  the  two,  and  three  or  four  miles  from  tlie 
allied  line,  eould  see  their  own  fleet  only  from  the  masthead. 
At  about  2  1*.  M.,  soon  after  the  weather  cleared,  the  wind 
shifted  to  west-northwest,  taking  the  shi[)S  aback.  After 
tilling  their  sails  again  to  the  new  wind,  as  this  was  now  fair 
for  their  approach  to  the  Straits'  mouth,  the  combined  tleets 
wore,  and  headed  to  the  sojithward.  The  British  renuuning 
on  the  same  tack  as  before,  — the  port,  —  stood  to  the  north- 
ward until  8  p.  M.,  when  they  also  wore  to  the  southwest ; 
but  tliis  interval  of  steering  in  nearly  o])posite  directions 
changed  the  relative  bearings.  At  midnight,  by  the  log  of 
Blackwood's  frigates,  the  enemy  stretched  along  the  eastern 
horizon,  while  the  British  bore  southwest;  the  space  between 
the  two  benig  ten  miles.  The  "Euryalus,"  three  miles  from 
the  allies,  saw  the  loom  of  the  lights  of  her  own  fleet.  Still 
fearful  lest  the  view  of  his  ships  should  shake  the  enemy's 

1  The  author  is  iudclitnl  lor  this  aiiecdote  to  Mr.  Kdgiir  (iolilc,  of  Farehmii, 
iliints,  whose  lather,  Thomas  Goble,  tlicu  secretary  to  Captain  Hardy,  was 
l^reseut  at  the  table. 


:'  i 


iri 


I'll 


II 


\  i 


\- 


^ii 


r 


718 


TIIK   LIFK  OF  NELSON 


purpose,  Nelson  was  ciirelul  not  to  lessen  this  (listiiiice  ;  the 
more  so  because  the  ]>ritisli,  having  the  wind,  eouhl  attack 
when  tliey  pleased,  provided  the  rncniy  by  continuing  tu  the 
southward  deprived  themselves  of  tiie  power  to  rci^'ain  Cadiz- 
Two  British  frigates  were  directed  to  keep  them  in  sight 
during  the  night,  reporting  their  movements  to  two  others 
who  were  stationed  a  little  farther  from  then),  whence  a  chain 
of  line-of-battle  ships;  communicated  with  the  "Victory." 
Thus,  throughout  thd  dark  hours,  signal  lights  and  guns  Hashed 
across  the  waters  to  Nelson  instantaneous  information  of  every 
noteworthy  occurrence  in  the  hostile  order. 

Since  the  morning  of  the  I'Jth,  the  weather,  fine  for  some 
days  previous,  had  become  luisettled,  working  up  for  the 
southwest  gale  which  wrought  so  much  damage  among  the 
victims  of  the  fight.  As  the  night  of  the  L'Oth  advanced, 
the  wind  fell,  and  at  midnight  there  were  only  light  westerly 
breezes,  inclining  to  calm.  The  sanie  conditions  continued 
at  dawn,  and  throughout  the  day  of  the  L'lst  mitil  after  the 
battle  ;  but  there  was  also  a  great  swell  from  the  westward, 
the  precursor  of  a  storm.  At  4  A.  m.  the  British  fleet  again 
wore,  and  was  standing  northeast  when  the  day  broke. 

After  leaving  Cadiz,  in  order  to  avoid  separations  during 
the  night,  or  in  thick  Aveather,  the  combined  fleets  had  been 
disposed  in  five  columns,  a  formation  whose  compactness, 
though  not  suited  to  an  engagement,  was  less  liable  to  strag- 
gling than  a  single  long  line,  and  brought  all  parts  more  di- 
rectly under  the  control  of  the  commander-in-chief  at  the 
centre.  Of  the  five,  the  two  to  windward,  of  six  ships  each, 
constituted  a  reserve,  similar  to  Nelson's  proposed  detachment 
of  eight.  It  was  commanded  by  Admiral  Gravina,  and  was 
intended  to  reinforce  such  part  of  the  battle  as  should  appear 
to  require  it ;  an  object  for  which  the  Avindward  position  was 
of  the  utmost  moment,  as  it  was  for  all  naval  initiative  in  that 
day.  This  advantage  the  allies  did  not  have  on  the  morning 
of  Trafalgar,  When  Villeneuve,  therefore,  formed  the  line 
of  battle,  these  twelve  ships  were  at  once  incorporated  Avith 
it,  taking  the  lead  of  their  order  as  it  stood  to  the  southward, 
with  the  wind  at  west-northwest,  —  a  long  column  stretching 
over  five  miles  of  sea  from  end  to  end. 

In  a  general  sense,  then,  it  may  be  said  that,  when  daylight 


T1I!<:  BUITISM   OKDKU  OF  ATTACK 


710 


showed  the  enemies  to  «^ach  other,  the  Ih'itish  Heet  was  heiid- 
iiig  to  the  iioithwanl,  and  that  of  the  allies  to  tiie  southward  ; 
the  latter  being  ten  or  twelve  inih?s  east  of  their  opponents. 
Tu  the  far  distance,  Capo  Trafalga  in  whieh  tlio  battle 

takes  its  name,  was  just  visible  against  the  eastern  sky.  At 
twenty  minutes  l)efore  seven  Nelson  made  in  (piidk  succession 
the  signals,  "To  form  the  order  of  sailing,"  —  which  by  his 
previous  instructions  Avas  to  bo  the  order  of  battle,  —  and 
"  To  prepare  for  battle."  Ten  minutes  later  followed  the 
command  to  "  Bear  up,"  the  "Victory"  setting  the  example 
by  at  once  altering  lier  course  for  the  enemy.  CoUingwood 
did  the  same,  and  the  ships  of  the  two  divisions  fell  into  the 
wake  of  their  leaders  as  best  tlu-y  could,  for  the  light  wind 
afforded  neither  the  means  nor  the  time  for  refinements  in 
mananivring.  Fourteen  ships  followed  the  "  Royal  Sover- 
eign," which  bore  (Jollingwood's  flag,  while  the  remaining 
twelve  gathered  in  Nelson's  division  behind  the  "Victory."' 
The  two  columns  steered  east,  about  a  mile  apart,  that  of 
Nelson  being  to  the  northward ;  from  which  circumstance, 
the  wind  being  west-uorthwest,  it  has  been  called  commonly 
the  weather  line. 

Thus,  as  Ivanhoe,  at  the  instant  of  encounter  in  the  lists, 
shifted  his  lance  from  the  shiehlto  the  cas(|uo  of  the  T('mi)lar, 
Nelson,  at  the  moment  of  engaging,  changed  the  details  of 
his  plan,  and  substituted  an  attack  in  two  columns,  simul- 
taneously made,  for  the  charge  of  Collingwood's  division,  in 
line  and  in  superior  numbers,  upon  the  enemy's  Haidc ;  to  be 
followed,  more  or  less  quickly,  according  to  indications,  by 
such  movement  of  his  own  division  as  might  seem  advisable 
It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  the  order  of  sailing  remained 
the  order  of  battle,  —  probably,  although  it  is  not  so  stated, 
the  fleet  was  already  thus  disposed  when  the  signal  was  made, 
needing  only  rectification  after  the  derangements  incident  to 
darkness,  —  and  further,  that  the  general  direction  of  attack 
continued  the  same,  CoUingwood  guiding  his  column  irpon  the 
enemy's  southern  flank,  while   Nelson  pointed  a  few   ships 

1  One  sixty-four,  the  "Africa,"  liad  seimnited  to  the  nortliwaril  (luring  th« 
nifjht,  and  joined  in  the  Ijiiltlo  by  passing  alone  along  the  enemy's  line,  niueh 
of  the  time  under  lire.  She  helonged,  therefore,  to  Nelson's  column,  and 
co-operated  with  it  during  the  day. 


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IMAGE  EVALUATCON 
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23  WIST  MAIN  STRIET 

WEBSTeR,N.Y.  U5M 

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720 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


north  of  theii  centre.  In  this  way  was  preserved  the  com- 
prehensive aim  wliich  underlay  the  particular  dispositions  cf 
his  famous  order:  "The  whole  imi)ression  of  the  British  fleet 
must  be  to  overpower  from  two  or  three  ships  ahead  of  their 
commander-in-chief,  supposed  to  be  in  the  Centre,  to  the  Kear 
of  their  fleet."  The  northern  flank  of  the  allies  —  ten  or  a 
dozen  ships  —  was  consequently  left  unengaged,  unless  by 
their  own  initiative  they  came  promptly  into  action ;  which, 
it  may  be  added,  they  did  not  do  until  after  the  battle  was 
decided. 

When  the  development  of  the  British  movement  was  recog- 
nized by  Villeneuve,  he  saw  that  fighting  was  inevitable  ;  and, 
wishing  to  keep  Cadiz,  then  twenty  miles  to  the  northward 
and  eastward,  under  his  lee,  he  ordered  the  combined  fleets 
to  wear  together.^  The  scanty  wind  Avhich  embarrassed  the 
British  impeded  this  manoeuvre  also,  so  that  it  was  not  com- 
pleted till  near  ten  o'clock.  Nelson,  however,  noted  its  begin- 
ning at  seven,  and  with  grave  concern ;  for  not  only  would  it 
put  the  allies  nearer  their  port,  as  it  Avas  intended  to  do,  but 
it  would  cause  vessels  crippled  in  the  action  to  find  to  leeward 
of  them,  during  the  gale  which  he  foresaw,  the  dangerous 
shoals  off  Trafalgar  instead  of  the  open  refuge  of  the  Straits. 
The  appreciation  of  the  peril  thus  entailed  led  him  to  make 
a  signal  for  all  the  ships  to  be  prepared  to  anchor  after  the 
battle,  for  it  was  not  to  be  hoped  that  the  spars  of  many  of 
them  would  be  in  a  condition  to  bear  sail.  The  result  of  the 
allied  movement  was  to  invert  their  order.  Their  ships,  which 
had  been  steering  south,  now  all  headed  north  ;  the  van 
became  the  rear ;  Gravina,  who  had  been  leading  tho  column, 
was  in  the  rear  ship  ;  and  it  was  upon  this  rear,  but  still  the 
southern  flank  of  the  hostile  array,  that  the  weight  of  Col- 
lingwood's  attack  was  to  fall. 

Soon  after  daylight  Nelson,  who,  according  to  his  custom, 
was  already  up  and  dressed,  had  gone  on  deck.    He  wore  as 

^  Nelson  in  his  journal  wrote:  "The  enemy  wearing  in  succession,"  As 
the  allies'  order  was  reversed,  however,  it  is  evident  tliat  he  meant  merely 
that  the  ships  wore  one  after  tlie  other,  from  rear  to  van,  but  in  their  respec- 
tive stations,  each  waiting  till  the  one  astern  had,  to  use  the  old  phrase, 
•'marked  her  manoeuvre,"  —  a  jirecaution  intended  to  prevent  collisions, 
though  it  necessarily  extended  tho  line. 


:i 


srved  the  coin- 
dispositions  of 
lie  British  fleet 
ahead  of  their 
re,  to  the  Rear 
lies  —  ten  or  a 
;ed,  unless  by 
action ;  which, 
the  battle  was 

lent  was  recog- 
levitable ;  and, 
the  northward 
combined  fleets 
inbarrassed  the 
t  was  not  corn- 
noted  its  begin- 
t  only  would  it 
nded  to  do,  but 
find  to  leeward 
the   dangerous 
5  of  the  Straits. 
!d  him  to  make 
,nchor  after  the 
rs  of  many  of 
e  result  of  the 
ir  ships,  which 
orth  ;  the  van 
|ng  tho  column, 
,r,  but  still  the 
hveight  of  Col- 

|to  his  custom, 
He  wore  as 

In  succession."  As 
he  Tueant  merely 
[ut  in  their  respec- 
lo  the  old  i)hrase, 
l)revent  collisions. 


0 


\   ■■■, 

\ 


/    0 


WIND 


W.N.W. 


0 

.♦6 


\*0 
A 


p^ 


THE  ATTACK  AT  TRAFALGAR 

OGTOBER   L\,     I805 

FIVE  MINUTES  PAST     NOON 


1. 
>H,l5j 


i7  SH1P5 
33   5H1P5 


^  BRITISH. 
O  FRENCH. 
E>   SPANISH, 

THE  FRENCH  AND  SPANISH  5HIPS  MARKED+ WERE  TAKEN  OR  DESTROYED  IN 
THE  ACTION. 

REFERENCES 

A  SANTA  ANA.  ALAVA'S  FLA0-5MIP     |S.  ROYAL  SOVERtlQN  COLLINQWOOD'S  FLAQ'SHIP 
B.BUCENTAURE  VIUENEUVEi      ••        IT oANTIilMA  TRINIDAD 
P.PRINCIPt  OE  AiTURIM.QRAVINAli"     V, VICTORY.  NELSONS  FIAOSHIP 
R.REDOUTABLE  I 


■       ,: 


«  1 

I 


r 


'p  m. 


NELSON'S  ANTICIPATIONS 


721 


usual  his  admiral's  frock  coat,  on  the  left  breast  of  which 
were  stitched  the  stars  of  four  different  Orders  that  he  always 
bore.  It  was  noticed  that  he  did  not  wear  his  sword  at  Tra- 
falgar, although  it  lay  ready  for  him  on  the  cabin  table ;  and 
it  is  supposed  he  forgot  to  call  for  it,  as  this  was  the  only 
instance  in  which  he  was  known  not  to  carry  it  when  engaged. 
At  about  six  o'clock  he  summoned  Captain  Blackwood  on 
board  the  "  Victory."  This  officer  had  had  a  hard  fag  during 
the  past  forty-eight  hours,  dogging  the  enemy's  movements 
through  darkness  and  mist ;  but  that  task  was  over,  and  liis 
ambition  now  was  to  get  command  of  one  of  two  seventy-fours, 
whose  captains  had  gone  home  with  Calder  to  give  evidence 
at  his  trial.  "  My  signal  just  made  on  board  the  Victory,"  he 
wrote  to  his  wife.  ''  I  hope  to  order  me  to  a  vacant  line-of- 
battle  ship."  Nelson's  purpose,  however,  as  far  as  stated  by 
Blackwood,  was  simply  to  thank  him  for  the  successful  efforts 
of  the  past  two  days,  and  to  have  him  by  his  side  till  the  flag- 
ship came  under  fire,  in  order  to  receive  final  and  precise 
instructions,  as  the  situation  developed,  for  the  conduct  of  the 
frigates  during  and  after  the  battle.  To  Blackwood's  con- 
gratulations upon  the  approach  of  the  moment  that  he  had, 
to  use  his  own  word,  panted  for,  he  replied :  '•  I  mean  to-day 
to  bleed  the  captains  of  the  frigates,  as  I  shall  keep  you  on 
board  to  the  very  lust  moment." 

Blackwood  found  him  in  good  but  very  calm  spirits,  pre- 
occupied with  the  movements  of  the  allies,  and  the  probable 
results  of  his  own  plan  of  attack.  He  frequently  asked, 
*'  "What  would  you  consider  a  victory  ?  "  Blackwood  answered : 
"Considering  the  handsome  way  in  which  the  battle  is  offered 
by  the  enemy,  their  apparent  determination  for  a  fair  trial  of 
strength,  and  the  proximity  of  the  land,  I  think  if  fourteen 
ships  are  captured,  it  will  be  a  glorious  result."  Nelson's 
constant  reply  was  that  he  would  not  bo  satisfied  with  any- 
thing short  of  twenty.  He  admitted,  however,  that  the  near- 
ness of  the  land  might  make  it  difficult  to  preserve  the  prizes, 
and  he  was  emphatic  in  directing  that,  if  the  shattered  enemies 
had  any  chance  of  returning  to  Cadiz,  the  frigates  were  to  bo 
actively  employed  in  destroying  them,  and  were  not  to  be  di- 
verted from  that  single  aim  in  order  to  save  either  ships  or 
men.     Annihilation,  he  repeated,  was  his  aim,  and  nothing 

4ti 


I 


ii  i 


722 


THE   LIFE   OF   NELSON 


ill 


iiiv 


short  of  it ;  and  he  must  have  regretted  the  absence  of  the  six 
of  the  line  in  the  Mediterranean,  imperative  as  that  had  been. 
Word  had  been  sent  for  them  to  Gibraltar  by  Blackwood  the 
moment  the  enemy  moved,  but  they  were  still  away  with  the 
convoy. 

Blackwood,  being  a  great  personal  friend  of  the  admiral, 
took  the  liberty,  after  exchanging  greetings,  of  submitting  to 
him  the  expediency  of  shifting  his  flag  to  the  *'  Euryalus," 
and  conducting  the  battle  from  her.  Nelson  made  no  reply,  but 
immediately  ordered  more  sail  to  be  made  upon  the  "  Victory." 
Finding  himself  foiled  in  this,  Blackwood  then  made  a  direct 
request  for  the  command  of  one  of  the  two  vacant  seventy- 
fours.  This  would  give  him  a  chance  to  share  in  the  fight, 
which  in  a  frigate  he  probably  would  not  have,  but  it  would 
also  displace  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  ship  from  the  position 
to  which  he  had  succeeded  temporarily.  Nelson  replied  in- 
stantly, "  No,  Blackwood,  it  is  those  men's  birthright,  and 
they  shall  have  it."  ^  The  incident  shows  vividly  the  lively 
sympathy  and  sense  of  justice  which  ever  distinguished 
Nelson ;  for  it  must  have  pained  him  to  deny  a  request  so 
consonant  to  his  own  temper,  coming  from  one  whom  he  had 
long  known  and  valued,  both  as  a  friend  and  as  an  officer,  and 
of  whose  recent  service  such  orders  would  have  been  a  graceful 
and  appropriate  acknowledgment.  It  may  be  desirable  to 
explain  to  unprofessional  readers  what  was  the  claim  of  the 
lieutenants  which  Nelson  refused  to  ignore.  The  efficiency  of 
the  ships  for  the  coming  day's  work  was  due  to  them  scarcely 
less  than  to  the  absent  captains,  and  if  they  survived  the 
battle,  having  been  in  command  through  it,  they  would  reap 
not  only  the  honor  but  also  their  confirmation  in  the  rank  of 
post-captain,  through  having  exercised  it  in* actual  battle. 
This  succession  the  admiral  aptly  called  their  birthright. 

Nelson  availed  himself  of  Blackwood's  presence  to  have 
him,  together  with  Hardy,  witness  his  signature  to  a  paper, 
in  which  he  bequeathed  Lady  Hamilton  and  the  child  Horatia 
to  the  care  of  the  nation,  and  which  consequently  has  been 
styled  a  Codicil  to  his  Will.     Unless  Blackwood's  memory  a 

1  The  author  is  indebted  for  these  incidents  to  Admiral  Sir  W.  R.  Mends, 
G.  C.  B.,  who  received  them  from  the  second  baronet,  Sir  Henry  M.  Black- 
wood, wh    1  serving  with  him  as  first  lieutenant. 


FIXAL  CODICIL  TO  HIS  WILL 


723 


ibsence  of  the  six 
as  that  had  been. 
ty  Blackwood  the 
11  away  with  the 

I  of  the  admiral, 
of  submitting  to 
the  "Euryalus," 
iiade  no  reply,  but 
:n  the  ''  Victory." 
len  made  a  direct 
3  vacant  seventy- 
hare  in  the  fight, 
ive,  but  it  would 
from  the  position 
elsou  replied  in- 
3  birthright,  and 
avidly  the  lively 
er    distinguished 
eny  a  request  so 
jne  whom  he  had 
as  an  officer,  and 
e  been  a  graceful 
36   desirable  to 
the  claim  of  the 
?he  efficiency  of 
o  them  scarcely 
ey  survived  the 
they  would  reap 
in  the  rank  of 
:i«  actual   battle, 
birthright, 
esence  to  have 
ure  to  a  paper, 
e  child  Horatia 
ently  has  been 
jod's  memory  a 


a 


Sir  W.  R.  Mends, 
Henry  M.  Black- 


few  years  later  was  at  fault,  in  stating  that  his  signal  was 
made  at  six  o'clock,^  it  is  likely  enough  that  this  early  sum- 
mons was  for  the  special  i)urpose  of  giving  formal  complete- 
ness, by  the  attestation  of  two  of  his  closest  friends,  to  a 
private  duty  which  was  the  last  to  engage  Nelson's  attention 
and  affections;  for,  in  addition  to  the  date,  tlie  place  and  hour 
of  his  writing  are  fixed  by  the  words,  '•  In  sight  of  the  Com- 
bined Fleets  of  France  and  Spain,  distant  about  ten  miles." 
This  was  the  common  estimate  of  the  relative  positions,  made 
by  the  British  fleet  at  large  at  daybreak,  and  coincides  fairly 
Avell  with  the  inferences  to  be  drawn,  from  the  slow  rate  of 
speed  at  which  the  wind  permitted  the  British  to  advance, 
and  from  the  hour  the  conflict  began.  Nor  was  there  time, 
nor  convenient  room,  for  further  delay.  A  freshening  breeze 
might  readily  have  brought  the  fleet  into  action  in  a  couple 
of  hours,  and  it  is  the  custom  in  preparing  for  battle^  the 
signal  for  which  was  made  at  6.40  —  to  remove  most  of  the 
conveniences,  and  arrangements  for  privacy,  from  the  living 
spaces  of  the  officers ;  partly  to  provide  against  their  destruc- 
tion, chiefly  to  clear  away  all  impediments  to  fighting  the 
guns,  and  to  moving  about  the  ship.  In  the  case  of  the 
admiral,  of  course,  much  might  be  postponed  to  the  last  mo- 
ment, but  in  fact  his  cabin  was  cleared  of  fixtures  immediately 
after  he  went  on  the  poop  in  the  early  morning;  for  it  is 
distinctly  mentioned  that  while  there  he  gave  particular  di- 
rections in  the  matter,  and  enjoined  great  care  in  handling  the 
portrait  of  Lad}'  Hamilton,  saying,  "  Take  care  of  my  guardian 
angel." 

It  seems,  therefore,  probable  that  this  so-called  Codicil  was 
written  in  the  quiet  minutes  of  the  morning,  while  the  fleet 
was  forming  its  order  of  sailing  and  bearing  up  for  the  enemy, 
but  before  the  admiral's  cabin  was  cleared  for  battle.     In  it 

1  The  "Euryalus's"  log  gives  eight  o'clock  ns  the  hour  of  the  captain's 
going  on  board  the  "Victory;"  but  Blackwood  not  only  says  six,  but  also 
mentions  that  his  stay  on  board  lasted  five  and  a  half  hours,  which  gives 
about  the  same  time  for  going  on  board.  Tlie  other  frigate  captains  did  not 
go  till  eiglit.  Blackwood,  as  the  senior,  might  need  a  fuller  and  longer  con- 
tinued interview,  because  the  general  direction  of  the  frigate  squadron  would 
be  in  his  hands ;  or  Nelson  might  particularly  desire  the  presence  of  a  close 
professional  friend,  the  captains  of  the  ships-of-tiie-1'  le  having  their  hand3 
now  full  of  preparations. 


724 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


1 

1 

1 

I 


i' 


W 


\)vi 


I 


Nelson  first  recount'Hl,  bricHy  but  specifically,  "  the  eminent 
services  of  Emma  Hamilton"  to  the  state,  on  two  occasions,  as 
believed  by  himself  to  have  been  rendered.  Into  the  actuality 
of  these  services  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  inquire ;  *  it  is 
suificient  to  say  that  Nelson's  knowledge  of  them  could  not 
have  been  at  first  hand,  and  that  the  credence  he  unquestion- 
ably gave  to  them  must  have  depended  upon  the  evidence 
of  others,  —  probably  of  Lady  Hamilton  herself,  in  whom  ho 
felt,  and  always  expressed,  the  most  unbounded  confidence. 
"  Could  I  have  rewarded  these  services,"  the  paper  concludes, 
"  I  would  not  now  call  upon  my  Country  ;  but  as  that  has  not 
'been  in  my  power,.  I.  leave  Emma  Lady  Hamilton,  therefore, 
a  legacy  to  my  King  and  Country,  that  they  will  give  her  an 
ample  provision  to  maintain  her  rank  in  life.  I  also  leave  to 
the  beneficence  of  my  Country  my  adopted  daughter,  Horatia 
Nelson  Thompson ;  and  I  desire  she  will  use  in  future  the 
name  of  Nelson  only.  These  are  the  only  favours  I  ask  of  my 
King  and  Country  at  this  moment  when  I  am  going  to  fight 
their  battle.  May  God  bless  my  King  and  Country,  and  all 
those  who  I  hold  dear.  My  relations  it  is  needless  to  mention  : 
they  will  of  course  be  amply  provided  for." 

At  seven  o'clock  Nelson  had  returned  from  the  poop  to  the 
cabin,  for  at  that  hour  was  made  in  his  private  journal  the 
last  entry  of  occurrences,  —  "  At  seven  the  combined  fleets 
wearing  in  succession."  Here  it  seems  likely  that  he  laid 
down  the  pen,  for,  when  he  was  found  writing  again,  some  hours 
later,  it  was  to  complete  the  long  record  of  experiences  and  of 
duties,  with  words  that  summed  up,  in  fit  and  most  touching 
expression,  the  self-devotion  of  a  life  already  entering  the 
shadow  of  death. 

Between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  the  other  frigate  commanders 
came  on  board  the  "  Victory ; "  aides-de-camp,  as  it  were, 
waiting  to  the  last  moment  to  receive  such  orders  as  might 
require  more  extensive  wording,  or  precise  explanation,  than 
is  supplied  by  the  sententious  phrases  of  the  signal-book. 
Blackwood  himself,  a  captain  of  long  standing  and  of  tried 

1  The  question  of  Lady  Hamilton's  services  on  the  occasions  mentioned  by 
Nelson,  vigorously  asserted  by  herself,  has  been  exhaustively  discussed  by  Pro- 
fessor John  Knox  Laughton,  in  the  "  United  Service  Magazine  "  for  April  and 
May,  1889.    His  conclusions  are  decisively  adverse  to  her  claims. 


THE  FLEETS  FORMLNTr  FOU  BATTLE. 


725 


y,  "  the  emineiit 
two  ocGiisiuns,  as 
nto  the  actuality 

0  inquire  ;  *  it  is 
them  could  not 

3  he  unquestiou- 
on  the  evidence 
;elf,  in  whom  ho 
uded  confidence, 
pupei'  concludes, 
b  as  that  has  not 
iiilton,  therefore, 
will  give  her  an 
I  also  leave  to 
aughter,  lloratia 
se  iu  future  the 
ours  I  ask  of  my 
ni  going  to  light 
Uountry,  and  all 
Hess  to  mention : 

1  the  poop  to  the 
rate  journal  the 

comhined  fleets 
ly  that  he  laid 
ain,  some  hours 
)eriences  and  of 
I  most  touching 
y  entering  the 

Lte  commanders 
|ip,  as  it  Avere, 
)rders  as  might 
blanation,  than 
le  signal-book. 
K  and  of  tried 

|ons  mentioned  by 
discussed  by  Pro- 
ine  "  for  April  and 
luims. 


ability,  was  in  fact  intrusted  contingently  with  no  small  share 
of  the  power  and  discretion  of  the  commander-in-chief.  *'  He 
not  only  gave  me  (command  of  all  the  frigates,  but  he  also 
gave  me  a  latitude,  seldom  or  ever  given,  that  of  making  any 
use  I  pleased  of  his  name,  in  ord(U'ing  any  of  the  sternmost 
line-of-battle  ships  to  do  what  struck  me  as  best."  While 
thus  waiting,  the  captains  accompanied  the  admiral  in  an 
inspection  which  he  made  of  the  decks  and  batteries  of  the 
flagship.  Ke  addressed  the  crew  at  their  several  quarters, 
cautioned  them  against  firing  a  single  shot  without  being  sure 
of  their  object,  and  to  the  olHcers  he  expressed  himself  as 
highly  satisfied  with  the  arrangements  made. 

Meanwhile  the  two  fleets  were  forming,  as  best  they  could 
with  the  scanty  breeze,  tlie  order  in  which  each  meant  to  meet 
the  shock  of  battle.  The  ]>ritish  could  not  range  themselves 
in  regular  columns  without  loss  of  time  that  was  not  to  be 
thrown  away.  They  advan(;ed  rather  in  two  elongated  groups, 
all  under  full  sail,  even  to  studding-sails  on  both  sides,  the 
place  of  each  ship  being  determined  chiefly  by  her  speed,  or, 
perhaps,  by  some  fortuitous  advantage  of  position  when  the 
movement  began.  The  great  point  was  to  get  the  heads  of 
the  columns  into  action  as  soon  as  possible,  to  break  up  the 
enemy's  order.  That  done,  those  which  followed  could  be 
trusted  to  coniplete  the  business  on  the  general  lines  pre- 
scribed by  Nelson.  CoUingwood's  ship,  the  "  Royal  Sovereign," 
being  but  a  few  days  out  from  home,  and  freshly  coppered, 
easily  took  the  lead  in  her  own  division.  After  her  came  the 
"Belleisle,"  also  a  recent  arrival  oil:  Cadiz,  but  an  old  Medi- 
terranean cruiser  which  had  accompanied  Nelson  in  the  re- 
cent chase  to  the  West  Indies.  Upon  these  two  ships,  as 
upon  the  heads  of  all  columns,  fell  the  weight  of  destruction 
from  the  enemy's  resistance. 

The  "  Victory,"  always  a  fast  ship,  had  likewise  little  difii- 
culty  in  keeping  her  place  at  the  front.  Blackwood,  hav- 
ing failed  to  get  Nelson  on  board  his  own  frigate,  and  realizing 
the  exposure  inseparable  from  tho  position  of  leader,  ven- 
tured, at  about  half-past  nine,  when  still  six  miles  from  the 
enemy,  to  urge  that  one  or  two  ships  should  be  permitted  to 
precede  the  "Victory."  Nelson  gave  a  conditional  assent  — 
"  Let  them  go,"  if  they  can.     The  "  Tcmeraire,"  a  three-decker. 


;  I! 


720 


THE   LIFK  OF  NELSON 


-hi 


t     ! 


M' 


being  close  behind,  was  liailed  to  go  ahead,  and  entleavored  to 
do  so ;  bnt  at  the  same  moment  the  admiral  gave  an  indica- 
tion of  how  little  disposed  lie  was  to  yield  either  time  or  posi- 
tion. The  lee  lower  studding-sail  happening  to  be  badly  set, 
the  lieutenant  of  the  forecastle  had  it  taken  in,  meaning  to 
reset  it;  which  Nelson  observing,  ran  forward  and  rated  him 
severely  for  delaying  the  ship's  progress.  Anything  much  less 
useful  than  a  lee  lower  studding-sail  is  hard  to  imagine,  but 
by  this  time  the  admiral  was  getting  very  restive.  "  About 
ten  o'clock,"  says  lilackwood,  "  Lord  Nelson's  anxiety  to  close 
with  the  enemy  became  very  apparent:  he  frequently  re- 
marked that  they  put  a  good  face  upon  it;  but  always 
quickly  added :  '  1  '11  give  them  such  a  dressing  as  they  never 
had  before.' " 

Seeing  that  the  "  Teuieraire  "  could  not  pass  the  "  Victory  " 
in  time  to  lead  into  the  hostile  order,  uidess  the  flagship  gave 
way,  Ulackwood,  feeling  perhaps  that  he  might  wear  out  his 
own  privilege,  told  Hardy  he  ought  to  say  to  the  admiral  that, 
unless  the  "  Victory  "  shortened  sail,  the  other  ships  could  not 
get  into  place  ;  but  Hardy  naturally  demurred.  In  any  event, 
it  was  not  just  the  sort  of  proposition  that  the  captain  of  the 
ship  would  wish  to  make,  and  it  was  very  doubtful  how  Nelson 
might  take  it.  This  the  latter  soon  showed,  however ;  for,  as 
the  "Temeraire  "  painfully  crawled  up,  and  her  bows  doubled 
on  the  "  Victory's ''  quarter,  he  hailed  her,  and  speaking  as  he 
always  did  with  a  slight  nasal  intonation,  said:  "I'll  thank 
you.  Captain  Harvey,  to  keep  in  your  proper  station,  which  is 
astern  of  the  Victory."  The  same  concern  for  the  admiral's 
personal  safety  led  the  assembled  officers  to  comment  anxiously 
upon  the  conspiiuious  mark  offered  by  his  blaze  of  decorations, 
knowing  as  they  did  that  the  enemy's  ships  swarmed  with 
soldiers,  that  among  them  were  many  sharpshooters,  and  that 
the  action  would  be  close.  None,  however,  liked  to  approach 
him  with  the  suggestion  that  he  should  take  any  precau- 
tion. At  length  the  surgeon,  whose  painful  duty  it  was 
a  few  houi'S  later  to  watch  over  the  sad  fulfilment  of  his 
apprehensions,  said  that  he  would  run  the  risk  of  his  Lord- 
ship's displeasure ;  but  before  he  could  find  a  fitting  oppor- 
tunity to  speak,  a  shot  flew  over  the  "Victory,"  and  the 
admiral  directed  all   not  stationed   on    deck   to   go  to  their 


1 


;i<; 


TIIK   ORDKIl   OF  T...<:  roMlUNKI)   FLKICTS 


727 


lowever;  for,  as 


lory,"  and   the 
po   go  to  their 


quarters.  No  remark  tliorefore  was  inaile ;  Init  it  is  more 
likely  that  Nelson  would  have  resented  the  warning  than 
that  he  would  have  heeded  it. 

The  French  and  Spanish  Hoets,  being  neither  a  homogeneous 
nor  a  well-exercised  mass,  experienced  even  greater  ditticulty 
than  the  British  in  forming  their  array ;  and  the  matter  was 
to  them  of  more  consecpience,  for,  as  the  defensive  has  an  ad- 
vantage in  the  careful  preparations  he  may  make,  so,  if  he  fail 
to  a(!Complish  tliem,  he  has  little  to  compensate  for  the  loss  of 
the  initiative,  which  he  has  yielded  his  opponent.     The  forma- 
tion at  which  they  aimed,  the  customary  order  of  battle  in  that 
day,  was  a  long,  straight,  single  column,  presenting  from  end 
to  end  an  nnbroken  succession  of  batteries,  close  to  one  another 
and  clear  towards  the  foe,  so  that  all  the  ships  should  sweep 
with  their  guns  the  sea  over  whicli,  nearly  at  right  angles,  the 
hostile  columns  were  advancing.     Instead  of  this,  embarrassed 
by  both  lack  of  wind  and  lack  of  skill,  their  manoeuvres  re- 
sulted in  a  curved  line,  concave  to  the  enemy's  approach  ;  the 
liorns  of  the  crescent  thus  formed  being  nearer  to  the  latter. 
Collingwood  noted  that  this  disposition  facilitated  a  conver- 
gent fire  upon  the  assailants,  tlie  heads  of  whose  columns 
were  bearing  down  on  the  allied  centre ;  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  remarked  that  the  two  horns,  or  wings,  being  to 
windward  of  the  centre,  also  had  it  more  in  their  power  to  sup- 
port the  latter  —  a  consideration  of  very  great   importance. 
Neither  of  these  advantages,  however,  was  due  to  contrivance. 
The  order  of  the  combined  fleets  was  the  result  merely  of  an 
unsuccessful  effort  to  assume  the  usual  line  of  battle.     The 
ships  distributed  along  the  crescent  lay  irregularly,  sometimes 
two  and  three  abreast,  masking  each  other's  fire.     On  the  other 
hand,  even  this  irregularity  had  some  compensations,  for  a 
British  vessel,  attempting  to  pass  through  at  such  a  place,  fell 
at  once  into  a  swarm  of  enemies.     From  horn  to  horn  was 
about  five  miles.     Owing  to  the  lightness  of  the  breeze,  the 
allies  carried  a  good  deal  of  sail,  a  departure  from  the  usual 
battle  practice.     This  was  necessary  in  order  to  enable  them 
to  keep  their  places  at  all,  but  it  also  had  the  effect  of  bring- 
ing them  continually,  though  very  gradually,  nearer  to  Cadiz. 
Seeing  this.  Nelson  signalled  to    Collingwood,   "I  intend  to 
pass  through  the  van  of  the  enemy's  line,  to  prevent  him  from 


HI 


1 


ill 


I      ^ 


T->8 


THE   LIFK  OF  NELSON 


■]      ''I 


f       I 


gottiiif?  into  Ciuli/,"  uiul  tlin  course  of  the  "  Victory,"  for  ';l)i8 
purpose,  was  chiiuged  a  little  to  the  northward. 

After  this,  towards  eleven  o'clock,  Nelson  went  below  to 
the  cabin.  It  was  his  habit,  when  an  engagement  was  ex- 
pected, to  have  all  the  bulkheads  ^  upon  the  fighting  decks 
taken  down,  and  those  of  his  own  apartments  doubtless  had 
been  removed  at  least  as  soon  as  the  enemy's  sailing  was  sig- 
nalled; but  it  was  possible  to  obtain  some  degree  of  privacy 
by  hanging  screens,  which  could  be  hurried  out  of  the  way  at 
the  last  moment.  Tlie  "  Victory  "  did  not  come  under  fire  till 
12.30,  so  that  at  eleven  she  would  yet  be  three  miles  or  more 
distant  from  the  enemy, '•^  and  screens  could  still  remain. 
Shortly  after  he  entered,  the  signal-lieutenant,  who  had  been 
by  his  side  all  the  morning,  followed  hiin,  partly  to  make  an 
official  report,  partly  to  prefer  a  personal  request.  He  was  the 
ranking  lieutenant  on  board,  but  had  not  been  permitted  to 
exercise  the  duties  of  first  lieutenant,  because  Nelson  some 
time  before,  to  avoid  constant  changes  in  that  important  sta- 
tion, had  ordered  that  the  person  then  occupying  it  should  so 
continue,  notwithstanding  the  seniority  of  any  who  might 
afterwards  join.  Now  that  battle  was  at  hand,  the  oldest 
in  rank  wished  to  claim  the  position,  and  to  gain  the  reward 
that  it  insured  after  a  victory, — a  request  natural  and  not 
improper,  but  more  suited  for  the  retirement  of  the  cabin  than 
for  the  publicity  of  the  deck. 

Whatever  the  original  injustice,  —  or  rather  hardship,  — 
it  is  scarcely  likely,  remembering  the  refusal  encountered 
by  Blackwood,  that  Nelson  would  have  consented  now  to 
deprive  of  his  "  birthright "  the  man  who  so  far  had  been 
doing  the  work ;  but  the  petition  was  never  preferred. 
Entering  the  cabin,  the  officer  paused  at  the  threshold,  for 
Nelson  was  on  his  knees  writing.  The  words,  the  last  that 
he  ever  penned,  were  written  in  the  private  diary  he  habitu- 
ally kept,  in  which  were  noted  observations  and  reflections 
upon  passing  occurrences,  mingled  with  occasional  self-com- 
munings.  They  followed  now,  without  break  of  space,  or 
paragraph,  upon  the  last  incident  recorded  —  "  At  seven  the 
enemy  wearing  in  succession  "  — and  they  ran  thus :  — 

"May   the    Great    God,    whom    I   worship,    grant    to    my 

1  See  ante^  p.  639.  ^  Tliat  is,  with  a  one  and  a  half  knot  breeze. 


Tin:  FAMOUS  SIGNAL  AT  TRAFALGAR 


TSO 


ictory,"  for   l)is 

J. 

1  went  below  to 

igement  was  ex- 

e  fighting  decks 

ts  doubtless  had 

sailing  was  sig- 
3gree  of  privacy 
ut  of  the  way  at 
1110  under  tire  till 
ee  miles  or  more 
Id  still  remain, 
it,  who  had  been 
artly  to  make  an 
est.  He  was  the 
ten  permitted  to 
ise  Nelson  some 
it  important  sta- 
ying it  should  so 

any  who   might 
hand,  the  oldest 

gain  the  reward 

natural  and  not 
of  the  cabin  than 

her  hardship,  — 
isal  encountered 
nsented  now  to 
o  far  had  been 
lever  preferred, 
e  threshold,  for 
is,  the  last  that 
[iiary  he  habitu- 
and  reflections 
sional  self-com- 
k  of  space,  or 
"  At  seven  the 
thus : — 
grant    to    my 

half  knot  breeze. 


Conntr'  ai.d  for  the  i/enefit  of  Europe  in  general,  a  great 
and  glorious  victory;  and  may  no  niisconduiit  in  any  one 
tarnish  it;  and  may  humanity  after  victory  be  the  predomi- 
nant feature  in  the  iJritish  fleet.  For  myself,  individually, 
I  commit  my  life  to  llim  who  made  me,  and  may  lEis  bles.s- 
ing  light  ui)on  my  endeavours  for  serving  ni)  Country  faith- 
fully. To  Him  I  resign  myself  and  the  just  cause  which  is 
entrusted  to  me  to  defend.     Amen.     Amen.     Amen." 

The  officer.  Lieutenant  Pasco,  waited  quietly  till  Nelson 
rose  from  his  knees,  and  then  made  his  necessary  rejiort; 
but,  although  his  future  prospects  hung  upon  the  wish  he 
had  to  express,  he  refrained  with  singular  delicacy  from 
intruding  it  upon  the  preoccupation  of  mind  evidenced  by 
the  attitude  in  which  he  hxA  fonnd  his  commander.  The 
latter  soon  afterwards  followed  him  to  the  poop,  where 
Blackwood  was  still  awaiting  his  final  instructions.  To  him 
Nelson  said,  "I  will  now  amuse  the  fleet  with  a  signal;" 
and  he  asked  if  he  did  not  think  there  was  one  yet  wanting. 
Blackwood  replied  that  the  whole  fleet  seemed  very  clearly 
to  understand  what  they  were  about,  and  were  vying  with 
each  other  to  get  as  near  as  possible  to  the  leaders  of  the 
columns.  Upon  this  succeeded  the  celebrated  signal,  the 
development  of  which  to  its  final  wording  is  a  little  uncertain. 
Comparing  the  various  accounts  of  witnesses,  it  seems 
probably  to  have  been  as  follows.  Nelson  mused  for  a  little 
while,  as  one  who  phrases  a  thought  in  his  own  mind  before 
uttering  it,  and  then  said,  "Suppose  we  telegraph  'Nelson 
confides  that  every  man  will  do  his  duty.' "  In  this  form  it 
was  the  call  of  the  leader  to  the  followers,  the  personal  appeal 
of  one  who  trusts  to  those  in  whom  he  trusts,  a  feeling  par- 
ticularly characteristic  of  the  speaker,  whose  strong  hold 
over  others  lay  above  all  in  the  transparent  and  unswerving 
faith  he  showed  in  their  loyal  support ;  and  to  arouse  it  now 
in  full  force  he  used  the  watchword  ''duty,"  sure  that  the 
chord  it  struck  in  him  would  find  its  quick  response  in  every 
man  of  the  same  blood.  The  officer  to  whom  the  remark  was 
made,  suggested  "England"  instead  of  "Nelson."  To  the 
fleet  it  could  have  made  no  difference,  —  to  them  the  two 
names  meant  the  same  thing  ;  but  Nelson  accepted  the  change 
with  delight.     "  Mr,  Pasco,"  he  called  to  the  signal  officer, 


t  I 


•H' 


780 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


■  '&  i 


"  I  wish  to  say  to  the  fleets,  *  Enghind  confides  that  every 
mail  will  do  his  duty  ; '  "  and  he  added,  "  You  must  be  quick, 
for  I  have  one  more  to  make,  which  is  for  close  action." 
This  remark  shows  that  the  columns,  and  particularly  Col- 
lingwood's  ship,  were  already  Hearing  the  enemy.  Pasco 
answered,  "If  your  Lordship  will  permit  me  to  substitute 
*  expects'  for  'confides,'  it  will  be  sooner  completed,  because 
'expects  '  is  in  the  vocabulary/  and  '  confides'  must  be  spelt." 
Nelson  replied  hastily,  but  apparently  satisfied,  "  That  will 
do,  Pasco,  make  it  directly  ;  "  but  the  slightly  mandatory 
"expects"  is  less  representative  of  the  author  of  this  re- 
nowned sentence  than  the  cordial  and  sympathetic  "  confides." 
It  is  "Allez,"  rather  than  "Allons;"  yet  even  so,  become 
now  the  voice  of  the  distant  motherland,  it  carries  with  it  the 
shade  of  reverence,  as  well  as  of  affection,  which  patriotism 
exacts. 

It  is  said  that  Coliingwood,  frequently  testy,  and  at  the 
moment  preoccupied  with  the  approaching  collision  with  the 
Spanish  three-decker  he  had  marked  fur  his  opponent,  ex- 
claimed impatiently  when  the  first  number  went  aloft,  "I 
wish  Nelson  would  stop  signalling  '..o  we  know  well  enough 
what  we  have  to  do."  But  the  two  life-long  friends,  who 
were  not  again  to  look  each  other  in  the  face,  soon  passed  to 
other  thoughts,  such  as  men  gladly  recall  when  death  has 
parted  them.  When  the  whole  signal  was  reported  to  him, 
and  cheers  resounded  along  the  lines,  Coliingwood  cordially 
expressed  his  own  satisfaction.  A  few  moments  later,  just 
at  noon,  the  Frencli  ship  "  Fougueux,"  the  second  astern  of 
the  "Santa  Ana,"  for  which  tiie  "  Koyal  Sovereign"  was 
steering,  fired  at  the  latter  the  first  gun  of  the  battle.  As 
by  a  common  impulse  the  ships  of  all  the  nations  engaged 
hoisted  their  colors,  and  the  admirals  their  flags,  —  a  cour- 
teous and  chivalrous  salute  preceding  the  mortal  encounter. 
For  ten  minutes  the  "  Koyal  Sovereign  "  advanced  in  silence, 
the  one  centre  of  the  hostile  fire,  upon  which  were  fixed  all 
eyes,  as  yet  without  danger  of  their  own  to  distract.     As  she 

1  The  vociibulury  of  tho  telegraphic  sigiial  book  provides  ccrtiiiii  words 
wliich  can  be  signalled  by  a  single  number.  Words  not  in  this  vocabulary 
must  be  spelled  letter  by  letter,  — each  letter  of  the  alphabet  having  its  own 
number. 


1 


i  '' 


lies  that  every 
must  be  quick, 
■  close  action." 
irticularly  Col- 
euemy.     Pasco 
e  to  substitute 
ipleted,  because 
must  be  spelt." 
ed,  "That  will 
litly  mandatory 
ilior  of  this  re- 
etic  "  confides." 
iveu  so,  become 
vries  with  it  the 
'hich  patriotism 

;sty,  and  at  the 
)llision  with  the 
is  opponent,  ex- 
went  aloft,  "I 
low  well  enough 
fig  friends,  who 
,  soon  passed  to 
when  death  has 
•eported  to  him, 
^wood  cordially 
ents  later,  just 
lecond  astern  of 
sovereign"  was 
the  battle.     As 
ations  engaged 
[flags,  —  a  cour- 
vtal  encounter, 
need  in  silence, 
1  were  fixed  all 
.stract.     As  she 

ides  cfi'taiu  words 
liii  this  vdfiilmliiry 
Ibet  hiiviiig  its  own 


HIS  FAREWELL 


BLACKWOOD 


731 


drew  near  the  two  ships  between  which  she  intended  to  pass. 
Nelson  exclaimed  admiringly,  "  See  how  that  noble  fellow 
CoUingwood  carries  his  ship  into  action."  At  about  the  same 
instant  CoUingwood  was  saying  to  his  flag-captain,  "  llother- 
ham,  what  would  Nelson  give  to  be  here ! " 

These  things  being  done,  Nelson  said  to  Blackwood,  "  Now 
I  can  do  no  more.  We  must  trust  to  the  great  Disposer  of 
all  events,  and  to  tlie  justice  of  our  cause.  I  thank  God  for 
this  great  opportunity  of  doing  my  duty."  When  his  last 
signal  had  been  acknowledged  by  a  few  ships  in  the  van, 
the  admiral  directed  Tasco  to  make  that  for  close  action,  and 
to  keep  it  up.  This  was  accordingly  hoisted  on  board  the 
flagship,  where  it  was  flying  still  as  she  disappeared  into  the 
smoke  of  the  battle,  and  so  remained  till  shot  away.  The 
"  Victory  "  was  about  two  miles  from  the  *•  lloyal  Sovereign  " 
when  the  latter,  at  ten  minutes  i)ast  twelve,  broke  through 
the  alli(ul  order,  and  she  had  still  a  mile  and  a  half  to  go 
before  she  herself  could  reach  it.  At  twenty  minutes  past 
twelve  Villeneuve's  flagship,  the  "lUicentaure,"  of  eighty 
guns,  fired  a  shot  at  her,  to  try  the  range.  It  fell  short.  A 
few  minutes  later  a  second  was  firi'd,  which  dropped  along- 
side. The  distance  then  was  a  mile  and  a  quarter.  Two  or 
three  followed  in  rapid  succession  and  passeil  over  the  "  Vic- 
tory." Nelson  then  turned  to  iUackwood,  and  directed  hiin 
and  Captain  Trowse  of  the  "  Sirius  "  to  return  to  their  ships, 
but  in  s  >  doing  to  pass  along  the  column  and  tell  the  cap- 
tains he  depenued  upon  their  exertions  to  get  into  action 
as  quici- '  as  possible.  He  them  bade  them  again  to  go 
away.  Mackwood,  who  was  standing  by  him  at  the  for- 
ward end  of  the  pooj),  took  his  hand,  and  said,  "  I  trust, 
my  Lord,  that  on  my  return  to  the  Victory,  wliich  will 
be  as  soon  as  possible,  I  shall  find  your  Lordship  well  and 
in  possession  of  twenty  prizes."  Nelson  replied,  "  God  bless 
you,  Blackwood,  I  shall  never  s])eak  to  you  again." 

The  "Victory"  was  all  the  time  advancing,  the  feeble 
breeze  urging  her  progress,  wluch  was  helped  also  by  her  lurch- 
ing through  the  heavy  folio sving  swell  that  prevailed.  Before 
Blackwood  could  leave  her,  a  shot  passed  through  the  main- 
topgallantsail,  and  the  rent  proclaimed  to  the  eager  eyes  of 
the  foes  tliatthe  ship  was  fairly  under  their  guns.     ThLU'cupon 


1| 


732 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


I  i 


in 


ill 


everything  about  the  "  Bucentaure,"  some  seven  or  eight  ships, 
at  least,  opened  upon  this  single  enemy,  as  the  allied  rear  and 
centre  had  upon  the  "  Royal  Sovereign  ;  "  for  it  was  imperative 
to  stop  her  wiiy,  if  possible,  or  at  least  to  deaden  it,  and  so  to 
delay  as  long  as  might  be  the  moment  when  she  could  bring 
her  broadside  to  bear  effectively.  During  the  forty  minutes 
that  followed,  the  "  Victory  "  was  an  unresisting  target  to  her 
enemies,  and  her  speed,  slow  enough  at  the  first,  decreased 
continually  as  the  hail  of  shot  riddled  the  sails,  or  stripped 
them  from  the  yards.  Every  studding-sail  boom  was  shot 
away  close  to  the  yard  arms,  and  this  light  canvas,  invaluable 
in  so  faint  a  wind,  fell  helplessly  into  the  water.  During 
these  trying  moments,  Mr.  Scott,  the  admiral's  public  secre- 
tary, was  struck  by  a  round  shot  while  talking  with  Captain 
Hardy,  and  instantly  killed.  Those  standing  by  sought  to 
remove  the  body  without  drawing  Nelson's  attention  to  the 
loss  of  one  so  closely  associated  with  him ;  but  the  admiral 
had  noticed  the  fall.  "  Is  that  poor  Scott,"  he  said,  "  who  is 
gone  ?  "  The  clerk  who  took  the  dead  man's  place  was  killed 
a  few  moments  later  by  the  Avind  of  a  ball,  though  his  person 
was  untouched. 

Tlie  "Victory"  continuing  to  forge  slowly  ahead,  despite 
her  injuries,  and  pointing  evidently  for  the  flagship  of  the 
hostile  commander-in-chief,  the  ships  round  the  latter,  to  use 
James's  striking  phrase,  now  "  closed  like  a  forest."  The 
nearer  the  British  vessel  drew,  the  better  necessarily  became 
the  enemies'  aim.  Just  as  she  got  within  about  five  hundred 
yards  —  quarter  of  a  mile  —  from  the  "  Bucentaure's  "  beam, 
the  mizzen  topmast  was  shot  away.  At  the  same  time  the 
wheel  Avas  hit  and  shattered,  so  that  the  ship  had  to  be  steered 
from  below,  a  matter  that  soon  became  of  little  importance. 
A  couple  of  minutes  more,  eight  marines  were  carried  off  by  a 
single  projectile,  while  standing  drawn  up  on  the  poop,  where- 
upon Nelson  ordered  the  survivors  to  be  dispersed  about  the 
deck.  Presently  a  shot  coming  in  through  the  ship's  side 
ranged  aft  on  the  quarter-deck  towards  the  admiral  and 
Captain  Hardy,  between  whom  it  passed.  On  its  way  it 
struck  the  fore-brace  bitts  —  a  heavy  block  of  timber  —  carry- 
ing thence  a  shower  of  splinters,  one  of  which  bruised  Hardy's 
foot.     The  two  officers,  who  were  walking  together,  stopped, 


THE  "VICTORY"  ENTERS  THE  BATTLE 


733 


and  looked  inquiringly  at  each  other.  Seeing  that  no  harm 
was  done,  Nelson  smiled,  but  said,  ''  This  is  too  warm  work. 
Hardy,  to  last  long."  He  then  praised  the  cool  resolution  of 
the  seamen  around  him,  compelled  to  endur^  this  murderous 
fire  without  present  reply.  He  had  never,  he  said,  seen  better 
conduct.  Twenty  men  had  so  far  been  killed  and  thirty 
wounded,  with  not  a  shot  fired  from  their  own  guns. 

Still  the  ship  closed  the  "  Bu'umtaure."  It  had  been 
Nelson's  purpose  and  desire  to  mal^e  her  his  special  antag- 
onist, because  of  Villeneuve's  flag ;  but  to  do  so  required  room 
for  the  "  Victory  "  to  turn  under  the  French  vessel's  stern, 
and  to  come  up  alongside.  As  she  drew  near,  Hardy,  scan- 
ning the  hostile  array,  saw  three  ships  crowded  together  behind 
and  beyond  the  "  Bucentaure."  He  reported  to  Nelson  that 
he  could  go  close  under  her  stern,  but  could  not  round-to  along- 
side, nor  pass  through  the  line,  without  running  on  board  one 
of  these.  The  admiral  replied,  '^  I  cannot  help  it,  it  does  not 
signify  which  we  run  on  board  of.  Go  on  board  which  you 
please :  take  your  choice."  At  one  o'clock  the  bows  of  the 
"  Victory  "  crossed  the  wake  of  the  "  Bucentaure,"  by  whose 
stern  she  passed  within  thirty  feet,  the  projecting  yard  arms 
grazing  the  enemy's  rigging.  One  after  another,  as  they  bore, 
the  double-shotted  guns  tore  through  the  woodwork  of  the 
French  ship,  the  smoke,  driven  back,  filling  the  lower  decks  of 
the  "  Victory,"  while  persons  on  the  upper  deck,  including 
Nelson  himself,  were  covered  with  the  dust  which  rose  in 
clouds  from  the  wreck.  From  the  relative  positions  of  the 
two  vessels,  the  shot  ranged  from  end  to  end  of  the  "Bu- 
centaure," and  the  injury  was  tremendous.  Twenty  guns 
were  at  once  dismounted,  and  the  loss  by  that  single  discharge 
was  estimated,  by  the  French,  at  four  hundred  men.  Leaving 
the  further  care  of  the  enemy's  flagship  to  her  followers, 
secure  that  they  would  give  due  heed  to  the  admiral's  order, 
that  "every  effort  must  be  made  to  capture  the  hostile  com- 
mander-in-chief," the  "Victory"  put  her  helm  up,  inclining 
to  the  right,  and  ran  on  board  a  French  seventy-four,  the 
"  E,edout:ible,"  whose  guns,  as  well  as  those  of  the  French 
"  Neptune,"  had  been  busily  playing  upon  her  hitherto.     At 


1.10  she  lay  along  the  port  side  of  the  "  lledoutable, 
two  ships  falling  off  Avith  their  heads  to  the  eastward 
moving  slowly  before  the  wind  to  the  east-southeast. 


J) 


the 
and 


i   i 


h;    I 


ill 


7:i4 


TIIK   MI'K  OK   NKLHON 


i.   II 


III  ili(!  (liifM  wliich  <Misii('(l  lifiUvfiCti  th(!H(5  two,  in  wliicli 
Nfil.soii  I'fill,  ilic  (lisp.'irit.y,  so  I'iir  ;i,h  wcit^'lit,  of  \r,\iU'.vy  w;i,h 
(U)ii(;f'.ni(!(l,  was  <'i.ll  ai^iiiiiHf.  ilic.  [''rr^ncli  Hliip;  l)iit,  \,\\i-.  I.'il,f,«ir, 
wliilr  i^v(';[.\,\y  ov(!riii;if.(;lic(|  at,  t,li(!  k'""'^>  niiuili  fJif-  j^rca.l.(!r 
part,  of  wliii^li  vvcr*!  Itclovv  ilcck,  wa.s  iii;t,rlc*'(lly  siiiif-rior  t,o  li(!r 
anl,;i,j,'()iii,st,  in  siiiall-;irni  fire  on  t,ii(!  n|»|)(!r  deck,  a,n(l  nHpcci-ilIy 
alol't.,  wIkm'c  hIk!  lia<l  many  nHiHkf;t,<M'.r.s  HtatioiHid.  N<'lHon 
liiniHuir  vv;i,M  .'Lvrrsf!  t,o  t.lii!  cniphtymont  of  men  in  t,li;i.t,  poHit.i(»n, 
t.liinkinf^'  Mifi  (l.'uif^'cr  of  fird  t^'rcfU.cir  t.li;ui  t,lin  },M.in,  huti  t,li(! 
rcsnih  on  t.liis  day  w.'i.h  fat,;iJ  t.f)  very  niiitiy  of  tlu;  "  Vict-oiy's" 
nicMi  ,'iH  well  ,'iH  t,o  liiniHclf.  AHt.lic  sliip'H  pI;i.co  in  tlic,  haf.lJo 
w.'is  fixod  for  t,lm  uioincnt.,  nof.liinj,'  now  roniainoil  t.o  ]m  dorm, 
oxr.npt  for  t,Ii(^  cicwh  t.o  ply  t.licir  wfiiipons  till  tlio  cud  waH 
ro!i('.li(Ml.  'I'Ih!  !i.dniir;i.l  and  tlic;  f.'ipt.ain,  tlicir  p;irt,s  of  direction 
a,nd  f^'Mid.'inco  lu-inj,'  liniHlicd,  widkcd  h;i,r;k  ii.nd  fortJi  toj^'ct.lMir 
on  tli(!  qn;i,rt,(!r-d)i(ik,  on  tiuj  Hido  f;irl.lM'st  from  t.lio  "  li,(;d(Mi- 
t.'i.l)l<i,"  wlmni  tlicrc.  w;i.s  a  cloa.r  .spacf;  of  a,  litt.lo  ovct  tw«'nt,y 
feofc  in  Icnj^'tli,  for(!  and  .'ill,  from  tint  wlK^fd  \,<>  tlio  Imt.cli 
lad<l('r  ]((adin!^'  down  to  tln^  c.idiin.  Tlio  uu/m'.u  t,op  of  tlio 
"  H.ridontM'd)!*',"  j^'tudishcd  with  Hli;irpHliootcrM,  was  ;dtout  lifly 
f«!«!t  al)ov(!  tlif!m.  I''ift,('('n  minntf^s  a,ft.cr  tlio  v<'HS(d,4  {iiiiiic. 
toRotlirr,  as  the,  two  oHiccrs  W(!ro  w.'ilkin},'  forward,  and  had 
nearly  rcaehod  the.  iisnal  phmc!  (d'  turning,  N(dson,  wlio  was  on 
Hardy's  hd't,  Hndd»^idy  f;i,(!(!d  hd't  !i.l)oiit.  Il;i.rdy,  a.ft.pr  t.'ikiii},' 
a  step  farther,  turneil  ;i,lso,  and  siivv  t.he  admiral  in  the  ,'i,et.  of 
fallinj,'-  -on  his  knees,  with  his  left  h;i,nd  t,oMehinf(  th<!  deck; 
then,  the  arm  ^'ivin},'  way,  lie  fell  on  his  left  sidi;.  It  w.'is  in 
the  «!xaet  spot  where  Seott,,  the  seeret,ary,  luul  Ixsen  killed  an 
lionr  before.  To  lliirdy's  natnnil  exelaiiiiition  that  he;  hoped  he 
w;i,s  not  l);i.dly  hurt,  he  re[)lied,  " 'i'luiy  h!i,v(!  dctiui  for  me  at 
last;"  a,iid  when  tlu!  f^xpr(^ssion  of  hope  w;is  n^peat-ed,  he 
said  .'tj^.'un,  "  Yes,  my  b.'uik-hoiH)  is  shf)t  throu<;h."  "  f  felt  it 
hrciak  njy  bardt,"  he  told  the  siirf^'eon,  ;i,  l(!W  minutes  hd.er. 
The  bii.ll  liad  strnek  hiiri  on  tlio  left  shoiddtir,  on  the  forw;i.rd 
j)art  of  the  (!paulett,e,  piercnni,'  I. Ik;  liin;^',  wh(M(!  it  sr-vered  ;i. 
larf^'e  artery,  iiiid  tlniii  passed  t.hroiif^di  t,li((  spin*!  from  hdt  to 
ri;:;ht;  lod,i,'ing  liii;illy  in  the  miiseles  of  the  b.-irk.  Althon^di 
tliero  was  tnon;  tli:i,n  one  mort,al  injury,  the  immedi,'i,te  and 
niornifnl  CJiuse  of  his  spec-dy  death  w;i.s  the  internal  bleeding 
from  the  artfiry.     Within  a  few   iiionuuits  of   his    wounding 


NKI.HON    MOIMAFJ-V    WOIINDKI) 


r.:' 


two,  ill    wliidi 
(.r  l);i.l.t,f!ry   WiiH 
,  hut,  t,ln!  hiUr.r, 
\\v.\\   \,\u'   ^rciiUM- 
f  supr'rioi'  t,o  )u'.r 
{,  iuid  (sHpcfi.'iHy 
i,t,i(»iM!(l.     NcIhoii 
in  ili.'i.t,  posiiioii, 
1(1   f^.'iiii,  l)Ut   Um 
1,1, r,  «  Victory's" 
;i.('(!  in  tlic,  haU,l«i 
int'il  t,o  Ik;  (Ioik;, 
till  t,li«5  end  w;iH 
[Cirt.s  of  (lirnc.t.ion 
(1   lortli  to^'(!t,li(!r 
oni  Ui(!  "  If.('(ion- 
it.tlf!  over  twenty 
'('.{   to  tlie,    li;it('li 
i//oti  top   (>r  t.lid 
^,  w;iM  ,'i.l>ont  lilty 

ilO     Vi'SHcJH     CillllC. 

"orward,  iuid   liiid 
Ison,  who  w!iM  on 
nly,  iilter  t.'ikin^' 
ir.il  in  the,  act  ol' 
|ichin}^  iho  (h'c.k  ; 
Isidi!.      It  was  in 
1    h(!('Ji   killed  ;iii 
th;i,th(!  hoped  he 
(h)ne,   for  nie  at 
as    rt^K'Mted,   he 
.^rj,."     "  r  Felt  it 
minutes  hi.ter. 
on  tlie   forw;!.rd 
VI'.   it  severed   a. 
IH!  Iroiii  left  to 
ifick.      Althoiij,'li 
iiiiniediiite,  and 
,ern!i,l   hleediii},' 
liis    wotiiidiiif? 


HoirM!  forty  oirKters  and  men  wepi"  cut  dr)wn  hy  tlie,  H;une, 
mur(leif)iis  fire.  Iroin  the  tops  of  the  eiKiUiy.  Indeed  so 
stripped  of  men  was  the  iippcM-  deek  of  the;  "  \'i(rtory  "  th;it 
the.  •'"niiwdi  made  a  movement  to  l)oanl,  whi(di  waH  repulsed, 
thouf^di  with  heavy  loss. 

The,  strieken  hero  was  ii.t  on(;e  e,arrie,d  helow,  himself  eov- 
••rinj,,'  his  fafie  and  the  dee(»r;i,tioiis  of  his  er)at  with  his  hand- 
kerehifd',  th.'i.t  the  sij^dit  of  their  Io.hs  mij^dit  n(»t  affect  the 
ship's  company  at  this  criti(^'d  instniit.  The  cftckpit  w;is 
alreiuly  (jiimhered  with  the  wound(;(l  and  dyiiif,',  hut  thf;  haiid- 
kerchif^f  f;i.]linf,'  frf)m  his  face,  tjic,  snrj^jeon  r(!Coi^'ni/,ed  him, 
and  e.'une  at  f)n(!('.  to  him.  "Yun  vmi  do  nothing'  for  me, 
r.e;i.tty,"  lie  s.'iid  ;  "I  have,  hut  a  sliort  tiiru;  to  live."  The 
surgeon  also  iitterfid  the  involunt;iry  «!xe.lamation  of  eneour.'i.i.,'(!- 
mr;nt,  which  risfis  inevitahly  to  the  lij)H  at  such  a  moirifMit; 
hut  a  short  examination,  and  tlif;  sufferer's  H\,',ili'U\<-\\[,  of  his 
s<!ns!i.tions,  es|)ecially  thf;  »,'ushinj,'  of  l)lor)d  within  thf;  breast, 
which  was  vividly  felt,  ('onvincf-d  him  th;i.t  there  w;i.s  indecrl 
Dor^tor,   r  am   K""''>"   '•''   ^''''''  ^'"  ^'''"   1»<'V.  Mr. 


no 


lioi 


(( 


S(!ott,  th(5  clia[)lain,  wlu)  knfdt  beside  him;  and  then  added 
in  a  low  voice,  "  I  hiive  to  leave,  lijidy  Il.'unilton,  and  my 
.'idoptcfl  <laii;,'ht(M*  lloratia,  as  a,  le^Mcy  to  my  ('oiintry." 

After  tlm  nec.cHsary  «rxa.mina.tio:i  had  ])v,i-,u  made,  nothing' 
furtlnir  (!ould  be,  done,  3ior  w;i.s  attempted,  than  to  obtain  the 
utnu)Ht  possible,  relief  from  suffering'.  Dr.  Scott  and  the  pur- 
Hfir  of  th(!  "  Vi(!tory  "  sustained  the.  bcfl  under  his  shoiildf^rs, 
r.'iisin^  him  into  a,  semi-recumbent  pf)sture,  the.  otdy  onc!  tli;it 
was  Hupport.'ilile  to  him,  and  fa,niif;d  him;  while,  others  ^uxc 
him  the  coolin;^'  drink  —  leiiH»nad<!  —  which  Ik;  contitnuilly 
demanded.  Those  about  did  not  spe;i,k  to  him,  (!xcc[)t  wlntn 
addressed  ;  lint  th(!  cli.'i.pla.in,  to  whom  Nelson  frerpiently  s;i,id, 
"  Pray  for  me.  Doctor,"  ejaculated  with  him  short  prayers 
from  tiiiu!  to  timo.  The  ;if^ony  of  mortal  p;iiii  wriiii;^'  from 
him  repea.ted  iitt(!raTic(!,  tlK)U,t,di  no  unmanly  complaint;  and 
his  thoii[,dits  dwelt  inf>ro  upon  lif)me  ;i,iid  the  batth;  than  upon 
his  own  sul'fei'in},' and  a,p[)roa(!hin}^  d(!ath.  Ilis  mind  rcm;i,ined 
clear  until  he  bec-ame  sp(;e(dil(!KS,  a,bout  liftf^en  minutes  before 
lie  jiassiid  aw;i.y,  iind  he  took  frequent  notirtc  of  wli;i,t  o(!(;urre(| 
iie;ir  him,  a,s  well  iis  of  sounds  on  deck. 

TIk!    hour    that  siuuuMidcd  his    wounding  w;i,h   the  decisive 


M: 


* 


736 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


one  of  the  light ;  not  that  the  issue  admitted  of  much  doubt, 
at'tor  once  Nelson's  plans  had  received  fulfilment,  and  the 
battle  joined,  —  unless  the  delinquent  van  of  the  allies  had 
acted  promptly,  —  but  in  those  moments  the  work  was  done 
which  was  thenceforth,  for  the  enemy,  beyond  repair.  Over- 
head, therefore,  the  strife  went  on  incessantly,  the  seamen 
toiling  steadily  at  their  guns,  and  cheering  repeatedly.  Near 
the  admiral  lay  Lieutenant  Pasco,  severely  but  not  fatally 
wounded.  At  one  burst  of  hurrahs.  Nelson  asked  eagerly 
what  it  was  about ;  and  Pasco  replying  that  another  ship  had 
struck,  he  expressed  his  satisfaction.  Soon  he  became  very 
anxious  for  further  and  more  exact  information  of  the  course 
of  the  battle,  and  about  the  safety  of  Captain  Hardy,  upon 
whom  now  was  devolved  such  guidance  as  the  fleet,  until  the 
action  was  over,  must  continue  to  receive  from  the  flagship  of 
the  commander-in-chief.  In  accordance  with  his  wishes  many 
messages  were  sent  to  Hardy  to  come  to  him,  but  for  some 
time  it  was  not  possible  for  that  officer  to  leave  the  deck. 
During  this  period,  up  to  between  half-past  two  and  three,  the 
ships  of  the  two  British  divisions,  that  followed  the  leaders, 
were  breaking  successively  into  the  enemy's  order,  and  carry- 
ing out  with  intelligent  precision  the  broad  outlines  of  Nelson's 
instructions.  The  heads  of  the  columns  had  dashed  them- 
selves to  pieces,  like  a  forlorn  hope,  against  the  overpowering 
number  of  foes  which  opposed  their  passage — an  analysis 
of  the  returns  shows  that  upon  the  four  ships  which  led,  the 
"Victory"  and  "Temeraire,"  the  "  Eoyal  Sovereign"  and 
"Belleisle,"  fell  one-third  of  the  entire  loss  in  a  fleet  of 
twenty-seven  sail.  But  they  had  forced  their  way  through, 
and  by  the  sacrifice  of  themselves  had  shattered  and  pulver- 
ized the  local  resistance,  destroyed  the  coherence  of  the  hostile 
line,  and  opened  the  road  for  the  successful  action  of  their 
followers.  With  the  appearance  of  the  latter  upon  the  ..cene, 
succeeded  shortly  by  the  approach  of  the  allied  van,  though 
too  late  and  in  disorder,  began  what  may  be  called  the  second 
and  final  phase  of  the  battle. 

While  such  things  were  happening  the  deck  could  not  be 
left  by  Hardy,  who,  for  the  time  being,  was  commander-in- 
chief  as  well  as  captain.  Shortly  after  Nelson  fell,  the  "  T6me- 
raire  "  had  run  on  board  the  "  Kedoutable  "  on  the  other  side, 


-  •'j^*?SgW8gg¥-  EJ— '■' 


;ted  of  much  doubt, 
fulfil ment,  and  the 

II  of  the  allies  had 
bhe  work  was  done 
yond  repair.  Over- 
santly,  the  seamen 
:  repeatedly.  Near 
ily  but  not  fatally 
Ison  asked  eagerly 
it  another  ship  had 
on  he  became  very 
ation  of  the  course 
ptain  Hardy,  upon 

the  fleet,  until  the 
rom  the  flagship  of 
th  his  wishes  many 
him,  but  for  some 
to  leave  the  deck. 

two  and  three,  the 
llowed  the  leaders, 
s  order,  and  carry- 
(utlines  of  Nelson's 
had  dashed  them- 
b  the  overpowering 
lage — an  analysis 
lips  which  led,  the 
I  Sovereign"  and 
OSS  in  a  fleet  of 
heir  way  through, 
-ttered  and  pulver- 
:ence  of  the  hostile 

III  action  of  their 
er  upon  the  ..cene, 
allied  van,  though 
!  called  the  second 


ieck  could  not  be 
'as  commander-in- 
n  fell,  the  "  T6me'- 
on  the  other  side, 


CAPTAm    THOMA 


^'ro/H  th, 


S    ^ASTERMAN    HARDV. 


<•''<//  J/ospiiai. 


:!! 


IM) 

I 


'i.        . 


I  ,'l 


1    I  ■      i; 


\   ! 


;^'  1.^: 


f-A-:\-H .;..•:■•'  i,M,,A  I'K 


t  ,1 


'  ,      '    i: 


1  . 


,  I    I       I'         '•. 

1.     ■■'  '!-• 


.      .       I 


I-        ' 


i^. 


Si 


'^ 


l:imu 


% 


^r>  -'::.  i'f- 


>\  ^J 


<   • 


'>.,  ■ 


M*MMiM.a*B 


■ 


--  ^..v.>uu  Clear,  and  lav  with  h      V         '  '^''^  "  V' ctorv  " 

™,.,,,  contact  >vithtl,c.i,-l^J'Y-,/'"'  ""'"'  ""'»"   "- 
tli.s  ,„,/.„  was  in  progress  tl.o  F       ,     '"  ^"""nnnl     Wliilo 
'""■en,  „,.o,I,  at  five  mb  ute  "  !  .f '  "•''«''''"  " '''•"•'ntau    ' ' 
;  ow„  the  flag,  \-ilb„e,,v      a  leT'i  ';■;'■  ';".''  '"''''">  l-au  „. 
'^''o  s  n,,s  that  are  not  ent tc,l  f '^  '" '"'  '■''"'«'"*  van  -^ 

ton  vessels  wliio h  constitute,!  ,i  ""'"^  •'"unmoned   tl,« 

.eysLoul,,  have  done  bf'  el':/'''' ^S""  '"  ««  a.'Vas 
"lack  w,n,|,  they  hart  .ot  t^l\.^"'h  ""h""?''  retarded  bv   1 


-rd  of  t^'"  V  tort  "aX"  ^""""  "--"'"a  o  t  :;.:r 
">e  captain's  furthe^r'  „;  '  '".Tf  ""»  ^-^h  a'^ck  de.nald  ," 
<Ieatli-bod  of  his  chief     'I'L/i'^fP"""'  '"«  goinR  to  the 

a.  the  delay  thi„ki;,ft,,ara^tL.tt|  'f:,'""^  ™-^»«^»''d 
Kept  from  him.     «  Will  „ni^  i     ,   ?     "''  ''"aJ  and  the  neiv« 
.•cquently  e.elai.nerVi'^'"^;,,^""^  Hardy  to  ,ne?"' L 
'lestmyed.-    At  last  a  midshin m  "  '""'"' '  ''"  *»  sure Iv 

sage  that  "oircun,sta„™s  '«,»      "'""!  •'°'™  "■">  "'«  n.es^ 
captain's  presence  „n  "S  b,     tt^^'"'"  """'  -Vired  the 
avonrable  moment  to  v°sii  h  !  T     > \°  ''''"'■''  '•^'"'  ">«  first 
"■e  voice,  asked  who  it   vas  that  ^  f''^'      ^''^'°"'  hoarinl 
;vI.o  later  in  the  day  wis  Vounj  S    ^     '''"'  '■■"'-  """'dey: 
former  shipmate  in  the  far  T^v   ,     "''"'  *"'  "'«  son  of  ^ 
Pedition,  and  the  d -in/^dSl    T  "',"'^  «•'">  J"»  'x! 
reme„,l,ra„ee  to  his  father  "''"«'"'  ">«  'ad   with  a 

J-VVO    ships   of  iSJ'plcr.n'o    «    1 

"Spartiate  "  and  th."r  „„?:"'"•  "  ^'"  "»'  ^"^'''S^'.  -  the 
'he  scene.  Being  i„  the  ext  "mcT ''"'■°, ""'"  J"^'  '".udiing 
breeze  had  so  far  del.ayed  th  m  %  '•  "'"  !'^^^"'''  "'  thf 
hey  hauled  to  the  wind  so  asTo  inf  "V""  Wrtunely, 
'ory"  and  the  approaching  van  of  th'""?,  •'*'""'"  ">«  "Vic- 
hy two  wholly  fresh  shi„,H  .  '"'  ''"'es.    Covered  now 

the  deck,  i„  aLrdance  fv tthmZlt/^''  ^'  ""^'■'^  '°  ^  '' 
fnends-Hardy  had  been  eve^whe"e  with'T'    '''"'  '"°  '''^d 

4?  '"' '"'"  S'"ee  the  day 


ffl 


I 


738 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


of  St.  Vincent,  and  was  faithful  enough  to  speak  to  Lady 
Hamilton  more  fi-eely  than  she  liked  —  shook  hands  affec- 
tionately. "Well,  Hardy,"  said  Nelson,  "how  goes  the 
battle  ?  How  goes  the  day  with  us  ? "  "  Very  well,  my 
Lord,"  replied  Hardy.  "  We  have  got  twelve  or  fourteen  of 
the  enemy's  ships  in  our  possession,  but  five  of  their  van  have 
tacked;  and  show  an  intention  of  bearing  down  upon  the 
Victory.  I  have  therefore  called  two  or  three  of  our  fresh 
ships  round  us,  and  have  no  doubt  of  giving  them  a  drubbing." 
"  I  hope  none  of  our  ships  have  struck,  Hardy."  "  No,  my 
Lord,"  was  the  answer,  "  there  is  no  fear  of  that."  Nelson 
then  said,  "  I  am  a  dead  man.  Hardy.  I  am  going  fast :  it 
will  be  all  over  with  me  soon.  Come  nearer  to  me.  Pray  let 
my  dear  Lady  Hamilton  have  my  hair,  and  all  other  things 
belonging  to  me."  Hardy  observed  that  he  hoped  Mr.  Beatty 
could  yet  hold  out  some  prosptct  of  life.  "  Oh  no  !  "  replied 
Nelson  ;  "it  is  impossible.  My  bark  is  shot  through.  Beatty 
will  tell  you  so."  Hardy  tlien  returned  to  the  deck,  shaking 
hands  again  before  parting. 

Nelson  now  desired  the  surgeons  to  leave  him  to  the 
attendants,  as  one  for  whom  nothing  could  be  done,  and  to 
give  their  professional  care  where  it  would  be  of  some  avail. 
In  a  few  moments  he  recalled  the  chief  surgeon,  and  said,  "  I 
forgot  to  tell  you  that  all  power  of  motion  and  feeling  below 
my  breast  are  gone ;  and  yoii  very  well  know  I  can  live  but  a 
short  time."  From  the  emphasis  he  placed  on  his  words,  the 
surgeon  saw  he  was  thinking  of  a  case  of  spinal  injury  to  a 
seaman  some  months  before,  which  had  proved  mortal  after 
many  days'  suffering;  yet  it  would  seem  that,  despite  the  con- 
viction that  rested  on  his  mind,  the  love  of  life,  and  of  all  it 
meant  to  him,  yet  clung  to  the  hope  that  possibly  there  might 
be  a  reprieve.  "  One  would  like  to  live  a  little  longer,"  he 
murmured;  and  added,  "What  would  become  of  poor  Lady 
Hamilton  if  she  knew  my  situation!"  "Beatty,"  he  said 
again,  "  you  knoio  I  am  gone."  "  My  Lord,"  replied  the  sur- 
g<^on,  with  a  noble  and  courteous  simplicity,  "unhappily  for 
our  country,  nothing  can  be  done  for  you ; "  and  he  turned 
away  to  conceal  the  emotion  which  he  could  not  at  once  con- 
trol. "  I  know  it,"  said  Nelson.  "  I  feel  something  rising  in 
my  breast,"  putting  his  hand  on  his  left  side,  "  which  tells  me 


to  speak  to  Lady 
hook  liauds  affec- 
,  "how  goes  the 
"Very  well,  my 
elve  or  fourteen  of 
!  of  their  van  have 
g  down  upon  the 
hree  of  our  fresh 
them  a  drubbing." 
^avdy."  "No,  my 
of  that."  Nelson 
am  going  fast:  it 
r  to  me.  Pray  let 
i  all  other  things 
hoped  Mr.  Beatty 
■'  Oh  no  !  "  replied 
through.  Beatty 
the  deck,  shaking 

save  him    to   the 
be  done,  and  to 
be  of  some  avail, 
eon,  and  said,  "I 
md  feeling  below 
'J  I  can  live  but  a 
on  his  words,  the 
spinal  injury  to  a 
)ved  mortal  after 
b,  despite  the  con- 
life,  and  of  all  it 
sibly  there  might 
little  longer,"  he 
ne  of  poor  Lady 
Beatty,"  he  said 
'  replied  the  sur- 
,  "unhappily  for 
"  and  he  turned 
not  at  once  con- 
nething  rising  in 
"  which  tells  me 


^      11 


'*^ARS    OF    AGE 

'f^if'-.  a;/„„  «;^^      ' '"  '*'r«s.,„„ 


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To  this 


At  about  three  o'clock  tl^  ^''"'r.'^- 

Jiritish  ships  and  their  prizes       r?:,"^'''"^'^  ^^'^  upon  tl,e 
sorts  replied.     «Oh    v-^"^®^*     "^'^^  "  Victory  "  wiH.  l 

parted  with  his  life  also.^  ^  P"''"™  "^  >■«  duty  m.til  he 

neai    but  Nelson  was  still  eoiisZn.'     1'"  ""''  ''a^  now  ver„ 

lated  the  dying  hero  upon  tl,»  k  ■?■  "  "^  srasp,  con-ratn 
was  complete,  he  said.  How  Inv  ""^"^  ""  ^'"'or^  It 
possible  to  see,  bnt  he  was  lerta^n^f  !  "'"'P'""''  "  ™s  im. 
exact  „„,„ber  p^^ed  to  be  .['hf^  ''""■''^"  <"  fifteen.  The 
Nelson,  but  added,  faithful  tof     "•,    ^^'''^'  '^  well,"  snld 

.J»oW,  Hardy,  a,„/w;./..    111°,  f i  ,<.  P™  ''^    exclaimed 

3".ng  orders  now  that  Collin"  wi/f  """  f '"barrassment  of 

■"   he  very  arms  of  death-  but  S'' '""""  *''at  >us  chief  was 

■^«hts.    "I  suppose,  my  Lord  "  sSd  T  "^  °'^"'^  «"»!"  It 

.ngwood  will  now  take  upon  him  elf  S*"'"'  •"^''™''^>  Co  - 

J^ot  while  I  live,  I  ],„„„    p"  j   ,,  ""'  direction  of  affairs  " 

moment  endeavoreiineS^a^rtoCaS  ""^'.f "'  ''"''  '- a 
JTo-    Do  you  anchor,  Hardv "    r    f^""'"''"™'"  "lo  bed 
Zf  .r  r^  *'--8nals[;,„^r^'", Hardy  then  said 

several  times,  even  after  Hardy  had  le^f?l^"::;tt,t°  "''"'^'' 

^"^'  ana  the  energy  of 

'  That  is,  to  the  westward. 


740 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON 


liis  manner  showed  that  for  Ine  moment  the  sense  of  duty  and 
of  responsibility  luid  triumphed  over  his  increasing  weakness. 

Keaction  of  course  followed,  and  he  told  Hardy  he  felt  that 
in  a  few  .ninutes  he  should  be  no  more.  "  Don't  throw  me  over- 
board," he  added;  "you  know  what  to  do."  Hardy  liaving 
given  as»-..rance  that  these  wishes  should  be  attended  to. 
Nelson  then  said,  "Take  care  of  my  dear  Lady  Hamilton, 
Hardy  :  take  care  of  poor  Lady  Hamilton.  Kiss  me,  Hardy." 
The  captain  knelt  down  and  kissed  his  cheek.  "  Now  I  am 
satisfied.  Thank  God,  I  have  done  my  duty."  Hardy  rose 
and  stood  looking  silently  at  him  for  an  instant  or  two, 
then  knelt  down  again  and  kissed  his  forehead.  "Who  is 
that  ?  "  asked  Nelson.  The  captain  answered,  "  It  is  Hardy ; " 
to  which  his  Lordship  replied,  "  God  bless  you.  Hardy  !  "  Tlie 
latter  then  returned  to  the  quarter-deck,  having  passed  about 
eight  minutes  in  this  final  interview. 

Nelson  now  desired  his  steward,  who  was  in  attendance 
throughout,  to  turn  him  on  his  right  side.  "I  wish  I  had 
not  left  the  deck,"  he  murmured  ;  "  for  I  shall  soon  be  gone." 
Thenceforth  he  sank  rapidly ;  his  breathing  became  oppressed 
and  his  voice  faint.  To  Dr.  Scott  he  said,  "Doctor,  I  have 
not  been  a  great  sinner,"  and  after  a  short  pause,  ^^  Remember, 
that  I  leave  Lady  Hamilton  and  my  daughter  Horatia  as  a 
legacy  to  my  country  —  never  forget  Horatia."  This  injunc- 
tion, with  remembrances  to  Lady  Hamilton  and  the  child,  he 
frequently  repeated ;  and  he  charged  Scott  to  see  Mr.  Rose, 
and  tell  him — but  here  pain  interrupted  his  utterance,  and 
after  an  interval  he  simply  said,  "  Mr.  Rose  will  remember," 
alluding  to  a  letter  which  he  had  written  him,  but  which  as 
yet  could  not  have  been  received.  His  thirst  now  increased ; 
and  he  called  for  "drink,  drink,"  "fan,  fan,"  and  "rub,  rub," 
addressing  himself  in  this  last  case  to  Dr.  Scott,  who  had  been 
rubbing  his  breast  with  his  hand,  by  which  some  relief  was 
given.  These  words  he  spoke  in  a  very  rapid  manner,  which 
rendered  his  articulation  difficult ;  but  he  every  now  and  then, 
with  evident  increase  of  pain,  made  a  greater  effort,  and  said  dis- 
tinctly, "  Thank  God,  I  have  done  my  duty."  This  he  repeated 
at  intervals  as  long  as  the  power  of  speech  remained.  The 
last  words  caught  by  Dr.  Scott,  who  was  bending  closely  over 
him,  were,  "  God  and  my  Country." 


sense  of  duty  and 
•casing  weakness, 
lardy  he  felt  that 
n't  throw  me  over- 
"     Hardy  liaving 
be    attended   to, 
Lady  Hamilton, 
Kiss  me,  Hardy." 
3ek.     "  Now  I  am 
by."     Hardy  rose 
instant  or  two, 
jhead.     "Who  is 

I,  "  It  is  Hardy ; " 

II,  Hardy!"    The 
ing  passed  about 

IS  in   attendance 
"I  wish  I  had 
11  soon  be  gone." 
)ecame  opjiressed 
"Doctor,  I  have 
use,  "  lieniember, 
ter  Horatia  as  a 
I."     This  injunc- 
md  the  child,  he 
to  see  Mr.  Rose, 
is  utterance,  and 
will  remember," 
ra,  but  which  as 
t  now  increased ; 
and  "  rub,  rub," 
tt,  who  had  been 
some  relief  was 
L  manner,  which 
y  now  and  then, 
ort,  and  said  dis- 
This  he  repeated 
remained.     The 
Ling  closely  over 


in 


announced  th^^  nil  ,  ^  perceive   t  uuH'J  fi  ' 

"Afm^fo      »     viccory,    one  was  cnf  r.ff       i    ^^''^^^^  to  vvind- 
Minotaur"and"Spartiate"    Ti"    ^5    "^  "^P^"^'^^  by  the 

iielore  sunset,"  wrof-P  on        "^  P^^^- 
«-  0'  -^  <J-»a„rer prized. "l"""-  ,"'«  -"insm/s  vT  ' 


742 


THE   LIFK   OF  NELSON 


.V\\ 


two  hundred  and  fifty  were  rescued,  and  she  blew  up  with  a 
tremendous  exph)sion." 

There,  surrounded  by  the  companions  of  his  triumph,  and 
Ly  tlie  tropliies  of  his  prowess,  wo  leave  our  hero  with  his 
glory.  Sharer  of  our  mortal  weaktiess,  he  has  bequeathed  to 
us  a  type  of  sinj^'le-minded  self-devotion  that  can  never  i)erish. 
As  his  funeral  anthem  proclaimed,  while  a  nation  mourned, 
"  His  body  is  buried  in  peace,  but  his  Name  liveth  for  ever- 
more." Wars  may  cease,  but  the  need  for  heroism  shall  not 
depart  from  the  earth,  while  man  remains  man  and  evil  exists 
to  be  redressed.  Wherever  danger  has  to  be  faced  or  duty 
to  be  done,  at  cost  to  self,  men  will  draw  inspiration  from  the 
name  and  deeds  of  Nelson. 

Happy  he  who  lives  to  finish  all  his  task.  The  words 
"  I  have  done  my  duty,"  sealed  the  closed  book  of  Nelson's 
story  with  a  truth  broader  and  deeper  than  he  himself  could 
suspect.  His  duty  was  done,  and  its  fruit  perfected.  Other 
men  have  died  in  the  liour  of  victory,  but  for  no  other  has 
victory  so  singular  and  so  signal  graced  the  fulfilment  and 
ending  of  a  great  life's  work.  *'  Finis  coronat  opus  "  has  of  no 
man  been  more  true  than  of  Nelson.  There  were,  indeed, 
consequences  momentous  and  stupendous  yet  to  flow  from  the 
decisive  supremacy  of  Great  Britain's  sea-power,  the  establish- 
ment of  which,  beyond  all  question  or  competition,  was  Nel- 
son's grc  ,t  achievement ;  but  his  part  was  done  when  Trafalgar 
was  f  jught.  The  coincidence  of  his  death  with  the  moment 
of  completed  success  has  impressed  upon  that  superb  battle 
a  stamp  of  finality,  an  immortality  of  fame,  which  even  its 
own  grandeur  scarcely  could  have  insured.  He  needed,  and 
he  left,  no  successor.  To  use  again  St.  Vincent's  words, 
"There  is  but  one  Nelson." 


}k 


she  blew  up  with  a 

f  las  triumph,  and 
our  lioro  with  his 

has  bequeathed  to 
-t  can  never  perish, 
a  nation  mourned, 
no  livetli  for  ever- 

heroism  shall  not 
Kin  and  evil  exists 

be  faced  or  duty 
spiration  from  the 

task.     The  words 
book  of  Nelson's 
he  himself  could 
perfected.     Other 
for  uo  other  has 
le  fulfilment  and 
i  opus  "  has  of  uo 
re  were,   indeed, 
'  to  flow  from  the 
^er,  the  establish- 
etition,  was  Nel. 
e  when  Trafalgar 
vith  the  moment 
at  superb  battle 
,  which  eveu  its 
He  needed,  and 
''"inceut's  words, 


C^VPE  VEIIUK  I 


30* 


(Far  Lite  of  }ftl.ionJ 


Ihe  Arrow  Hauls  ahew  tlu  itiirctifn  ofcourae,  Whtn-  t/ir\r  point  oppomttfy. 
OH  Ihf  vumr  Une.  that  liiu  uftp,  oximattly  was  travri^itdi/i  both  dtrulioti^. 
Tlu hemy  ilotttd  hnt, ISo.'l  0.'>,  bounds Xtlson's  cntiiawf^nHuulyfhm  w<Uehmg 
Fknth  fjtet  in  TouUiv. 

'Flu  /ua*y  line  sh/mra  gtiiaal  ibrtcttun  ofhisjuiim^  tivm  tlu 
MtJiUmtnean  to  Knt)land  in  MOO. 

Dates  plated  \rithin  Has/  Lines,  indicate  that  his  dulus  -Wert  then, 
alonif  that  coast. 


TABLE  OF  ENGAGEMENTS:  Crossea/ /■'/ti</s iru/ira/r  SWrtf  r//' Prmrt/i/t/ ^nt/ffffetnrnt.v 

7   S'im./utm,FeAJ/an-A,/7&0        S  lloilmmsAcfion.Juh/  l,J,l7y5  //  77wMfr,Au^u. 

2  h\t/iFrenehfHnnUs.(M22,l7!X!  7   liH/i.SiMDiish  Iriaalr.^,Der.20.J7frt)  72  CaiiHire  ot'Gei . xsv^- «s-i 

J  JJ(istia.^\pnl  .yfiu/.  1791            8  6V/// .  'it.  ruicrru .  feli.  H.  17.07                      Feh.  Id,  IStX)  '"^M^- 

■t  Otl.t'i, June  Aiufkst. 17.94          9   ()fi  f'/ulix,  .Ju/u'.  17.07  l.J  tvfM'nlMae/i,Apri/2,/<StV  ^^$^mi^ 

.5  ffatluunsAfiivn,.H(U^  M,17StS  lO  //  mrir/e ,  Julu  24,  17fl7  M  TWilaltfor,  (M. 21. I6()5  > fJ^V^ 


it . 


h  1  i 


1^    il 


I: 


4 


"it'  , 


:\^ 


INDEX 


I 


IS   i£ 


i 


m 


■t 


INDEX 


K 


Aboukir,  Bay,  Island,  Promontory, 
and  Castle,  293,  295,  296,  312,  314, 
418,419,431. 

Aboukir,  Battle  of,  419. 

Acton,  8ir  John,  Prime  Mmister  of 
the  Kingdom  of  tlie  Two  Sicilies, 
281,  291,  292,  327,  367,  377,  383, 
411,  566,  567,  5fi9,  570,  590,  629, 
638. 

Addington  (afteri'.ards  Lord  Sid 
mouth),  I'rime  Minister  of  Great 
Britain,  1801-18C.S  Nelson's  inter- 
course with,  328,  491,  493,  506,  520, 
543-544,  545,  546,  551,  553,  565, 
5G9,  579,  584,  7C4. 

Adriatic,  importance  to  the  communi- 
cations of  the  Austrians  in  Italy,  211, 
347 ;  British  concern  in,  316,  568, 
571,611;  Napoleon's  interest  in,  564, 
571,  630 ;  resort  of  privateers,  610. 

"Agamemnon,"  British  ship-of-the- 
line.  Nelson  ordered  to  command 
her,  81  ;  relation  to  his  career, 
63-85 ;  action  with  four  French 
frigates,  96,  97 ;  engages  the 
batteries  at  Bastia,  103,  104; 
action  with  the  "  Qa  Ira,"  Frencli 
80-gun  ship,  139-141  ;  engagement 
of  March  14,  1795,  143;  engage- 
ment of  July  13,  151-153;  services 
at  Genoa,  170-173;  on  the  opening 
of  Bonaparte's  campaign,  1796, 
187-190;  Nelson  leaves  her  for  the 
"Captain,"  seventy-four,  195,  196; 
she  sails  for  England,  196;  subse- 
quent history,  196;  misfoitune  at 
t'>e  Battle  of  Copenhagen,  479; 
jcjins  the  fleet  shortly  before  Tra- 
falgar, 711. 

"Albemarle,"  British  frigate  com- 
manded by  Nelson,  27--35. 

Alexandria,  Nelson's  first  voyage  to, 
284-290 ;  second  voyage,  293 ;  block- 
aded, 313 ;  Nelson's  third  voyage 
to,  640,  641. 


Algiers,  Bonaparte'u  designs  upon, 
561 ;  Nelson's  difficulties  with,  600- 
602. 

"Amazon,"  British  frigate,  services 
at  Copenhagen,  475,  478,  480,  482 ; 
subsequent  mention,  589,  626-628, 
650,  656,  673. 

Amiens,  Peace  of,  signature  of,  529 ; 
Nelson's  home  life  during,  5'<2-556 ; 
rapture  of,  554. 

"  Aniphion,"  British  frigate.  Nelson's 
pa.ssage  to  Mediterranean  in,  565- 
572 ;  leaves  her  for  the  "  Victory," 
593. 

Arcliduke  Charles,  Nelson's  meeting 
with,  at  Prague,  441. 

Austria  and  Austrians,  result  of  cam- 
paign of  1794  in  Holland  and  Ger- 
many, 132;  in  Italy,  133;  delay  in 
opening  camjjaign  of  1795  in  Italy, 
151  ;  their  advance  to  Vado  Bay,  on 
the  Riviera,  151  ;  Nelson  ordered  to 
cooperate  with,  151,  157;  their  dis- 
regard <  1"  Genoese  neutrality,  157; 
positioi.  of,  in  summer  of  1795, 158  ; 
inability,  or  unwillingness  to  ad- 
vance, 160,  161,  165;  their  attitude 
towards  the  British,  168,  172,  181 ; 
growing  insecuritv  of  their  position, 
167,  170,  171,  181;  attacked  and 
defeated  by  French  at  Battle  of 
Loano,  172;  retreat  across  tiio 
Apennines,  172;  urged  by  Nelson 
to  reoccupy  Vado  hi  1796,  186; 
their  advance  under  Bcanlieu,  lb7- 
190;  Nelson's  assurances  to,  188; 
defeat  by  Bonaparte,  187,  190; 
driven  into  the  Tyrol,  and  behind 
the  Adige,  197  ;  besieged  in  Man- 
tua, 197  ;  advance  under  Wurmser 
to  relieve  Mantua,  203 ;  Nelson's 
hopes  therefrom,  203-205 ;  hears  of 
their  defeat  again,  205,  208;  the 
peace  of  Campo  Formio  between 
Austria  and  France,  271,  272;  dis- 


I 


''? 


Ii' 


740 


INDEX 


satisfaction  of  Austria  with  France, 
272,  275 ;  effect  of  their  position  in 
upper  Italy  upon  French  operations, 
3.'J4 ;  attitude  towards  France  and 
Naples,  1798,  335;  Nelson's  judg- 
ment on,  342,  343;  alliance  with 
lUissia,  1799,  342  ;  successes  in  1799, 
343,  355,  356,  405,  416,  417;  re- 
verses, 417;  capture  of  Genoa, 
1800,  436 ;  defeat  at  Marengo,  436  ; 
abandon  Northern  Italy,  436 ;  Nel- 
son's visit  to,  438-440;  peace  with 
France,  1801,  458,  506;  exhaustion 
of,  1801-1805,  558;  Nelson's  re- 
monstrance with,  on  failure  to  en- 
force her  neutrality,  610. 


Ball,  Sir  Alexander  J.,  British  cap- 
tain, letter  to  Nelson,  180;  joins 
Nelson's  division  at  (Jibraltar,  270  ; 
services  in  saving  the  flagsliip, 
277  ;  advice  asked  l)y  Nelson,  285  ; 
at  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  297, 
302-303 ;  accon)panics  Nelson  to 
Naples,  313 ;  gallantry  towards 
Lady  Hamilton,  330 ;  serves  ashore 
at  Malta,  335,  348-350,  410,  412, 
413,  414,  415;  mentions  with  un- 
belief reports  about  Nelson  and 
Lady  Hamilton,  339  ;  summoned  to 
join  Nelson  upon  the  incursion  of 
Admiral  Brnix,  358-361,  366; 
ordered  to  resume  duties  at  Malta, 
362 ;  mention  of  Nelson  in  letters 
to  Lady  Hamilton,  424,  429;  visits 
Nelson  at  Merton,  539 ;  anecdote  of 
Nelson  told  l)y  liim,  539 ;  letters 
from  Nelson  'to,  584,  586,  611- 
612,  635,  638,  641,  645,  648,  653; 
0])inion  as  to  French  objects  in  1804, 
585  ;  Nelson's  testy  vexation  with, 
607 ;  opinion  as  to  the  manage- 
ment of  coast  lookout  stations,  675, 
note. 

Barbary  States.  See  Algiers,  Tripoli, 
Tunis. 

Barham,  Lord,  Nelson's  interview 
with,  as  Comptroller  of  the  Navy, 
72;  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty, 
652  and  note,  674,  677,  678;  Nel- 
son's interviews  with,  677,  688 ; 
Nelson's  letters  to,  680,  705,  706, 
708. 

Bastia,  town  in  Corsica,  in  jjossession 
of    French,    99 ;    blockade  of,    by 


Nelson,  103,  105  ;  engagement  with 
batteries  of,  103;  description  of, 
103;  Nelson's  opinion  as  to  besieg- 
ing, 10.5-106,  108;  siege  of,  108- 
111;  capitulation  of,  110;  Nelson's 
estimate  as  to  his  own  services  at, 
112,  113,  130;  Nelson  directed  to 
superintend  evacuation  of,  by 
British,  210;  evacuation  of,  214- 
216.  . 

Buttles,  land,  mentioned :  Aboukir, 
419;  Castiglione,  205,  208 ;  Hohen- 
linden,  459;  Loano,  172;  Marengo, 
436;  Novi,  417. 

Battles,  naval,  mentioned :  Calder's 
action,  666,  671,  675,  679;  Camper- 
down,  264;  Copenhagen,  472-487, 
488,  .541-547  ;  First  of  June  (Lord 
Howe's),  128,  1.50;  July  13,  1795, 
151-1.55;  March  14,  1795,  141-148; 
the  Nile,  293-306 ;  St.  Vincent,  229- 
238 ;  Trafalgar,  724-742. 

Beatty,  Dr.,  surgeon  of  the  "  Vic- 
tory," account  of  Nelson's  habits 
and  health,  598-598  and  note; 
present  at  Nelson's  death,  734,  735, 
738,  741. 

Beaulieu,  Austrian  general,  com- 
mands the  army  in  Italy,  1796, 
187;  defeated  by  Bonaparte,  and 
driven  into  the  Tyrol,  187-190, 
197. 

Beckford,  William,  opinion  of  Lady 
Hamilton,  326;  visited  by  Nelson 
at  Fonthill,  449-450;  anecdote  of 
Nelson,  449. 

Berry,  Sir  EJward,  British  captain, 
accompanies  Nelson  in  boarding 
the  "San  Nicolas'  and  "San 
Josef,"  234,  235,  238;  commands 
Nelson's  flagship,  the  "  Vanguard," 
264;  .account  of  the  campaign  of 
the  Nile  (quoted),  284,  290,  294, 
303,  307;  at  the  Battle  of  the 
Nile,  300,  303,  310;  sent  to  Eng- 
land with  despatches,  308 ;  com- 
mands the  "Foudroyant"  at  the 
capture  of  the  "  Genereux,"  42b- 
427 ;  at  the  capture  of  the  "  Guil- 
laume  'i'ell,"  430,  431 ;  commands 
the  "Agamemon"  at  Trafalgar, 
711;  nun-^rous  services  of,  712. 

Bickerton,  ..lir  Richard,  British  ad- 
miral, commands  in  the  "  Mtdi- 
tcrraiiean  "  when  war  with  France 
begins,  1803,  570;  second  in  com- 


•I 


INDEX 


747 


iigagement  with 
description  of, 
on  as  to  besieg- 
siege  of,  108- 
f,  110;  Nelson's 
own  services  at, 
Ison  directed  to 
lation  of,  by 
nation  of,  214- 

oned :  Aboukir, 
•05,  208 ;  Hohen- 
►,172;  Marengo, 

tioned:  Calder's 
'5,  679 ;  Camper- 
ihapen,  472-487, 
it  of  June  (Lord 
(;  July  13,  1795, 
4,  1795,141-148; 
St.  Vincent,  229- 
14-742. 

m  of  the  "Vic- 
E  Nelson's  habits 
-598  and  note ; 
•s  death,  734,  725, 

I     general,    com- 

f  in    Italy,   1796, 

r   Bonaparte,   and 

Tyrol,    187-190, 

opinion  of  Lady 
risked  by  Nelson 
450;   anecdote  of 

,  British  captain, 
son    in    boarding 
"las'    and    "San 
238;   commands 
the  "  Vanguard," 
the  campaign  of 
),    284,   290,    294, 
[e  Battle  of    the 
0;  sent  to  Eng- 
:ches,  308;    com- 
ilroyant"  at    the 
Genereux,"  425- 
rc  of  the  "  Guil- 
431 ;  commands 
'    at   Trafalgar, 
rvices  of,  712. 
lard,   British   ad- 
]  in    the  "Mtdi- 
|war  with  France 
second  in  com- 


mand to  Nelson,  1803-1805,  576, 
588,  591,  613,  fil6,  625,  628,  641; 
left  in  command  by  Nelson,  upon 
his  departure  for  tlio  West  Indies. 
654,  672,  674;  joins  Colliugwood 
before  Cadiz,  689 ;  returns  to  Eng- 
land, ill,  just  before  Trafalgar, 
692. 

Blackwood,  Sir  Henry,  British  captain 
distinguished  part  taken  in  the  cap- 
ture of  the  "  (juillaume  Tell,"  431, 
684 ;  arrives  in  Loudon  with  news 
that  the  combined  fleets  are  in 
Cadiz,  684 ;  interviews  with  Nelson, 
684  ;  commands  advanced  squadron 
of  frigates  off  Cadiz,  692,  708,  711. 
714-718;  last  day  spent  with  Nel- 
son, 721-726,  729-732 ;  witnesses 
the  "  Codicil  "to  Nelson's  will,  722- 
723;  special  mark  of  confidence 
shown  liim  by  Nelson,  724 ;  Nel- 
son's farewell  to  him,  731. 

Bolton,  Susannah,  Nelson's  sister, 
relations  of,  with  Lady  Nelson  and 
Lady  Hamilton,  452,  556. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  decisive  influ- 
ence of  Nelson  upon  the  career  of, 
82,  83,  187,  458,  459,  506,  507,  632- 
635,  646,  660,  668,  672 ;  indicates  tlie 
key  of  the  defences  of  Toulon,  100; 
opinions  upon  operations  in  Italv, 
159,  160,  164,  166,  168,  177,  183, 
184,  187,  334,  337;  command  of 
Army  of  Italy,  187;  defeats  Beau- 
lieu,  advances  to  tiie  Adige,  and 
establishes  tlie  Frencli  position  in 
Nortl.ciu  Italy,  187-190,  194,  195, 
197;  fortifies  the  coast-line  of  the 
liiviera,  190,  194;  seizes  Leghorn, 
197-199,  201 ;  contrasted  with  Nel- 
son, 200,  201,  220,  514,  515,  551  ; 
overthrows  Wurmser,  203,  205; 
effect  of  his  campaign  in  Italy 
upon  the  career  of  Nelson,  206,  207, 
272 ;  forces  Genoa  to  close  her  ports 
to  Great  Britain,  209 ;  sails  on  the 
Egyptian  Expedition,  276,  278,  281, 
283-285, 287-290 ;  landing  in  Egypt, 
290 ;  Nelson's  appreciation  of  the  ef- 
fect upon,  by  the  Battle  of  the  Nile, 
312,316.  348,  419-422;  expedition 
into  Syria,  418;  escape  from  Egypt 
to  France,  U9,  after  defeating  a 
Turkish  army  in  Aboukir  Bay,  419 ; 
defeats  Austrian?  at  Marengo,  436 ; 
influence  upon  the  formation  of  the 


Baltic  Coalition,  458,  459;  threats 
of  invading  England,  1801, 506-509 ; 
his  dominant  situation  on  the  Conti- 
nent in  1803,557-564;  firmness  of 
intention  to  invade  England,  1803- 
1805,  561-564,  567,  578,  586;  his 
policy  and  Nelson's  counter  pro- 
jects, 560-564 ;  Nelson's  singularly 
accurate  prediction  of  future  of, 
564,  630 ;  Nelson's  intuitive  recogni- 
tion of  i)robable  action  of,  630,  635  ; 
vast  combinations  for  invasion  of 
England,  632-636,  646,  647;  his 
understanding  of  the  value  of  sea- 
power  evidenced,  644. 

"  Boreas,"  British  frigate,  commanded 
by  Nelson,  1784-1787,  38-56,  80. 

Brereton,  British  general,  erroneous 
information  sent  to  Nelson,  658- 
660;  Nelson's  expressions  of  annoy- 
ance, 660,  667,  669,  675;  comment 
upon  his  mistake,  675,  note. 

Bronte,  Duke  of,  Sicilian  title  and  es- 
tate conferred  upon  Nelson,  406 ;  his 
form  of  signature  afterwards,  406 
and  note. 

Brueys,  French  admiral,  commander- 
in-chief  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile, 
295 ;  his  dispositions  for  action, 
295-296. 

Bruix,  French  admiral,  commander- 
in-chief  of  a  French  fleet  entering 
the  Mediterranean  from  Brest,  357, 
362,  364, 366 ;  effect  of  his  approach 
upon  proceedings  in  Naples,  393 ; 
his  return  to  Brest,  397,  399;  Nel- 
son's comment  upon  his  conduct, 
586. 

"  Bucentaure,"  French  flagship  at 
Trafalgar,  Nelson's  encounter  with, 
731-733;  surrender  of,  737. 


Cadiz,  Nelson's  visit  to,  88  ;  his  opera- 
tions before,  under  Jervis,  244-246, 
247-250 ;  his  watch  before,  prior  to 
Trafalgar,  693,  707-711;  effect  of 
position  of,  upon  the  Battle  of 
Trafalgar,  718,  720,  721,  727. 

"  ^a  Ira,"  French  ship-of-the-line.  Nel- 
son's action  with,  in  the  "  Agamem- 
non," 139-141  ;  his  credit  for,  147. 

Calder,  Sir  Robert,  British  admiral, 
captain  of  the  fleet  at  the  Battle 
of  St.  Vincent,  240.  241  ;  his  inde- 
cisive action  with  the  allied  fleets, 


I  I 


748 


INDEX 


li 


in  1805,  666,  671 ;  popular  outcrv 
against,  667,  673,  679,  704 ;  Nelson's 
relations  with,  376,  679,  683,  704- 
707 ;  recalled  to  England  for  trial, 
704. 

Calvi,  town  in  Corsica,  Nelson  at  the 
siege  of,  116-126;  loses  there  his 
right  eye,  119. 

Canary  Islands.     See  Teiieriffe. 

Capcl,  Thomas  B.,  British  captain, 
bearer  of  despatches  after  the  Bat- 
tle of  the  Nile,  308, 317;  mentioned, 
303,  note,  589. 

"  Captain,"  British  sliip-of-t  he-line, 
carries  Nelson's  broad  pendant  as 
commodore,  196;  at  tlie  Battle  of 
St.  Vincent,  231-237  ;  injuries  re- 
ceived there,  243 ;  Nelson  (piits  her 
for  the  "  Theseus,"  243,  247. 

C'araccidlo,  Francesco,  commodore  in 
the  Xeajwlitan  navy,  wounded  feel- 
ings at  tlio  distrust  of  his  Court, 
334  ;  approiiension,  trial,  and  execu- 
tion of,  389-390;  comments  upon 
Nelson's  i)art  in  tliis  transaction, 
390-393. 

Castlereagli,  Lord,  British  Minister, 
Nelson's  slirewd  prediction  to  him 
of  tlie  results  of  tiie  Orders  in 
Council  affecting  neutral  flags,  and 
of  tlie  License  System,  085. 

Clarence,  Duke  of.  See  William 
Henry. 

Codringtou,  Edward,  British  captain, 
expressions  quoted  :  about  Nelson's 
seamanship,  13  ;  his  family  ties  and 
love  of  glory,  61,  553;  appearance 
of  Nelson's  ships,  650 ;  graciousue.ss 
c  f  Nelson's  bearing,  694. 

Colliiigwood,  Cuthbert.  British  ad- 
miral, dose  connection  between  his 
career  and  that  of  Nelson,  18; 
strong  expression  of  regard  for 
Nelson  21 ;  association  with  Nelson 
in  the  West  Indies,  45  and  note,  46, 
54 ;  at  the  Battle  of  Cape  St.  Vin- 
cent, 230,  233,  236,  240,  241  ;  strong 
expression  upon  tiie  credit  due  to 
Nelson,  232  ;  his  account  of  Nelson's 
cold  reception  at  Court,  in  1800, 
447 ;  sent  from  England  to  West 
Indies  in  1805,  669;  hearing  that 
Nelson  is  gone  thither,  takes  posi- 
tion off  Cadiz  instead,  669 ;  corre- 
spondence with  Nelson  on  his  return, 
669-671;  left  by  Nelson  in  charge 


off  Cadiz,  674,  675  ;  force  collected 
under,  when  allies  enter  Cadiz,  689 ; 
characteristics,  693  ;  part  assigned 
to,  by  Nelson,  for  Trafalgar,  702- 
703  ;  his  part  at  Trafalgar,  718-720, 
725,  727,  730,  731  ;  Nelson's  praise 
of,  731  ;  his  sympathy  with  Nelson, 
731 ;  notified  of  Nelson's  fatal 
wound,  739. 

Convoys,  Nelson's  comments  on  the 
behavior  of,  28 ;  gives  one  to  Ameri- 
can merchant  ships  againsv  French 
privateers,  247  ;  ditHculty  of  provid- 
ing in  the  Mediterranean,  610-612. 

Copenhagen,  defences  of,  in  1801,  466, 
473,  474,  477,  478 :  Battle  of.  Nel- 
son's jdaus  for,  477-479;  the  battle, 
479-487 ;  importance  and  diliicultv 
of  tlie  achievement,  488,  489 ;  fail- 
ure of  the  British  Government  to 
reward,  489,  542  ;  silence  of  the  city 
of  London,  542 ;  Nelson's  action, 
542-546. 

Corfu,  transferred,  with  the  other 
Ionian  Islands,  from  Venice  to 
France,  271  ;  Nelson's  concern  for, 
after  the  Battle  of  tiie  Nile,  315, 
347,  348;  taken  hy  Kusso-Turkish 
forces,  347 ;  British  precautions 
against  re-occupation  by  French, 
561  ;  concern  of  Nelson  for,  while 
commander-in-ciiief  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, 1803-1805,  564,  566,  571, 
631;  resort  of  privateers,  610; 
Napoleon's  estimate  of,  631. 

Cornwaliis,  William,  British  admiral, 
kindness  to  Nelson  in  early  life,  26 
and  note,  39 ;  Nelson  directed  to 
communicate  with,  off  Brest  in 
1803, 565 ;  orders  seizure  of  Spanish 
treasure-ships,  618  ;  Nelson  directs 
that  the  order  be  disobeyed,  618; 
services  of,  off  Brest,  634* ;  Nelson 
joins,  off  Brest,  on  return  from 
West  Indies,  672,  675 ;  authorizes 
Nelson  to  return  to  England,  675.  ■ 

Correspondence,  Nelson's  extensive, 
while  ia  the  Mediterranean,  566; 
his  manner  of  conducting,  602-605. 

Corsica,  Island  of.  Nelson  ordered  to 
coast  of,  98,  99 ;  Nelson's  connection 
with  operations  there  in  1794,  101- 
126;  strategic  value  of,  to  British, 
132-135  ;  government  as  a  British 
de])endency,  135 ;  dissatisfaction  of 
natives  with  British  rule,  197;  ten- 


INDEX 


740 


force  collected 
iter  Cadiz,  689 ; 
part  assigued 
rrafalgar,  702- 
falgar,  718-720, 
Nelson's  praise 
ly  with  Nelson, 
Nelson's    fatal 

mments  on  the 
38  one  to  Ameri- 
againsi  French 
culty  of  pro V  id- 
mean,  610-612. 
of,  in  1801,466, 
Battle  of,  Nel- 
■479 ;  the  battle, 
;e  and  diflicultv 
,  488,  489;  fail- 
Government  to 
ilence  of  the  city 
Nelson's  action, 

with   the    other 
rom    Venice    to 
m's  concern  for, 
f  the  Nile,  315, 
y  liusso-Turkish 
,ish    precautions 
ion    by   French, 
elson  for,  while 
in  the  Mediter- 
564,   566,   571, 
irivateers,    610; 
d  of,  631. 
[British  admiral, 
in  early  life,  26 
,son  directed  to 
I,    off    Brest    in 
iizure  of  Spanish 
Nelson  directs 
disobeved,  618; 
ist,  634" ;  Nelson 
m    return  from 
[675  ;  authorizes 
England,  675. 
ion's    extensive, 
[terranean,  566 ; 
Ucting,  602-605. 
Ison  ordered  to 
son's  connection 
Ire  in  1794,  101- 
3  of,  to  British, 
■nt  aa  a  British 
ssatisfaction  of 
rule,  197 ;  teu- 


uic  of,  ueitcndent  on  support  of  tlie 
natives,  200 ;  abandonment  of,  bv 
the  Britisli,  210,  214-217;  tlireat- 
cncd  invasion  of  Sardinia  from, 
578. 

("uricux,"  Briti.sh  brig  of  war, 
sent  by  Nelson  to  Kiigland  from 
West  Indies  with  news  of  ids  move- 
ments, 661  ;  fiiils  in  with  combined 
fleets,  671;  Nelson's  comment  on 
licaring  tlio  fact,  671,  673. 


Davi.-on,  Alexander,  intimate  friend 
of  Nelson,  Nelson  expresses  de- 
spondency to,  353 ;  tlie  "  Lady  of 
the  Admiralty's "  coolness,  440 ; 
account  given  by,  of  George  III. 
speaking  of  Nelson,  447 ;  Nelson's 
mention  of  Sir  Hyde  Parker  to,  462, 
463,  405,  544;  aids  Nelson  pecuni- 
tariiy,  526 ;  charged  by  Nelson  witii 
a  final  message  to  Lady  Nelson,  531  ; 
Nelson's  expressions  to,  about  St. 
Vincent,  543 ;  about  treatment  of 
himself  bv  the  government,  549 ; 
"Salt  bee'f  and  tiie  French  fleet," 
656 ;  about  General  Brereton,  675. 

De  Vins,  Austrian  general,  commands 
on  tlie  Hiviera  in  1795,  159;  Nel- 
son's association  with,  159,  105-168, 
and  opinion  of,  108. 

Dresden,  Nelson's  visit  to,  in  1800, 
441-443. 

Drinkwater,  Colonel,  returns  from 
Ellia  in  frigate  witli  Nelson,  1797, 
223 ;  inciilents  narrated  of  tlie  voy- 
age, 227-229 ;  witnesses  tiie  Battle 
of  St.  Vincent,  240 ;  interview  with 
Nelson  after  the  battle,  242 ;  char- 
acteristic anecdote  of  Nelson,  204. 

Duckworth,  Sir  J.  T.,  British  admiral, 
association  with  Nelson  during 
operations  in  the  Mediterranean, 
1 799,  358,  300,  362,  394,  409. 

Dundas,  British  general,  command- 
ing troops  in  Corsica,  104 ;  con- 
troversy with  Lord  Hood,  104;  Nel- 
son's opinion,  104. 


Egypt,  Bonaparte's  expedition  to, 
in  1798,  276-290;  Nelson's  pursuit, 
280-282,  283-289;  Nelson's  con- 
stant attention  to,  316,  340,  348, 
560,  562,  575,  577,  584,  585,  580, 


021,  039,  640,  043-645,  048,  fif.o; 
his  urgency  that  tiie  French  army 
be  not  })orniitted  to  leave,  420-422. 

EI  Arish,  Convention  of,  signed,  421. 

Klba,  i.sland  of.  Nelson's  ojnnion  of 
importance  of,  202 ;  liis  .seizure  of, 
202  ;  evjicnati(m  of,  221-225,  245. 

"  Elej)iiant,"  British  shi|)-of-tho-liiic, 
Nelson's  flagship  at  Cojieniiagen, 
472,  475,  479-487. 

Klgin,  Earl  of,  British  ambassador  to 
'J'urkey,  opinion  upon  the  state  of 
things  at  Palermo  during  Nelson's 
residence  there,  340 ;  Nelson's 
divergence  of  ojiinion  from,  con- 
cerning the  French  quitting  Egvpt, 
420-422. 

Elliot,  Sir  Gilliert,  afterwards  Lord 
Minto,  Britisli  representative  in 
Cor-sica,  1794,  102;  Viceroy  of 
Corsica,  131  ;  friendship  between 
him  and  Nelson,  131,  235,  240,  242, 
535,  617,  682;  Nelson's  corrr  pond- 
ence  with,  147,  173,  202,  204,  235, 
240,  304,  407,  427,  435,  583,  617; 
directs  the  seizure  of  Elba  by  Nelson, 
202  ;  present  at  the  evacuation  of 
Corsica,  215,  and  of  Elba,  223; 
passage  with  Nelson  to  Gibraltar, 
223-229  ;  witnesses  the  Battle  of  St. 
Vincent,  235,  240 ;  advocacy  of 
Nelson's  claims  to  distinction,  242, 
346  ;  incidental  mention  of  Nelson 
by,  203,  433,  442,  483,  .536,  551, 
552,  066,  682,  087,  089 ;  mention  of 
Lady  Hamilton  by,  325-327,  442, 
.536,  082,  689;  'ambassador  to 
Vienna,  339,  note. 

Elliot,  Hugh,  British  minister  .at 
Dresden  during  Nelson's  visit  in 
1800.  441-442  ;  minister  to  the  two 
Sicilies  during  Nelson's  Mediter- 
ranean command,  1803-1805,  500, 
668  ;  takes  passage  out  with  Nelson, 
500  ;  correspondence  between  Nel- 
son and,  quoted,  507,  508,  570, 
584,  585,  588,  590,  604,  614,  624, 
628,  629,  648,  603,  668,  686. 

Este,  Lainbton,  association  with  Nel- 
son mentioned,  621-623. 


Fischer,  Commodore,  commander- 
in-chief  of  Danish  fleet  at  the  Bsvttle 
of  Copenhagen,  485 ;  Nelson's  con- 
troversy with,   on  account    of  his 


750 


INDEX 


official  report  of  tho  l)attlo,  497- 
498. 

Fitxharris,  Lord,  Britisli  attai'liu  at 
Vienna  chiriii^  Nelson's  visit,  1800, 
anecdotes  of  Nelson  and  of  Ladv 
Hamilton,  439,  440. 

Flaj?  of  Truce,  incident  of  the',  at 
(Copenhagen,  48.5-488. 

"  Fleet  in  Heinf?,"  indications  of  Nel- 
son's proi)al)lo  opinion  of  its  deter- 
rent effect,  115-117,  1.36,  l.W,  loC), 
167,  168,  181,  182,  184,  185,  186, 
19.'J,  661-665. 

Freinantle,  Hritisli  captain,  with  Nel- 
son, at  Teneriffe,  256-260;  at 
Copenhagen,  475 ;  letter  from  Nel- 
son to,  concerning  Calder,  676. 

Frigates,  Nelson's  sense  of  the  impor- 
tance of,  and  of  small  cruLscrs 
generally,  289,  290,  291,  610-613, 
638,  655,  689,  708,  709. 


"  G6nI:reux,"  French  shii>of-the-line, 
escape  of,  after  the  Buttle  of  the 
Nile,  305,  306;  capture  of  tiie 
"  Leauder  "  by,  308,  347  ;  captured 
by  Nelson's  squadron  off  Malta,  425- 
428. 

Genoa,  importance  of,  to  the  South  of 
France,  9'",  91  ;  difficult  neutrality 
of,  134,  13.5,  157-164,  169-171,  186, 
'•^0,  192-194,  199,  336;  closes  her 
ports  against  Great  Britain,  1796, 
208-209  ;  siege  of  city,  in  1800,  428 ; 
surrender  of,  hy  Massena,  436 ; 
identified  with  France  as  the 
Liguriau  Republic,  559,  560 ;  ports 
of,  blockaded  by  Nelson,  591,  599, 
600. 

George  III.,  King  of  Great  Britain, 

f»rejudice  of,  against  Nelson  in  early 
ife,  75,  76,  243  ;  subsequent  appro- 
bation, 151,  243,  263;  interest  in 
Nelson  manifested  by,  447  ;  subse- 
quent coldness  of,  toward  Nelson, 
apparently  in  c.onseciuence  of  his 
relations  to  Lady  Hamilton,  447. 

Gillespie,  Dr.,  account  of  life  oa  board 
Nelson's  flagship  by,  594-596,  607, 
615. 

Goodall,  Admiral,  at  the  partial  fleet 
actiou  of  Marcii  14,  1795,  143,  144  ; 
his  suj)pt)rt  of  Nelson  when  under 
public  censure  for  failure  to  find  the 
French  fleet,  286. 


Gore,  British  captain,  comrruiiids 
squadron  of  frigates  under  Nelson's 
or<lers,  outside  Straits  of  (iibraltar, 
612  ,  letter  of  Nelson  to,  concerning 
three  frigates  attacking  ,a  sliij^of- 
theline,  613  ;  ordered  by  Nelson  to 
disobey  orders  of  Admiral  Corn- 
wallis  to  seize  Spanish  treasure- 
ships,  618. 

(Jraves,  Bear  Admiral,  .second  to  Nel- 
son at  tiie  Battle  of  ('openhagen, 
475,  482;  ma<lo  Knight  of  tho  Batli 
in  reward  for  the  action,  489. 

Gravina,  Spanish  admiral,  commander 
of  the  Spanish  contingent,  and 
second  in  command  of  the  com- 
bined fleet,  at  Trafalgar,  713,  718, 
720,  741. 

Greville,  Charles,  nephew  to  Sir 
William  Hamilton,  relations  of, 
to  Kmnia  Hart,  afterwards  Lady 
Hamilton,  319-325. 


Hallowell,  British  captain,  under 
Nelson  at  the  siege  of  ("alvi,  119; 
commands  the  "  Swiftsure  "  at  the 
Battle  of  the  Nile,  302. 

Hamilton,  Emma,  Lady,  Nelson's  first 
meeting  with,  94  ;  letter  of  Nelson 
to,  291  ;  conduct  of,  in  Naples,  ui>on 
receipt  of  news  of  tiio  Battle  of  tho 
Nile,  317;  Nelson's  second  meeting 
witii,  318  ;  previous  hi-<tory  of,  319- 
325  ;  married  to  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton, 323  ;  personal  api)earance  and 
characteristics,  325-327,  328-330, 
441-443,  .532,  536,  594,  682,  689; 
influence  at  Court  of  Naples,  327, 
364,  393 ;  influence  upon  Nelson, 
330-332,   393,  394,  395,  424,   428- 

429,  437,  438,  439,  471,  686-687; 
intermediary  between  the  Court  and 
Nelson,  333,  364,  366 ;  efficiency  dur- 
ing tho  flight  of  the  Court  from 
Naples,  338 ;  scandal  concerning 
her   relati(jns  to   Nelson,    339-341, 

430,  433,  434,  446-448,  536,  555, 
556;  love  of  play,  340,  440;  Nel- 
son's infatuation  for,  32.5,  361,  393, 
428,  4.30,  433,  4-34,  437,  439, 440,  449, 
450,  471,  480,  .536,  682:  v  ith  Sir 
William  Hamilton  accomv.iuies  Nel- 
son to  Naples  in  flagship,  367 ; 
usefulness  tiiere,  395 ;  Nelson  asks 
of  the  Czar  insignia  of  the  Order 


INDEX 


?M 


mitlcr  Nt'lsDn'rt 
ts  of  i;il>r:ilt!ir, 
I  to,  conc(>riiiM<? 
king  a  Hliip-of- 
(l  l)v  Nelson  to 
Admiral  Corii- 
laiiisli  treasure- 

,  second  to  Nol- 
)[  Coix'iihagnn, 
irht  of  the  liatli 
lion,  48'.). 
ii-ivl,  loniinandor 
•ontingfMit,  and 
(I  of  tli((  coni- 
in\ff\r,  7i;J,  718, 

nephew  to  Sir 
I,  relations  of, 
ifterwards  Lady 


I  captain,  under 
c  of  ("alvi,  119; 
wiftsure  "  at  tlio 
302. 

idv,  Nclson'.s  first 
letter  of  Nelson 
:,  in  Naples,  njion 
[the  Hattle  of  the 
second  meeting 
history  of,  •'H'J- 
William  Ilaniil- 
appcarance  and 
5-327,    328-330, 
.594,  682,  689; 
of  Naples,  327, 
•e   upon   Nelson, 
395,  424,   428- 
(,   471,   686-687; 
|eu  the  Court  and 
|6 ;  efficiency  dnr- 
Ithe  Court  from 
lidal    concerning 
L'elson,    339-341, 
,-448,    536,    555, 
,  340,  440;  Nel- 
r,  32.5,  361,  393, 
fj7,  4.39, 440,  449. 
G82  :  V  ith  Sir 
.ccomv.iuies  Nel- 
flagship,    367 ; 
j5  ;  Nelson  asks 
ia  of  the  Order 


of  Malta  for,  413;  accompanies 
Nelson,  witii  her  hnsl>an(l,  on  a 
trip  to  Malta,  434,  and  on  the  re- 
turn journey  to  England,  435-443  ; 
her  reception  hy  the  London  worM, 
440-448*  536  ;  Lady  Nelson's  atti- 
tude towards,  444-^46,  449,  4,)0 ; 
attitude  of  Nelson's  father  towards, 
452,  554;  of  otiier  members  of 
Nelson's  family,  452,  550,  682 ; 
believed  hy  Nelson  to  ho  the  motlier 
of  lloratia, 453-455 ;  Nelson's  letters 
to,  during  Copenhagen  expedition, 
403,  464,  466,  472,  480,  494,  495,  499, 
504,  531  ;  letters  to,  while  com- 
mauding  preparations  .against  inva- 
sion, 521,  522,  521-526,  531,  532; 
purchases  the  Merton  property  for 
Nelson,  532-535 ;  disturbed  relations 
with  her  husband,  532-533;  death 
of  husband,  555  ;  Nelson's  letters  to, 
during  his  command  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, 1803-1805,  570,  593  594, 
622,  624,  642,  693,  704,  705;  Nel- 
son's anxiety  about  confinement  of, 
583;  birth  of  a  second  child,  583; 
allowance  made  by  Nelson  to,  615; 
Nelson's  last  letter  to,  714;  be- 
queathed by  Nelson  to  his  Country, 
723,  735,  740  ;  mentioned  by  Nel- 
son, when  dying,  738,  740. 
Hamilton,  Sir'  William,  IJritish  min- 
ister to  N.aples,  Nelson's  first  a.s.so- 
ciation  with,  94;  Nelson's  corre- 
spondence with,  during  the  Nile 
campaign,  280,  281,  282,  291-293, 
315,  318;  Nelson's  association  with, 
while  in  command  in  Neapolitan 
waters,  1798-1800,  318,  331,  "  ■ 
334,  336,  338-341,  366,  367,  . 
374,  377-379,  387,  39.5,  421,  4  J, 
427-430,  434;  relations  to  Anjy 
Lyon,  otherwise  Emma  Ilart,  prior 
to  their  marriage,  321-323;  mar- 
riage to  Emma  Hart,  323;  oner- 
ous increase  of  diplom.atic  duties 
after  the  French  Kevolution  began, 
328;  influence  of  Lady  Hamilton 
upon,  328,  333,  340,  442 ;  apparent 
unfitness  for  his  position,  328,  340, 
341 ;  accomp.iuies  Nelson  to  Naples 
in  flagship,  367 ;  assertion  of  Nelson's 
full  powers  at  this  time  by,  387 ;  share 
of,  in  the  transactions  at  Naples, 
395 ;  recalled  to  England,  434 ;  ac- 
companied by  Nelson  on  return  to 


England.  43.'l-4^'^3 ;  Nelson  takes 
up  his  residence  wiiii,  529 ;  with 
Lady  Hamilton  goes  to  live  witli 
Ni'lson  at  Merton,  5.12;  disturbed 
relations  of,  witli  iiis  wile,  53.3-535  ; 
dcatii  of,  5."i5 ;  his  ))rofessed  confi- 
dence in  Nelson,  550. 

Hardy,  Captain  Thomas  M  ,  captured 
in  the  prize  "  Sabina,"  222 ;  ex- 
changed, 225  ;  narrow  escape  from 
recapture,  227  ;  commander  of  the 
brig  "Mutinc,"  270;  accomj)anirs 
Nelson  in  IJaltic  exj)edition,  400, 
470;  continuous  association  with 
Nelson  after  St.  Vincent,  737 ; 
presence  at  Nelson's  death-bed, 
737-740;  incidctitaliv  mentioned, 
.595,  0(«,  013,  091,  717,  722,  720, 
732-735,  737. 

Hart,  Emma,  name  assumed  by  Lady 
Hamilton,  j)rior  to  marriage,' 32 1. 

Haslewood,  anecdote  of  final  brtjach 
between  Lord  and  J^adv  Nelson, 
450. 

Ilillyar,  Ca])tain  James,  anecdotes  of 
Nelson,  5.53,  note,  000-008. 

"llinchinbrook,"  Hritisii  frigate,  com- 
manded by  Nelson  in  yimth,  18-20; 
singular  coincidence  tiiat  both  Nel- 
son and  Collingwood  were  made 
post  into  tliis  sliip,  18. 

Hood,  Admiral,  Lord,  opinion  of  Nel- 
son in  early  life,  29;  Nelson  obtains 
transfer  of  his  shij)  to  tiio  fleet  of, 
31-.'53  ;  relations  of  Nelson  with, 
prior  to  Ercncii  Kevohuion,  32,  .'i.i, 
35,  39,  59,  75,  7(5,  92;  api)ointod  to 
command  the  Mediterranean  fleet, 
1793,  87;  services  off  Toulon,  88- 
100;  employs  Nelson  on  detached 
service,  at  Naples,  92,  at  Tunis,  97, 
anmnd  Corsicta,  97-103 ;  redii-tion 
of  Corsica,  101-126;  return  to  Eng- 
land, 126,  127;  removed  from  the 
Mediterranean  command,  149 ;  Ned- 
son's  opinion  of,  102,  149,  150; 
Nelsrn's  relations  with,  during  his 
Medi  erranean  comman  .,  90,  99, 
102,  !04,  100,  120;  at  siege  of  Ras- 
tia,  10-112;  at  siege  of  Calvi,  121, 
123;  inadccjuate  mention  of  Nid- 
son's  services  in  Corsica  by.  1  i:i-l  14, 
1.30,  131 ;  differences  with  Colonel 
Moore,  122-124;  opinion  of  Nel- 
son's merits  at  the  Kattle  of  the 
Nile,  308-310;   presents  Nelson  iu 


752 


INDKX 


'1^ 


tho  IIouso  of  I'ecrs,  when  taking 
his  sent  as  a  viscount,  541. 

Hood,  (.'ajitain  Sir  Saniiicl,  pilots 
Nelson's  Heefc  into  Ahonkir  Hav, 
297;  share  of,  in  the  IJattle  of  tlH! 
Nile,  298,  299, ;}()();  left  to  liloekade 
Alexandria,  31.'J,  '\:i') ;  incidentally 
menti.med,  ,144,  .'UCi,  5  {9. 

Iloratia,  Nt  Isoii's  dan<i;liter,  liirlli  of, 
45.'i;  mentioned,  451,  5!»4,  rt90 ; 
Nelson's  last  letter  to,  715  ;  desired 
by  him  tonse  the  name  of"  Nelson  " 
only,  715;  hecinoathed  by  Nelson  to 
his  Country,  72.'},  7.'J5  ;  mentioned 
l)y  Nelson  in  dyiiif^,  710. 

lloste,  Captain  William,  midshipman 
witli  Nelson  from  179;i  to  1797,  260; 
describes  Nelson's  return  on  oard 
wounded,  after  the  affair  at  Santa 
Cruz,  260 ;  lieutenant,  and  com- 
nian<ler  of  the  "  Mutine,"  317;  re- 
ception at  Naples  by  I^ady  Hamil- 
ton, 317;  curious  anecdote  of,  627- 
028. 

Ilotliain,  Vico-Admiral,  second  in 
command  to  Lord  Hood,  mistaken 
action  of,  115,  116;  Nelson's  com- 
ment on,  115,  128;  succeeds  Hood 
as  commander-in-chief,  127;  en- 
counter with  French  Touhm  fleet, 
137-145  ;  Nelson's  urgency  with,  143, 
and  criticism  of  iiis  action  in  this  case, 
144-146;  inadequate  military  con- 
ceptions of,  140, 155,  169;  ditficulties 
of,  recoa;ni7,e(l  by  Nelson,  146 ; 
second  encounter  with  the  French, 
151-154;  incompetent  action,  and 
Nelson's  criticism,  153-155;  dis- 
astrous results  of  inefficiency  of, 
155,  156,  169,  173,  179;  sends' Nel- 
son to  co-operate  witli  Austrians  on 
tho  liiviora,  157;  Nelson's  opinion 
of  his  "political  courage,"  161; 
personal  dislike  to  co-operation  of, 
163,  168  and  note;  !nade([uate  suj)- 
port  given  to  Nelson  by,  108,  169, 
172;  Nelson's  opinion  of  the  coiiso- 
qnent  mishaps,  155,  169,  170,  177; 
relieved  by  Sir  Hyde  Parker,  170. 

Hotliam,  Sir  William,  criticism  of 
Nelson's  conduct  towards  Lady  Nel- 
son, 448  ;  mention  of  Lady  Nelson's 
conduct  after  the  separation,  450; 
Nelson's  aptitude  at  forwarding 
public  service,  599. 

Howe,  Admiral,  Lord,  appoints  Nel- 


son to  the  command  of  tho  "  Boreas," 
38 ;  kind  rocejaion  of  Nelson  iu 
1787,  70;  victory  of  Juno  Ist,  1794, 
Nelson's  oj)inion  of,  128;  Nelson's 
exincssion  to,  abtnit  the  Battle  of 
tlui  Nile,  304  ;  opinion  of,  concern- 
ing the  liattle  of  tlie  Nile,  305,  311, 

Hughes,  Sir  Hicliard,  commanderin- 
cliief  of  tho  Leeward  Islands  Station, 
1784-1786,  39;  Nelson's  difficulties 
with,  42-45,  and  40-50;  his  attitudo 
towards  Nelson  in  tho  matter  of 
enforcing  tho  Navigation  Act,  50, 
52,  54  ;  Nelson's  reconciliation  with, 
62. 

Hughes,  Lady,  account  of  Nelson  as  a 
very  yonng  captain,  39. 


IoNiA>f  TsLAxns,  Corfu,  etc.,  objects 
of  Nelson's  solicitude,  315,  335,  347, 
348,  030,  631  ;  Kussian  occupation 
of,  347,  416;  importance  of,  to 
Bonaparte,  563,  504,  571,  610;  tem- 
porary political  name  of  Kepublic 
of  the  Seven  Lslands,  560. 

Ireland,  Nelson's  speculations  as  to 
Bona))arte's  intenti(ms  against,  584, 
585,  649,  673;  CoUingwood's,  669, 
670. 


Jeuvis,  Admiral  Sir  John,  afterwards 
Karl  of  St.  Vincent,  29;  com- 
mander-in-chief in  the  West  Indies, 
98 ;  commander-in-chief  in  tho 
Mediterranean,  174,  180;  Nelson's 
first  meeting  with,  183  ;  desire  of,  to 
have  Nelson  remain  under  his  com- 
mand, 184,  195,  218;  his  close 
blockade  of  Toulon,  190,  206;  Nel- 
son's lofty  opinion  of,  208,  212; 
forced  to  concentrate  his  fleet  owing 
to  the  attitude  of  Spain,  209,  210; 
einbarrassinent  caused  to,  by  conduct 
of  Admiral  Man,  209,  210;  ordered 
to  evacuate  the  Mediterranean,  210 ; 
retires  to  Gibraltar,  216 ;  sends  Nel- 
son back  to  superintem'  the  evacua- 
tion of  Elba,  221  ;  his  opinions  of 
Nelson,  as  expressed,  223,  240,  241, 
251,  2.55,  261,  276,  311,  345,  462, 
494,  .504,  505,  500,  572,  573;  re- 
joined bv  Nelson,  off  Cape  St.  Vin- 
cent,   229;     Battle    of    Cape    St 


'.*•, 


INDEX 


E  tlio  "  U«>rc;i8," 
of   Nelnoii   iu 

Tuiio  1st,  1794, 
l'>8;  Nelson's 
tlio  lliUtlo  of 

on  of,  roiiccrii- 

Nile,  ;u)r),  ;ni. 

coiiiiniiiMlcrin- 
IsIjiihIh  Station, 
lon'M  (liflicultios 
;)0;  liis  iittitndo 

tlio  mutter  of 
[Tixtion  Ai't,  50, 
jnciliatiou  with, 

t  of  Nelson  as  a 
,39. 


•fa,  etc.,  objects 
le,  315,  ?3r),  347, 
ssian  occupation 
])ortance  of,  to 
i,  571,  610;  tem- 
inie  of  Kepnblic 
Is,  566. 

oculations  as  to 
ions  against,  584, 
(Uingwood's,  669, 


[john,  afterwards 
cent,    29;     coni- 
the  West  Indies, 
In-chief     in    the 
,,  180;  Nelson's 
83  ;  desire  of,  to 
li  inider  his  com- 
1218;     his    close 
I,  196,  206;  Nel- 
1    of,    208,    212; 
e  his  fleet  owing 
Ipain,  209,210; 
^(1  to,  by  conduct 
i9,  216;  ordered 
kerranean,  210; 
[216;  sends  Ncl- 
lend  the  evacna- 
Ihis  opinions  of 
|l,  223,  240,  241, 
311,   345,   462, 
572,   573;    re- 
Cape  St.  Viu- 
of    Cape    St 


Vincent,  229-238;  o|)("riilions  after 
tl>c  batth',  244-246;  Mnrkude  and 
boniltarihncnt    of    Ciuli/,,    247-2.'>l  ; 


.sj-nds  Nelson  to  'IVnt  riff<',  2.' 


256 ; 


n<ls  iNcison  to  itMitriiic,  'J.>;>, 
synipatliy  witli  NcLsim  in  iiis  (b  tVat 
and  wound,  )iy\\  ;  created  Karl  of 
St.  Vincent,  2t>l  ;  rejoined  \\\  Nel- 
son after  convaleseence,  265;  ex- 
pressions of  satisfaction  thereat, 
265;  aversion  of,  to  extending  the 
operations  of  the  lleet,  273;  .sends 
Nelson  to  watch  the  Toulon  anna- 
nient,  265,  276 ;  denounced  for 
choosing  ,so  young  a  flag-officer, 
288 ;  ojtinion  of  the  liattle  of  the 
Nile,  311  ;  orders  Nelson  to  return 
to  the  western  Mediterranean,  313  ; 
the  affair  of  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  343, 
344  ;  al)S(dute  confi'lt  ssce  of,  in  Nel- 
son, 350;  action  n|)on  ilie  incursion 
of  ilruix's  fleet,  360-;M)2  ;  gives  up 
the  command  of  the  .Mediterranean, 
363  ;  Nelson's  distress  and  vexation, 
363,628;  succeedett  in  command  by 
Lord  Keitii,  363,  366;  takes  com- 
mand of  (Miannel  Fleet,  1800,453; 
Nelson  joins  him  as  subordinate, 
453 ;  stern  resolution  in  face  of  the 
Baltic  Coalition.  460;  becomes  First 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  462;  Nel- 
son's gradual  alienation  from,  464, 
523,  524,  543,  544,  546,  .")4!>,  551  ; 
full  approval  of  Nelson's  course  in 
the  Haltic  by,  467,  4"t4 ;  indisposi- 
tion to  grant  rewards  for  services  at 
Copenhagen,  48'.>,  543.  544,  546; 
reluctance  to  relieve  Nelson,  504  ; 
insists  with  Nelson  that  Iu;  tnust  ac- 
cept and  retain  connnand  of  prepara- 
tions against  invasion,  506,  523,  528  ; 
correspondence  with  Nelson  on  this 
subject,  .506-511,  518,  519,  520,  522, 
526  ;  divergence  of  views  from  Nel- 
son's on  the  subject  of  a  flotilla, 
516,  517;  misun<lerstandiiig  be- 
tween Nelson  and,  on  the  sul)ject  of 
medals  for  Copenhagen,  .543,  544, 
546;  sends  Nelson  to  the  Alediterra- 
nean  as  commander-in-chief,  553; 
injury  to  Navy  from  excessive 
economy  of,  5.50,  571  ;  correspond- 
ence of  Nelson  with,  whib>  com- 
mander-in-chief iu  the  Mediterra- 
nean, (pioted,  565,  572,  573,  586  ; 
retires  from  the  Admiralty,  and 
succeeded  bv  Lord  Melville,  593. 


48 


Kkath,  Captain  Uithanl  (1.,  favorite 
with  Nel:<nn,  6.">4  ;  letters  fritni  Nil- 
sun  to,  tl,')4,  f).")7,  65S,  679. 

Keith,  .Vdniiral,  Kord,  secunil  in  com- 
manil  tnSt.  \ineent  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, 362;  St,  N'incent  ndin- 
(juishes  ciininiand  to,  364,  366; 
characteristits  i>f,  .364;  friction  be- 
tween NclsDU  and,  .'ltt4-.166  ;  advice 
of,  to  Nelson,  concerning  executions 
in  Naples,  394;  Nelson's  disolie- 
dienco  to  orders  of,  .396-404  ;  ]inr- 
snos  combined  fleets  to  Knglisli 
Channel,  ;i9S,  416;  inferiority  id", 
to  Nelson,  in  military  .«iagaeity*  400, 
437;  aiisence  from  Minliterranean 
j)rolonged,  40S  ;  resumes  coniiinin<l 
n\  the  Mediterranean,  423  ;  Ncdson's 
resentment  at  his  return,  407,  423  ; 
relations  between  the  two,  423,  427- 
4.30,  431,  435-437  ;  orders  Nel.son  to 
assume  ]iersonal  charge  of  blockade 
of  Malta,  428 ;  dissatisfacticju  of, 
with  Nelson's  course,  435-437  ;  dis- 
pleasure of  (^ueen  of  Najdes  with, 
4.37  ;  measures  of,  to  ])revent  French 
encroachments  during  I'eace  of 
i\ miens,  561  ;  suci:essful  resistiim-o 
of,  to  the  Admiralty's  attempt  to 
reduce  his  station,  61(). 

Kleber,  Frenidi  general,  succeeds 
IJonaparte  in  the  commaml  in 
Kgypt,  419;  convinced  of  the  hojie- 
lessness  of  retaining  Kgy]it,  419; 
makes  the  Convention  ot  Kl  Arish 
with  the  Turks,  421-422. 

Knight,  Mi.xs,  friend  and  companion 
of  the  Ilamiltons,  438  ;  accompanies 
them  and  Nelson  on  journey  to 
England  in  1800,  438-446  ;  incidents 
mentioned  bv,  relative  to  this  })eriod, 
438,4.39,446";  testimony  to  Nelson's 
love  for  his  wife,  ])rior  to  meeting 
with  Lady  Hamilton,  452. 


LATOiJcnE-TREViM.K,  French  ad- 
miral, in  comnnind  off  I'onlogne, 
and  successful  repiilse  of  British 
boats,  519-522,587  ;  in  command  of 
Toulon  fleet,  587  ;  Nelson's  attempts 
to  lure  out  of  ])()rt,  587-589,  590, 
5'.H  ;  repf>rts  that  Nelson  retreated 
before  him,  and  Nel.son's  wrath, 
590-591  ;  death  of,  623. 

Layman,  laeutenant,  and  Commander, 


*!  1 


764 


INDKX 


Horviiij^  with  Nrl.Huii  on  lidurd  llu' 
"St.  (it'orKf,"  IH01,4C.4;  aiiccilMtos 
ol  Ni'lscn  liv,  4ft4,4tlti,  r);i'.»,7(». ;  Iciscs 
tlio  liri^  "  llavfii  "  when  earn  in;; 
flespiitchcM,  042;  characi eristic  let 
tor  of  Nelson  in  l)ehall'  of,  ()4:2-()4.l. 

"  Loander,"  Mritisii  Hfty-;jun  ship, 
("anipaign  and  IJattK«  of  tiio  Nih', 
a7!t,  .'JOl,  .'lOa;  sent  with  dcspatelies 
to  (iil)raUar,  :WS  ;  caittured  l>y  tlie 
"  (Je'iK'rpux,"  .'JOH ;  reeaptnred  hy 
lliissians,  ami  restored  to  CJreat 
Britain,  347. 

Lefilinrn,  Nelson's  visits  to,  126,  128, 
137,  17S;  importance  of,  to  the 
French,  i;»4,  130,  ami  to  the  llrit- 
ish  licet,  137.  r.>7,  IDS;  occnpation 
of,  hv  jjonaparto,  in  179(1,  I'JH; 
hlock'ado  of,  hy  Nelson,  201-202; 
Nelson's  project  for  an  assanlt  of, 
203-20.') ;  ocenpatiim  of,  liv  Neapoli- 
tans, in  1708,  330,  348  ;' hlockado 
of,  recommended  hy  Nelson  in  1803, 
.').5!». 

Lindholm,  Danish  ofHcer,  aide-de- 
camp  to  Crown  I'rinco  at  the 
Battle  of  Copenhagen,  sent  to  Nel- 
son with  reply  to  the  message  nnder 
flag  of  trnce,  487  ;  association  w  itli 
the  negotiations.  488,  491,  493; 
testimony  of,  to  Nelson's  motives  in 
sending  flag  of  trnce,  488 ;  corre- 
spondence of,  with  Nelson,  relative 
to  the  conduct  of  Commodore 
Fischer,  497,  498. 

Litizee,  Commodore,  Nelson  serves 
under,  on  mission  to  Tunis,  96  ;  Nel- 
s(m's  causeless  dissatisfaction  with 
conduct  of,  97. 

Lishon,  headquarters  of  British  fleet 
after  evacuation  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, 222,  244,  26.') ;  forbidden  to 
British  in  1803,5.59. 

Locker,  Captain  William,  Nelson's 
early  commander  and  life-long 
friei'id,  14-17,  18. 

Lonis,  Captain  Thomas,  Nelson's  ex- 
pressions of  obligation  to,  at  the 
Battle  of  the  Nile,  300. 

"  Lowestoffe,"  British  frigate,  Nelson 
.commissioned  lieutenant  into,  and 
incidents  on  board  of,  14-17;  his 
place  on  board  of,  filled  by  Colling- 
wood,  18. 

Lyon,   Amy,   maiden  name  of  Lady 
'Hamilton,  319. 


Mack,  Austrian  general,  asstKtiation 
wiili  Nelson  before  and  after  the 
disastrous  Nea]>olitaii  catnpaign  of 
1 7',IS,  330-.'i;t7. 

.Madaleiia  Islands,  situation  of,  and 
ini|)ortaii('e  to  Nelson's  lleet.  .'■)70- 
r)7H,  .')S(>;  Nelson  there  receives 
news  of  V'illeneuvo's  first  sailing, 
031. 

Malniesbury,  Lady,  mention  of  Lady 
Ilamiltoi!  bv,  324,  327;  of  Nelsoli 
and  Ifydo  Tarker,  402. 

Malta,  .xi'i/.ure  of,  by  Bonaparte,  281, 
28.3 ;  Nelson's  estimate  of  the 
importance  of,  282,  349,  41.'),  .'i70, 
.')73  ;  bis  concern  for,  31.5,  310,  3.')5, 
409,  411,  410,  Oil,  074  ;  directs 
blockade  of,  310,  i)V  I'ortngueso 
sfpiadron,  317;  blockade  of,  3;{.'), 
330,  3r)0,  300,  302.  40.5,  410-410, 
423,  424,435,  430  ;  Nelsfwi's  jealousy 
of  Kiissian  designs  upon,  348-3.50  ; 
caj)tnro  near,  of  the  "  Generenx," 
424-428,  and  of  the  "  CJnillanmo 
Tell," 430;  Nelson  ordere(li)y  Keith 
to  take  jiersonal  charge  of  blockade 
of,  428 ;  Nelson  (luits  blockade  of, 
430,  431  ;  takes  sliips  off  blockade, 
contrary  to  Keith's  wishes,  435- 
437 ;  surrender  of,  to  the  British, 
459 ;  effect  of  surrender  of,  upon 
the  C/ar,  459  ;  Nelson's  views  as 
to  the  ultimate  disposition  of,  547  ; 
Nelson's  visit  to,  in  1803,  500,  570; 
strategic  importance  of,  500,  571, 
029. 

Man,  Admiral  Robert,  in  command 
under  Ilotham,  at  the  fleet  action 
of  July  13,  1 795, 153  ;  Nelson's  com- 
mendation of,  1.53;  subsequent  mis- 
takes of,  in  1796,209,  211,213,210; 
Nelson's  expressions  concerning, 
210,  211 ;  allusion  to,  421. 

Marengo,  Battle  of.  Nelson  in  Leg- 
horn at  the  time  of,  430,  557. 

Maritimo,  Island  of,  strategic  centre 
for  a  rendezvous,  300,  305,  306 

Massena,  French  general,  defeats  the 
combined  Anstrians  and  Hu.ssian,) 
near  Zurich, 417;  Nelson  likened  to, 
450. 

Matcham,  Mrs.,  Nelson's  sister,  atti- 
tude tow.ards  Lady  Hamilton,  452, 
550,  towards  LaJly  Nel.'^on,  550  ; 
anecdote  of  Nelson  transmitted  bv, 
090. 


INDEX 


TfiS 


.   iuul   illttT   tlif 


vu  cjuniHiiKii 


liiiitioii    of,   luul 

SDii's   llt't't.  r>Tt)- 

tluro    rt'CfivcM 

o'«   flrst  siiiliiif:;, 

mention  of  Livlv 
3'J7  ;   of   NclrtOll 

'4f.'2. 

r  UouapJirto,  2»i, 
Hliniivto     of     tho 
i-J,  34<>,  415,  570, 
f.,r,  315,  ;Hf.,  355, 
ill,    074;   diroctH 
l,v     I'ortugMoso 
')lo(kiiilo  of,    ''•'*•''> 
f,2.   405,  410-416, 
•N  Olson's  joalonsy 
n«  u|.on,  348-350  : 
tlio  "  Generonx, 
r   the   "  (imlltinnio 
in  onltTodln-  Keith 
cliarj?e  of  hlockatle 
units  hlofkado  of, 
Bhips  off  hloikadc, 
ith's    wishes,    435- 
„f,  to  the  Britisli, 
uirrendcr  of,   ni)oii 
Kflson's  views  as 
disposition  of,  547  ; 
,  in  1803,  566,  570; 
anco  of,  500,  571, 

Lbcrt,  in  command 
fat  the  fleet  action 
ll53;  Nelson's  corn- 
Is  ;  8uh8e(iuent  mis- 
(.209.  211.213,216; 
Tisions    concerning, 

In  to,  421. 

|)f,  Nelson  in   Leg- 

(of ,  436,  557. 

l)f,  strategic  centre 

1  360,  365. 366 

teneral,  defeats  the 

lians  an<l   linssian.' 
Nelson  likened  to, 

[elson's  sister,  atti- 
Vdv  Hamilton,  452, 
laily  Nelson,  556  ; 
lon'transmitted  by, 


Matchani,  (icorgo.  Nelson's  mpliew, 
hitter  of,  liatt'd  1861,  giving  vvviA- 
lections  of  Nelson,  .536-.538. 

Melville,  l,orii.  First  Lord  of  the 
vVdmirally,  in  snccession  to  St. 
Vincent,  rejdy  to  Nelson's  appeal  to 
reverse  previous  refnsal  of  nicdals 
for  Copenliagen,  546  ;  Nelson's  let- 
ter to,  liliont  his  missing  the  French 
fleet,  642-643. 

Merton,  Nel.soi^s  home  in  England, 
purchase  of,  hy  him,  526,  532,  .533  ; 
life  at,  daring  I'eace  of  Amiens, 
529-5.5'.) ;  final  stay  at,  677-690, 

Messina,  importance  of,  to  the  sccnr- 
itv  of  Sicily,  Nelson's  opinions,  354, 
3.57,  .563,  .567-569. 

Middiuton,  Sir  Charles,  afterwards 
Lord  Barham,  72.     .Sw  Hariiani. 

Miles,  Commander  Jeaffrcson,  aide 
defence  of  Lord  Nelson's  action  at 
Naples,  in  1799,  392. 

Miller,  Capt.ain  Halph  W.,  commands 
Nelson's  Hagship  at  the  liattlo  of 
St.  Vincent,  233,  239 ;  at  Teneriffe, 
258 ;  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  30.3  ; 
Nelson's  exj)ressions  of  affection  for 
and  anxiety  for  a  monument  to, 
526. 

Minorca,  Nelson  ordered  from  Egyjtt 
for  an  expedition  against,  313  ; 
Nelson  directs  his  s(|uadron  upon, 
on  receiving  news  of  Bruix's  incur- 
sion, 358-360 ;  Nelson's  difference 
with  Keith,  as  to  the  value  and 
danger  of,  396,  401,  407,  409  ;  Nel- 
>n's  visit  to,  in  1799,  409,  412,  414  ; 
restored  to  Spain  at  Peace  of 
Amiens,  559. 

Minto,  Lord.     See  TMio*.  Sir  Gilbert. 

Minto.  Ladv,  mention  of  Nelson  at 
Palermo,  "in  letters  of,  339,  340  ;  at 
Leghorn,  337  ;  at  Vienna  338-.340. 

Moore,  Colonel,  afterwards  Sir  John, 
102;  friction  between  Lord  Hood 
and,  in  Corsica,  120-124;  Nelson's 
agreement,  in  the  main,  with  Hood's 
views.  122,  123,  124. 

Morea,  Nelson's  anxieties  about.  562, 
.563,  571,  577.  578,  585,  631,  6.39, 
643,  648. 

Moutray,  Captain,  Nelson's  refusal  to 
recognize  pendant  of,  as  commodore, 
42-45 ;  undisturbed  friendshi))  be- 
tween Nelson  and,  44. 

Moutray,  Mrs.,  Nelson's  affection  and 


admiration  for,  44,  45  ;  Collingwood 
writes  to,  after  Nelson's  death,  45, 

Moutray,  Lieutenant  .lames,  son  of 
tin;  altove,  dies  hofore  Calvi,  while 
serving  under  Nelson,  45;  Nel.son 
erects  a  monument  to,  126. 

Murray,  liear-Admiral  (ieorge,  Nel- 
.son's  pleasure  at  a  visit  from.  549  ; 
cni)taiii  of  the  lleet  to  Nelson, 
180.3-1805,  595,  598,  603.  606. 


N.vi'i.Ks.  city  of,  Nelson's  first  visit 
to,92-95  ;  second  visit, ;il7.  318, 329- 
.338;  tliglit  of  the  Coiiit  from,  .'t3W; 
the  French  riiter.  342;  the  French 
ev.acnate.  after  their  disasters  in 
rpper  itiijy,  ;i,")5  ;  the  roval  power 
re-estalilisiii'd  in,  368,  309,' 395;  Nel- 
son's action  in  the  Bay  of,  367-395; 
Nelson  leaves  finally,  for  I'alernio, 
405  ;  Nelson's  emotions  nj)on  distant 
view  of,  in  1803,  570. 

Naples,  Kingdom  of.  See  Two 
Sicilies. 

Naples,  King  of.  Nelson's  regrets  for, 
u))oii  the  evacuation   of  the  Medi- 
ten.inean,   1796,  211  ;  gives  orders 
thai  su]»plies  be  furnished  Nelson's 
s(|nadron    before  the  Battle  of  the 
Nile,   281  ;    Nelson's    ajijieal  to,  to 
take  a  di'cided  stand,  282;   Nelson's 
indignation  .igainst,  when  diflicultics 
about  snjiplies  are  raised  in  Syra- 
cuse, 291  ;  congratulates  Nelson  on 
the  issue  of  the  ]?attle  of  the  Nile, 
310;  visits    Nelson's  flagship,  318; 
distrust   of    his   own    officers,    334, 
356;      under     Nelson's     influence, 
decides  upon  war  with  France,  334; 
Nelson    pnmiises    sn))port   to,   334, 
.335 ;    decides   to    advance    against 
French  in    Konie,  337 ;  defeat  and 
precipitate     flight    of,    .337 ;   takes 
refuge  at   Palermo,    .338 ;  jiromises 
Nelson     that    Malta,    being    legiti- 
matelv  his   territory,  shoidd  not  be 
transferred    to   any  power  without 
consent  of  England,  348  ;  authorizes 
liritish   flag  to   be  boi,«ted  in  M.alta 
alongside  the  Sicilinn,  397  ;  Nelson's 
devotion  tf),  3.50,  394,  401  ;  personal 
timi<lity  and    apathy    of,  357,  408, 
409 ;    requests     Nelson      to    go    to 
Naples  and    support  the    royalists, 
364  ;  gives  Nelson  full  powers  to  act 


756 


INDEX 


4! 


!w  liin  rtipro.Hniitiitivf  in  Naples, 'IKO, 
•<N7  ;  ^ocs  liinisell'  to  liny  of  Nii|tl('s, 
l)iit  roiiiiiiiis  on  hoiuil  NtOson's  llii^ 
ship,  .'i'jri  ;  alieimtioii  of,  from  t.lii! 
i|U<!on,  .'{!t5,  4(K» ;  roturns  t<»  I'alcrino, 
405;  cunfttrs  upon  Nelson  tli<;  liuke- 
lioni  of  Ilroiitc',  4(>r) :  N»'lson  renews 
eorrespomlence  with,  in  IKO.'J,  f)*;*) ; 
Ntilson's  appreluMisiohs  for,  .'iCiT, 
.'iTI  ;  Nelson  keeps  a  s!iip-'if  thelino 
Mlways  in  tho  Hay  o-'  Naples  to  re 
ceive  royal  family,  5<>H  ;  a|)pli(ation 
of,  to  the  Itritish  government,  to 
send  Nelson  hack  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean, after  si(;kleav(\  (;i4  ;  af;it:>tion 
of,  at  the  prospect  of  Nelson's  depar 
tare,  614;  offers  liitn  a  house  at 
Nii])Ies  or  at  I'alermo,  r>l4. 

NuplcH,  Qneen  of,  at^itation  at  he.ir- 
inf,' of  Mie  Mattle  of  tho  Nili-.  .'UH; 
i'riendsliip  with  liady  llatniiton, 
.{24,  ;i2H,  .■J()4,  '{'.(f);  eharaeteiislies 
of,  'MiU,  4()!t ;  association  w  ilh  Nel 
son,  •'i.'12-.'t.'{.'l ;  Nelson's  devotion  to, 
.'1.15;  distrust  of  her  suhjeets,  .'I'JT, 
357,  4I)'J;  flig!'!  to  Talermo,  .'J.'iH  ; 
apprehensions  oi,  .'15!) ;  alienation 
of  the  Kin;;  from,  .'{!»5,  4(»!» ;  wishes 
to  visit  V'icsnna,  ;ind  is  cirried  to 
Jief^horn  liv  Ncdson,  wi  )i  two  ships- 
of-tlu^line,  4.'{5  ;  refiisiMJ  further 
assistance  of  the;  same  kind  hy  Lord 
K((ith,  4.'J7  ;  her  distress  of  mind, 
and  anf^er  with  Keith,  4.'{7  ;  |>roceeds 
to  V'i(?nna  hy  way  of  Ancona,  4.'>H  ; 
Nelson  renews  correspondence  with, 
in  180.'1-  IH05,  5t;(>,  5(lil,  (i2!». 

Nelson,  1{«!V.  Kdni'ind,  father  of  Lord 
Nelson,  4;  Nelson  and  his  wife;  live 
with,  I7H«-IV!».*J,  78;  Mrs.  Nelson 
continues  to  live  with,  aft«(r  Nelson 
goes  to  the  M(  ditcrranean,  177, 
2I'»,  2(;.'J,  444-44ti,  452;  his  testi- 
mony to  Lady  Nelson's  character, 
452;  allitiule  towards  liady  Hamil- 
ton, 452,  554  ;  ]»e"suaded  of  the 
aiis(^nc(!  of  criminality  in  her  rela- 
tions with  Nelson,  452,  554  ;  refuses 
to  he  separat(!(|  from  Lady  Nelson, 
452,  5.54,  555  ;  death  of,  554  ;  clnirue- 
ter  of,  554,  r,.';5. 

Ni;i,s()\,  IIoKATio,  LoKi>. 

f/istoricdl  SiiiHi-iirr  of  Ciiriir: 

I'arc^ntiige  and  hirth,  4  ;  tirst.  going  to 
.sea,  5  ;  service  in  merchantman,  8  ; 
cruise  to  the  Arctic  Seas,  10;  to  the 


Kant  Indies,  12;  iicting  lieutenant, 
l.'l  ;  lieutenant,  14  ;  cruis*^  to  West 
Indies,  14;  commander  and  post- 
captain,  18;  Nicaraguan  (expedition, 
22;  invalided  home,  2(1 ;  comnumd 
of  "  Alhemarle,"  1781,  27;  paid  off 
and  visits  France,  .'{5  ;  cruise  of  the 
"  Hort'as,"  1784,  .'»8  ;  refu.ses  to  oliey 
orders  of  commander-in-ehief,  tirst, 
to  rcicognizie  hroad  pindant of a«'ap- 
t.'iin  "  not  'M  commission,"  42,  and, 
si'cond,  when  directed  nottoenforce 
tho  Navif'ation  Act,  4<i-54  ;  engage- 
ment to  .Mrs.  Nishet,  5!t ;  marriage, 
<14  ;  return  to  luigland.and  "  Horeas" 
p!ii<l  off,  17h7,  r^^  <)'.»  ;  exposure  of 
ir.iuds  in  th(!  West  Indies,  tlH, 70-74; 
haif-piiy,  1788-I7'.»2,  77-80;  ccnn- 
mi":  ions  the  "  i\g:imemnon,"  Fel)- 
ruary,  I7!t'{,  84  ;  joins  the  .MiMJiter 
ranean  fleet  under  Lord  Hood,  88; 
constiint  delaclied  servicer,  !>2-!M> ; 
hlockado  of  Corsica,  !)'.•;  siege  of 
Hastia,  1 0.1- II. 't  ;  siege  of  Calvi, 
110-125;  loss  of  right  eye,  ll!»; 
refitting  in  Leghorn,  128-1.'{(;; 
action  of  "  Agememnon  "  witii  "  Ta 
Ira,"  l.i'.t;  partial  fi(!et  action  of 
March  14,  I7'.>5,  141  ;  partial  Ih^et 
action  of  .Inly  !.'»,  i  7'.>.''>,  152;  com- 
mand of  adetached  si|U.'idron  on  tint 
Ikivicra  of  (iiMio.'i,  under  llotliam, 
I7'.»5,  157-174,  and  iiniier  .Fervis, 
17!>n,  |8.{-l!t5  ;  hoists  hroad  jtendant 
as  commodor(\  188;  le.aves  ".\g.'i- 
inemnon  "  for  "  ( 'afitain,"  itttl ;  tho 
hlockad(!  of  Leghorn,  !!»!»;  si'i/nn? 
oi  !■; Ilia,  202,  and  of  Capraia,  20!l ; 
evacuation  of  ('orsica,  2IO-2l(i; 
Mritish  II(H't  retires  todihraltar, 21(1; 
mi.ssion  to  evacuate  Llha,  221;  actn..-^ 
with  Spanish  frigates,  221  ;  rejoins 
.lervis  off  Cape  St.  N'incent,  22!t : 
li.'ittle  of  Cape  St.  N'incent,  I7'.t7, 
22!);  inarleaKniglitofthel'>ath,24.'!; 
promoted  rear  iidmiriil,  244  ;  nii.ssion 
into  tho  Mediterriine.'in,  24l> ; 
hlockado  and  homhardnnMit  of 
Cadiz,  247-2.50;  the  'reneriffo  e.v- 
p(!dition,  25.'{ ;  loses  his  right  arm, 
25!) ;  invalided  home,  2<'>2;  rejoins 
Mcdit»!rranean  fleet  in  tho  "  Van- 
guard," I7!»8,  2tir.  ;  sent  to  watch 
th(!  '['onion  arnniment,  270;  Cam- 
paign of  the  Nihs  27r.-.'{|;j  ;  Hattle 
of     tho     Nile,     2!»4-.'{(Ml;    severely 


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758 


INDEX 


560,  635,  637,  644,  647,  641>.  651,  655, 
662,  663,  665,  672.  673,  67t   680. 

SensitivP'.essi  to  anxiety,  perplexity, 
and  censure,  53,  64,  68,  69,  79,  114, 
174,179-181,258,261,  263,291,344, 
353, 359,  402,  403,  407,  413,  414,  415, 
429,  433,  447,  448,  463,  494,  501,  504, 
505,  524,  542-546,  549,  565,  582, 
591-593,  615,  638,  643,  648,  649, 
651,  653,  656,  660,  667,  668,  726. 

Daily  life,  examples  of,  and  occupa- 
tions, 119-120,  125,  177,  246-251, 
284-285,  314-316,  339-341,  503-504, 
532-540,  594-598,  602-605,  639,  682, 
684,  686-690,  694. 

Rolif^ious  feelings,  indications  of,  147, 
224,  277,  278,  301,  306-308,  540,  541, 
690,  728,  729,  731,  735,  740. 

Professional  Characteristics  : 

Duty,  sense  of,  7,  60,  93,  113,  192,  219, 
258,  3.59,  460,  491,  495,  506-507, 
593-594,  628,  653,  656,  729,  731, 
739-740. 

Exclusiveness  and  constancy  of  pur- 
pose, 13,  23,  29,  32,  33,  34,  53,  55, 
58,  64,  74,  84,  93,  95,  104,  108,  1 13, 
125,  129,  144,  188,  189,  191,  201, 
21.%  218,  219,  224,  264,  269,  277, 
278,  279,  286,  289,  290,  294,  351, 
35.5,  412,  440,  460,  468,  469,  480, 
484,  496,  565,  594,  603-605,  635- 
649,  653,  673,  680,  739. 

Professional  courage,  30,  63,  107,  108, 
139-141,  142,  188,  204,  211,  224, 
226,  227,  231-233,  249,  257,  280. 
285,  294,  361,  366,  427,  466-470, 
472,  479-484,  492,  496,  .500,  517, 
520,  581,  634,  643,  644,  655,  664- 
!'.6.  679,  680,  689,  706. 

1  u.irlessness  of  responsibilitv,  9,  16, 
42-44,45-51,54,  55,  106-108,  161- 
16.3,  188,  228,  231.  £41,  28.5-287, 
396-403,411,467,481-484,  569,  570. 
579,  611,  617-620,  624,  625,  626- 
628,  634,  654-656,  661,  665,  673. 

Diplomacy,  natural  aptitude  for,  ami 
tact  in  dealing  with  men,  27-28, 
41,  56,  94,  120-122,  161-163,  176 
and  note,  345-346,  407-409,  411- 
413,  415-416,  464-46.5,  466-467,  469, 
485-487,490-494,  502,  517-518,  569, 
574,  588-589,  599,  601-602,  606- 
608,  621,  624,  629-631,  669,  691, 
693-694 ;  extensive  cares  in,  328, 
348-349,  353-3.54,  412,  413,  5.58- 
564,  566,  574,  598-599,  602-605. 


Fleet,  when  commander-iu-chief.  Ad- 
ministration of,  407,  413,  414,  418, 
503,  504,  518-520,  548-549,  572, 
573-575,  582,  598,  599,  603-605, 
606,  609-613,  640,  641,  646,  648, 
6.53,  654,  655,  667,  672,  673. 
Condition  of,  in  the  Mediterranean, 
1S03-1805,  551,  571,  579,  034,  650. 
657,  668. 

Preservation  and  management  of, 
571,  573,  575-.578,  579-.581,  .583,  .584, 
587-589,  591 -.592,  599,  600,  609- 
613,  620-621,  645,  646,  647,  649, 
657-658,  669,  673,  674,  684,  707- 
709,  711. 
Healtli  of,  93,  94,  581-583,  668,  672. 

Strategic  ideas,  indications  of,  23,  24, 
87,  90,  91,  97,  105,  11.5,  116,  128, 
135,  137,  146,  149,  150,  155,  156, 
163,  164-167, 170, 182-184, 185-186, 
196-197,  200,  204,  207-210,  210- 
213,  282,  284-288,  292,  312,  313, 
334,  349,  359-361,  365,  419-422, 
440,  465-467,  468-471,  496,  500,  508, 
509-516,  520,  .560-561,  562-564, 
573,  57,5-577,  578,  581,  584-586, 
616,  017,  634-636,  640,  644,  645, 
647-6.50,  654,  662,  664,  665,  072- 
074,  680,  081,  714. 

Tactical  ideas,  indications  of,  29,  90, 
104,  108,  11.5,  139,  140,  142,  153- 
155,  185-186,  189,  192,  204,  208, 
230-232,  257,  'J '9,  294-295,  299,303- 
305,  306,  360,  469,  4'],  472-475, 
476-479,  483,  490,  510-511,  521, 
587-589,  591,  592,  600,  605,  688, 
694-704,  707,  708,  710,  711,  716- 
718,  719,  720,  721,  727. 

N'clson,  Frances,  Lady,  wife  of  Lord 
Nelson,  birth,  itarentage,  and  first 
marriage  to  Dr.  Josiah  Nisbet,  56 ; 
one  son,  Josiah  Nishet,  56;  widow- 
liood,56;  lives  with  herunde. at  Nevis, 
56;  ciiaracteristics,  57-59,  61,  127, 
147,  3;}0,  444,  450,  451;  wooing  of,  by 
Nelson,  59-61  ;  marria";e  to  Nelson, 
and  departure  to  Kngland,  64 ;  no 
children  by  Nel.son,  77 ;  resides 
with  Nelson,  in  his  father's  house, 
78;  lives  with  father  of  Nelson, 
during  the  latter's  ab-xonces,  1 793- 
1800,  177,  219,  263,  444-446,  452; 
letters  of  Nelson  to,  quoted,  94,  113, 
119,  125,  127,  147,  148,  177,  212, 
218-219,  251,  262,  278,  331,  445, 
529,  530 ;  continued  attachment  of 


ler-iu-chief,  Ad- 

,  413,  414,  418, 
548-549,  572, 
599,  603-605, 
641,    646,   648, 

,72,  673. 
Mediterranean, 

I,  579,  034,  650. 

management  of, 
,79-581 ,  583,  584, 

599,  COO,  609- 
,    646,    647,    649, 

674,   684,   707- 

)81-583,  668,  672. 
•atious  of,  23,  24, 

5,  115,  116,  128, 
9,  150,  155,  156, 
182-184,185-186, 
[,  207-210,  210- 
\    292,    312.   313, 

1,  365.  419-422, 
471,496,500,508, 
60-561,     562-564, 

8,  581,     584-586, 

6,  640,    644,   645, 

2,  664,  665,    672- 

ications  of,  29,  90, 

9,  140,  142,  153- 
9,  192,  204,  208, 
294-295,299,303- 
i9,  471,  472-475, 
JO,  510-511,  521, 
2,    600,   665,   688, 

,  710,   711,  716- 
727. 

idy,  vife  of  Lord 
rentage,  and  first 
osiah  Kisbet,  56 ; 
fisbct,  56 ,  widow- 
her  uncle,  at  Nevis, 
s,  57-59,  61,  127, 
1451;  wooing' of,  by 
'irriage  to  Nelson, 
England,  64;  no 
^on,    77  ;    resides 
lis  father's  house, 
ither  of   Nelson, 
absences,  1793- 
|3,   444-446,  452; 
,,  nuoted,  94,  113, 
148,   177,   212, 
,    278,   331,    445, 
id  attachment  of 


INDEX 


759 


Nelson   to,   on   returning  home  in 

1797,  263,  270;  Nelson's  message 
to,  wlien  thiniving  iiimsulf  inortallv 
wounded  at  tlie  Nile.  300;  uneasi- 
ness of,  at  tile  reports  of  Nelson's 
intimacy  witli  Lady  Hamilton,  339; 
apparent  purpose  of,  to  go  to  tiie 
Mediterranean,  discouraged  by  Nel- 
son, 339  ;  growing  alienation  of  Nel- 
son from,  361,  443-445,  446,  449, 
450 ;  attitude  of.  towards  Nelson, 
444,  445,  448,  450,  451  ;  letters  of, 
to  Nelson,  cpioted,  445 ;  Nelson's 
bearing  towards,  446,  448 ;  attitude 
of,  towards  Lady  Hamilton,  449; 
final  breach   between   Nelson  and, 

450,  452,  529-531  ;   later  years  of, 

451,  452;  testimony  to,  of  Nelson 
and  of  his  father,  452 ;  Nelson's 
"  letter  of  dismissal "  to,  and  her 
endorsement  thereon,  529,  530;  date 
of  death,  56  note. 

Nelson,  Maurice,  Nelson's  eldest 
brother,  quoted  by  Lady  Nelson, 
529  and  note. 

Niebuhr,  tlie  historian,  accounts  of  the 
Battle  of  Copenhagen,  quoted,  474, 
488,  501. 

Nile,  Battle  of  the,  293-306. 

Nisbet,  Captain  . J  osiah,  Nelson's  step- 
son, birth  and  parentage,  56  ;  goes 
to  sea  with  Nelson  in  the  "  Agamem- 
non," 85 ;  Lady  Hamilton's  kind- 
ness to,  94 ;  good  conduct  of,  at 
Teneritt'e,  258 ;  Nelson  attributes  the 
saving  of  Ids  life  to,  262,  530 ;  St. 
Vincent  promotes  to  :!onunander 
at  Nelson's  recjuest,  262 ;  Nelson's 
disappointment  in,  35.3 ;  estrange- 
ment between  Nelson  and,  529-530  ; 
8t.  Vincent's  assertion  of  Nelson's 
higii  opinion  of,  in  early  life,  530 
note. 

Ni.sbet,  Dr.-  Josiah,  first  iiusband  of 
Lady  Nelson,  56. 

Nisbet,  Mrs.  Josiah,  >.ady  Nelson's 
name  by  first  marriage.  See  Nel- 
son, Lady. 

Niza,  Marquis  de,  Portuguese  admiral, 
commanding  s(|uadron  under  Nel- 
son's orders  in  the  Mediterranean, 

1798,  1799,  316;  conducts  sea 
blockade  of  Malta,  316,  .335,  405, 
■ill,  412,  415;  ordered  temporarily 
to  defence  of  Messina.  354 ;  co- 
oper.ites  at  sea  with  Nelson,  when 


expecting  Bruix's  fleet,  360,  364; 
limitations  to  Nelson's  authority 
over,  391  ;  recalled  by  Portuguese 
government,  411;  Nelson  forbids 
him  to  obey,  411,  412;  Nelson's 
expressions  of  esteem  for,  412  ;  final 
recall  allowed  by  Nelson,  416. 


Ordg,  Admiral  Sir  John,  governor 
of  Dominica,  51 ;  difiiculty  with 
Lord  St.  Vincent  concerning  Nel- 
son's appointment  to  command  a 
squadron,  288,  289 ;  jtssigned  in  1804 
to  command  part  of  Nel.son's 
station,  from  the  Straits  of  Gibral- 
tar to  Cape  Fiiiisterre,  614 ;  rela- 
tions between  Nelson  and,  614,  615, 
623-628,  652;  driven  from  before 
Cadiz  by  combined  Heets,  647 ; 
popular  outcry  against,  651 ;  Nel- 
son's complaint  against,  for  not 
watching  course  of  combined  fleets, 
651  note,  653-655;  relieved  from 
duty  at  his  own  re()ucst,  669. 

"Orient,"  French  flagship  at  the 
Battle  of  the  Nile,  present  as  tiie 
"  Sans  Culottes,"  in  Uotham's 
action  of  March  13,  179.5,  138,  139, 
141  ;  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  296, 
299,  302,  303  ;  blows  up,  302 ;  Nel- 
son's coHin  made  from  mainmast 
of,  683. 

Otway,  Captain,  commands  Sir  Hyue 
Parker's  flagship  at  the  Battle  o' 
Copenlnigen,  471  ;  advises  against 
the  passage  of  the  Great  Belt,  471  ; 
oppo.ses  the  nuiking  signal  to  Nel- 
son to  leave  off  action,  481  ;  message 
from  Parker  to  Nelson  by,  481,  482. 


Pagkt,  Sir  Arthur,  succeeds  Hamil- 
ton, as  British  minister  to  Naples, 
340 ;  (juotations  from  the  "  I'aget 
Paper.s"  340,  .341,  423,  436. 

Pahlen,  Russi.an  minister  of  state 
during  Nelson's  command  in  the 
B,altic,  496;  Nelson's  correspondence 
with,  .50 1 -.502. 

P.ilermo.  Nel.«on's  residence  in,  338- 
360,  405-434. 

Palmas,  Gulf  of,  in  Sardinia,  rendez- 
vous of  Nelson's  fleet,  580,  641,  645, 
646  ;  Nelson  learns  there  of  Ville- 
neuve's  second  sailing,  645. 


im 


INDKX 


! 


•J! 


» 


Parker,  Commiindor  Edward,  aide 
to  Nelson,  51'J ;  doscrii)tioii  of 
Nelson's  celerity  by,  5 lit ;  takes 
part  in  boat-attack  on  the  p'rench 
vessels  off  iioalojj;ne,  521  ;  mortally 
wounded,  521  ;  death  of,  and  Nel- 
son's distress,  526. 

I'arker,  Admiral  Sir  Hyde,  succeeds 
Hothain  in  command  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, 170;  Nelson's  dissatisfaction 
with,  172;  selected  to  command  the 
Baltic  expedition,  45'J ;  Nelson  joins, 
as  second  in  command,  460;  cool 
reception  of  Nelson  by,  461-40.'{ ; 
growing  intinence  of  Nelson  witli, 
464-467 ;  sluggish  movements  of, 
464,  492,  495,  496 ;  Nelson's  coni}»re- 
hensive  letter  to,  469—170  ;  author- 
izes Nelson's  i)lau  of  attack,  472; 
the  signal  to  leave  off  action,  48(t- 
484  ;  intrnsts  negotiations  to  Nel- 
son, ^90-494;  relieved  from  com- 
mand, 498  ;  Nelson's  opinion  of  his 
conduct  in  tlie  Baltic,  499,  544. 

Parker,  Admiral  Sir  Peter,  early 
patron  of  Nelson,  and  chief  mourner 
at  his  funerjvl,  1 7-1 8 ;  personal  kind- 
ness to  Nelson  of,  17,  25;  Nelson's 
gratitude  expres.«ed  to,  494,  609. 

Parker,  Vice-Admiral  Sir  William, 
controversy  with  Nelson  about  the 
latter's  account  of  the  Battle  of 
Cjipe  St.  Vincent,  2.'}7-241 ;  remon- 
strates with  hord  St.  N'inccnt  f<jr 
Nelson's  ai)pointment  to  command 
a  detached  stjuadron,  288,  289. 

Parker,  Captain  William,  commander 
of  the  frigate  "Amazon,"  anecdote 
of  Nelson,  288  note,  589;  anecdo'c 
of  Captain  Hardy,  61.'};  special  mis- 
sion and  singular  orders  given  by 
Nelson  to,  627-628;  accomi)anies 
Nelson  to  the  We.st  Indies,  650,656, 
657 ;  final  letter  from  Nelson  to, 
67a. 

Pasco,  Lieutenant,  Nelson's  signal 
officer  at  Trafalgar,  710;  anecdotes 
of  Nelson  by,  710,  728,  729;  makes 
the  signals  "  Kngland  oxpects,"  etc., 
7.'}0,  and  for  "close  action,"  731; 
wounded,  7.'J6;  replies  to  a  (piery 
made  by  Nel.s(m  wliile  flying,  73d. 

Paul  I.,  Kmperor  of  Russia,  congratu- 
lations to  Nelson  on  tlie  liattle  of 
the  Nile,  .'$10;  coalition  of,  with 
Austria  ami  Naples,  343,  346-348; 


becomes  (Jrand  Master  of  Knights 
of  Malta,  and  seeks  the  restoration 
of  the  Order,  .348-349;  Nelson's 
.ompliments  to,  413,  428;  successes 
of  his  general,  Suwarrow,  417  ;  sub- 
se(|Uent  reverses,  and  anger  of, 
again.st  Austria  and  (jreat  Britain, 
417,  458;  indignation  at  the  refusal 
of  Great  Britain  to  surremJei  Malta 
to  him.self,  458;  renews  the  Armed 
Neutrality  of  1780,  with  Sweden, 
Denmark,  and  Prii.ssia,  458 ;  Bona- 
parte's management  of,  459 ;  mur- 
der of,  490. 

"  Penelope,"  British  frigate  effica- 
cious action  of,  in  compelling  the 
surrender  of  the  "  GiuHaume  'T'ell," 
French  ship-of-tiie-line,  431,  684. 

Pitt,  William,  Prime  Minister  of  Great 
Britain,  marked  courtesy  shown  to 
Nelson  when  last  in  England  by, 
537 ;  intercoiirse  of  Nelson  with, 
just  before  Trafalgar,  678,  683. 

Pftrto  Ferrajo,  Island  of  Ellta,  seized 
by  Nelson  in  1796,  202;  British 
forces  retire  from  I3astia  to,  216; 
naval  evacuation  of,  superintended 
by  Nelson,  221-224. 


liAnsToriv,  Admiral,  Lord,  quotations 
from  letters  of,  relating  to  Nelson, 
130, 576  and  note,  605,  60S,  614,  651, 
652,  666,  667,  681. 

'•  Bedoutable,"  French  ship-of-the-line. 
Nelson  mortallv  wounded  by  a  shot 
from,  73.3-735." 

Hegistration  of  .seamen.  Nelson's  plans 
for,  548. 

Kevel,  Nelson's  desire  to  attack  the 
Ru.s.sian  detachment  of  ships  in,  468, 
470,  490,  492.  496,  .500;  Nelson's 
visit  to,  501-503;  results  of  Nel- 
son's visit,  503. 

Riou,  Ci'.ptain,  commands  the  frigate 
"Amazon,"  and  a  light  squadron 
in  the  Battle  of  Copenhagen,  475, 
478,  480,  482  ;  obevs  signal  to  retire, 
and  is  killed,  482." 

Riviera  of  Genoa,  operations  of  Nel- 
son upon  tlie,  1795.  1796,  157-201; 
importance  of,  to  the  French,  1 57- 
1 62. 

Rochefort,  the  part  of  the  French 
s(|iiadroii  at,  in  Na|)oleon's  combina- 
tions, 6.33,  636,  670. 


INDEX 


n,  Nelson's  plans 


Uodncy,  Admiral.  Lord  elfo..^     f  i  • 
"'ar  ■'*"'"°'"'  '""«»'•"»  "!  N«l»o„, 

Kuffo,  Cardinal,  leader  f)f  f  l.n  v 

^nn  "  Christian    Vmv"n.  \^"^f  ^'■ 
1700    -ii^fi.  :*^imy     at  Naples 


"  San    Josef  ''L'       •'  /^''^"M^t'ired,  222. 
at  Battle  of  St    V^       .  **'  ^*''«"" 

Sardinia.  IsIinH  ^t  • 

278,  2m    '«  ,1   '»"•?■••«".  2?0. 

ocott,  liev   A    r        • 
Sir  Hvde  I'ni^f  "'"'^  /ecretarv  to 
Nolsol    h,  the  A-;  ."•?  •'^f^«'-«'«'-d:s  to 

rel,gio„.s    foelin>s.    541       m« '""/' 
niethod     of    t   ^  '     kelson  .s 

k.-nriiiness    ht' STl-^r^  NelsonV 

"f  Nelson.  esCeSr^'r^r^'.^ 
«on  to.  717.  nf  XT  i  "'"ark  of  A,.. 

735,  740,  74i;^'  -^«'««"«  death.be.l, 


'-":SrreVnl;it"T^^*«^'^>- 
of  Nelson'stSnt:'"  "'?.  *J"'^'''"t'«s 

.ffi'gar.  7.J2!  =    '""^*'  "^  'J'ra- 

Sicilv,  importance  of  \i  k 

359,  3Cj,  ;„5  ^^V  '"J^-  '"   1799,  ;J54 

l803<a62.1f67-V6.^'^^'*««'•"^ 

«^7-648;Ne£?e-taV'^ 
,.'«,  405,  499.  *^'^'*'<'  of  Bronte 

Sidnioiith,  Lord      <;•     »  , . 
S'"ith,  Sir  S    ;e/^,;^''' "ffton. 

*'o»  at  the     i  siin  of  r'n"  V"^'^"^- 
343-.'J45 ;    Nc  w' "^'  *"  * '"  I^evant. 

;-^'*«-34r  s„cce";,;t''""'^  ''< 

to,  «ot   .,nit''r'TP'o«-y  orders 

vention-of'FFAW?'^''*'''''^''«'^'on- 

hy,  421-4'>o.    Npi'o '.  ^'oiV'tenaneed 

,41.3,509        '    ^^'^ous   distrust   of. 

Smith  Spencer,  brother  to  Sir  <•  I 

letter  of  Nei 'on  .  ""'''^' ^ '  •"^-^^f.  ; 
^.  becon,es  sS"?v  S'  '^"?'''''  '"^^^ 
Spa'n,  NeLson  see  Tim  Sn  — ^■' '*'^- 
l^e  a  true  allv  tV>  r  .T/*'."  '"'■""'ot 
effect  upo  .  Ae  *on  of  L^\'''^''»'V'  ^^  ' 
war  l.v,  207-21  V.r/'^'?''""«"o"  of 

«f.  '•"  '«V'4  ''SnTf>'"' 
foncerning,  sc^  --,74  fl,f "  ?  ""^^s 
624.  625,  6.30  X J:  ^  ?'®'  ^20, 
'■•'«trru.ti,n..t^.t?,!r''  ^*'"«'-  of 
,  "pon  actio,:  o^il^ '"''■""*'■'•««»' 

''In^S.^'^.^-^ordoftheAd- 
from.  -c^uote  ,;  24?' 7o9  lo^^*^'^«» 
433;  letters  of  ^,1^0?,  V,*^^'  '*'*^^- 
2-'",  280,  300  ^u^^''';  'J»oted, 
408,409.413   414  J'.R^  4V '^^^•'   3''7. 

4cn     •     ,.  '  *'^>  •i'o,  427   4^'>  J'i'j 

460;  indicates  to  Jerv  s  th^  r-  '       ' 
ment's  wish  that  \'ni  <^overn- 

••"     Kroal,,,       ,"'"*"  ""'1"','°"" 

„'<»"?'»"    Maivlial  SuViam '     .i!'' 
>>t.  Georjrp  "  n„:f  •    "'''"row,  442. 
^'orge,    British  8hi>of.the-line, 


1^ 


762 


INDEX 


Nelson's  flagship  in  the  Baltic  ex- 
pedition, 460;  Nelson  quits,  fur  the 
"Elephant,"  for  the  Battle  of 
Copenhagen,  472. 

St.  Vincent,  Battle  of  Cape,  229-237. 

St.  Vincent,  Earl.     See  Jervis. 

Stewart,    Lieutenant-Colonel,   acconi- 

Eanies  the  Baltic  expedition  on 
oard  Nelson's  flsigship,  460 ;  iiarra- 
tiveof  tho  expedition,  and  anecdotes 
of  Nelson  by,  quoted,  460,  472,  474- 
476,  481-483,  485-'i86,  491,  501, 
503. 

Stuart,  General,  in  command  of  the 
British  troops  at  the  siege  of  Calvi, 
114,  116-124;  apparent  friction 
between  Lord  Hood  and,  121-124; 
Nelson's  high  opinion  of,  119,  122. 

Suckling,  Catherine,  maiden  name  of 
Nelson's  mother,  4. 

Suckling,  Captain  Maurice,  Nelson's 
maternal  uncle,  5  ;  receives  Nelson 
on  board  his  ship,  the  "  Raisou- 
nable,"  on  entering  tho  navy,  5  ;  care 
for  Nelson  during  his  early  years, 
8-14 ;  made  Comptroller  of  the 
Navy,  14;  procures  Nelson's  pro- 
motion to  lieutenant,  14  ;  death  of, 
18;  Nelson's  care,  when  Avounded 
at  Teneriffe,  to  save  tho  sword  of, 
259 ;  successful  naval  engagement 
of,  on  the  date  of  Trafalgar,  and 
expectation  formed  therefrom  by 
Nelson,  717. 

Suckling,  William,  Nelson's  maternal 
uncle.  Nelson  appeals  to,  for  aid  to 
marry,  36,  60 ;  makes  an  allowance 
to  Nelsoi»,  60 ;  letters  of  Nelson  to, 
36,  60,114. 

Suwarrow,  Russian  marshal,  com- 
mands the  combined  Russian  and 
Austrian  troops  in  Italian  campaign 
of  1799,356,  405,  409,417  ;  personal 
resemblance  of  Nelson  to,  442, 
501. 

Sweden,  joins  Russia,  Detmiark,  and 
Prussia  in  the  Armed  Neutrality  of 
1800,  456-459. 

Syracuse,  Nelson  refreshes  his  squad- 
ron in,  before  the  Battle  of  the  Nile, 
291-293  ;  Nelson's  opinion  of,  as  a 
base  for  his  operations  after  the 
battle,  315,  316;  insecurity  of,  with 
head(iuarters  at  Palermo,  354  ;  Nel- 
son ordered  by  Keith  to  make  his 
headquarters  at,  430. 


'  TfeMERAiBE,"  British  ship-of-the-line, 
Nelson's  supporter  at  'Irafalgar, 
725,  736. 

Teneriffe,  Nelson's  expedition  against, 
253-261. 

Tetuan,  Nelson's  vL^its  to,  for  water 
and  fresh  provisions,  653-655,  672  ; 
Sends  a  detachment  to,  before  Tra- 
falgar, 711. 

"  Thesens,"  British  ship-of-the-liue, 
Nelson's  flagsiiip  before  Cadi/  and 
at  Teneriffe,  2 17-"48,  256,  259. 

Thomson,  name  under  which  Nelson 
speaks  of  himself  in  his  corre- 
spondence with  Lady  Hamilton, 531 ; 
and  borne  by  his  diiughter  prior  to 
his  own  death,  715. 

Toulon,  delivered  by  its  inhabitants  to 
Lord  Hood,  91,  92;  retaken  by  tho 
French,  100 ;  Nelson  reconnoitres, 
169,  185;  Jervis's  efficient  blockade 
of,  196,  206;  Nelson's  method  of 
watching,  572-574,  576,  584,  589. 

Trafalgar,  Battle  of,  general  plan  of 
action,  as  originally  conceived,  696- 
698  ;  discussed,  698-701  ;  contrasted 
with  the  tactics  of  the  battle  as 
fought,  702-704  ;  anecdote  concern- 
ing its  conception,  704 ;  narrative  of, 
713-742. 

Trench,  Mrs.    See  St.  George. 

Tripoli,  maintains  formal  war  with 
Naples  and  Portugal,  for, the  pur- 
poses of  piracy,  3.50,  410;  Nelson's 
diplomatic  difficulties  with,  350,351. 

Tronbridge,  Sir  Thomas,  nobly  sup- 
ports Nelson  in  his  initiative  at  the 
Battle  of  St.  Vincent,  231-233,  237- 
241 ;  advises  and  accompanies  Nelson 
in  the  Teneriffe  expedition,  253-26 1 ; 
limitations  of,  256,  257,  and  admir- 
able qualities,  260-261,  524  ;  sent 
with  a  detachment  of  ten  ships-of- 
the-line  to  join  Nelson  in  the  Nile 
campaign,  276,  278, 279  ;  mentioned, 
281,  285,  291,  293;  his  ship,  the 
"  Culloden,"  unfortunately  grounds 
beforegetting  into  action  at  the  Nile, 
301  ;  Nelson's  praise  of,  311,  413  ; 
incidentfil  services  in  tiie  waters  of 
Italy  and  Malta,  336,  347,  355-356, 
358,  359,  389,  396,  408,  41.5,  429; 
remonstrates  with  Nelson  on  his 
life  at  Palermo,  340  ;  sent  by  Nelson 
on  a  special  mission  to  Alexandria, 
344 ;   singular    anecdote    of,    352 ; 


ishship-of-tlie-liue, 
ter  at    Irafalgar, 

3.\pe(litiou  against, 

i«its  to,  for  water 
JUS,  G5.'J-6r)5,  672 ; 
snt  U),  before  Tra- 

1  sliip-of-the-liiie. 
before  Cadiz  ami 
M8,  2r)6,  259. 
ler  whifb  Nelson 
ilf  in  bis  corre- 
liy  Hamilton,  5.3 1 ; 
laughter  prior  to 

its  inbabitaiits  to 
I ;  retaken  by  the 
son  reconnoitres, 
efficient  blockade 
Isou's  method  of 
576,  584,  589. 
general  plan  of 
y  conceived,  696- 
-701  ;  contrast(!d 
>f  the  battle  as 
necdote  concern- 
'04 ;  narrative  of, 

.  George. 
)imal  war  with 
al,  for  the   pur- 
0.410;  Nelson's 
BS  with,  350,351. 
mas,  nobly  sup- 
initiative  at  the 
it,231-23.'l,237- 
ompanies  Nelson 
sdition,  253-261; 
J57,  and  admir- 
-261,   524 ;  sent 
of  ten  ships-of- 
son  in  the  Nile 
J79 ;  mentioned, 
;   his  ship,  the 
mately  grounds 
^tion  at  the  Nile, 
3  of,  311,  413; 
a  the  waters  of 
),  347,  355-356, 
408,  41.5,  429; 
Nelson   on   his 
sent  by  Nelson 
to  Alexandria, 
lote    of,    352 ; 


INDEX 


^trongPeiraSfVSr' 
agaiiiBt    <iiiittit.^  ii      ,'*o  Nelson, 

^  opinion  'of,  504: 503     '      '  ^'"^^n^s 
^u'lis.  Nelson's  mission    f.,   •     ,- 

poses    of     nirir.u     iV<:      J^"*'  P'"*" 
^c,ip,omaticd?SifcefS4S^^^^^^ 

1 798,  335,  a^e  It  *',"4'*«"«"ean, 
418-420;  \\ejwf«  ^^'  :^««' 368, 
against  'lS:"«3,«^'"g'>'-i^'': 
separate  coiiventi,.n\f  i^',  "'''''^« 
with  French  ,.i  u  ^^^  ^risb 
allies.     42,    '4o?/^^'^"««    «f    her 

threatened  in  th^  aC^I,  ^'^ 

r&^^S'^,o^.  towards  France, 
ports  of  to  fI?  '  ""Portance  of 
neutram>of?5TH;«'lf'/'''«^^-"Jt 
gines  a  French  ^.V    '  ^''^■"""  '"'a 

Bpea,183,S^8i'iT^^•^'^^'r'' 
obtained  bV  the  Keh  'loTl'^i' 
son's  operations  on  H?.  '  ^*''- 
201 ;     blockade    of     r  1^"^°""^  < 

for  theTcrpatS;/7,^'f";  ^''"''^^ 
attitude  towiniri.  Toulon,  93; 

«endsflotmrS\fdTf'''^'35 

Jate  '-u  the  season   ffi?""'  'i"'^  *"« 
annistice  Avith  Fro     ■*'  '"''•'^««  •"' 

Nelson's  his^'kre'ni;/"''  '•''• 
for,  210,  211-  ,,,..1  •  *'''^"'te<l 
I-^ance,    irjie  '  o'f"'^,.  P'^'^'e   with 

'  ''•"'    kelson's  anxieties 


£^2i,gtc!^hi:'^^'"'^ '■''*«-«' 

return  from  the  NM  Hi'   "  ^"-   his 

f7,366,3K6^3t8  5otSp-'^' 
409,   410    437    ^^o     i:f*^^'*02,408. 

631    645;  Sle",?'.  ff  '•'''- 

rece  pt  of  tho  .  '  ^  -r  "^'  "Po'i 
the  ?file,1i7  'ii^^'f  "^  "attle'^of 

334;  Nelson  pe^nido,  """^P-yte, 
war  against  F?S  33^  $°/^^h-xie 
whelming  defeif  nf        ,^?.'  ''^^'^^■ 

Court  to^tlSo:'33T'3j?:''^  "^ 
toration  of  thn  r,..    1    '    .  ^'   res- 

Naples,  409  'ref^,^;' S'^fr''^. '" 
to  reside  in  Naple  408  ,n^  ^"'^' 
Pation  of  Adriatic  co.s?'nr;"- 
iionararte,  1803-5,  557  ^^'   ^^ 

^-en'iic';'.',, -4--ho-|e   be- 
P^tanceof,   toFnance;     .5?',8"r 

vaSr^';^^^'''^.''^  "^' 
^-^^^^4;!i/VS!S^'S"'f-' 

-Kl  TrUVTpT/  If P--- 
await  the  canifnlnfP  ^^Ison  to 
431-134      ''''P'*"^»*'on  of,  428,  429, 

Y.auguard."  British  shi,.of-the-li„e 
ffshin  ah    hJ^   r>...., "*: 


Nelson's  fla£rshn.'''',I^^^-"'«-"«e, 

the  Nle    S^  ?*   *''«  ^"ttle  of 

c  f"'v,  commissioned    9fi';  •     i- 
masted   off    Corsica,   277      at   -  " 
"attle  of  the  Nile  298  -jno'        •'' ^ 

f'a.v  "N  l.oar,lS    M3     ;„'"  '""« 
KitKlaiKj     firr, .   '      .  '  returns  to 

V«.ene„,e,  -^-"^2?".  it"; 


T64 


INDKX 


m^% 


i 


niaiKls  tlie  rear  at  the  I>attlc  of  the 
.Nile,  305;  eHcupoH  witli  two  sliijw- 
of-the-liiie  and  two  f liguU'S,  305 ; 
iiidocision  of,  306,  701  ;  coiiiiiiaiKis 
the  Toulon  squadron,  alter  tlio 
<leath  of  Latouohe-Trt'-villo,  ()23, 
<>3C ;  Napoleon's  orders  to,  G.'IO; 
first  sailing  of,  and  disasters  on- 
countered  by,  637,  (539,  640 ;  second 
sailing  of,  from  TouloU;  647  ;  ar- 
lival  at  Cadiz  and  in  tlie  West 
Indies,  647  ;  Nelson  loarns  of  liis 
passing  the  Straits,  648,  and  of  his 
destination  to  the  West  Indies,  654- 
657  ;  leaves  West  Indies  for  Kurope, 
on  learning  Nelson's  arrival,  661  ; 
followf d  i)y  Nelson,  662 ;  engage- 
ment of,  with  (.'alder's  Heet,  671  ; 
arrives  at  Terrol,  672 ;  sii'',i  fioi.i 
Fcrrol,  679;  arrival  in  Caoiz,  (584; 
dispositions  for  Imltle,  hefore  'I'ra- 
falfTiir,  7)1.  "18,  7J7,  728;  coin- 
mander-in  chief  of  the  entire  coin- 
hined  fleet,  713;  encounter  of  iiis 
flagship  and  Nelson's,  731-733  ;  sur- 
render of,  737. 
Villettes,  British  general,  at  tho  siege 
of  Ra.stia,  111;  Nelson's  criticisiu 
on,  when  commander  ot  the  troops 
at  Malta,  1803,  569;  c.  \acteristic 
letters  of  Nelson  to,  575,  617. 


Wkllinoton,  Nelson's  one  meeting 
with,  678. 

We^ii;  Indies,  Nelson's  early  service 
in,  14-17;  called  by  Nelson  "the 
station  for  honour,"  32  ;  Nelson  en- 
forces Navigation  Act  in,  46-5.'> ; 
wishes  to  return  to,  in  search  of 
more  active  service,  92,  98 ;  con- 
jectures destination  of  French  Tou- 
lon fleet  to,  in  1804,  617,  635; 
importance    of,   to  Great   Britain, 


635;  rendezvous  fixed  by  Napoleon, 
for  tilt!  concentration  of  his  fleets, 
in  1805,  636,  646  ;  Toulon  squadron 
goes  to,  647 ;  A'elson  pursues  to, 
655,  656  ;  Nelson's  week  in,  in  .luiie, 
1805,  658-663;  his  estimate  of  his 
s;'rvices  rendered  by  going  tliere, 
6Gri,  665  ;  Nelson  returns  to  Europe 
fron.,  662-669. 

Williauk  Henry,  Prince,  son  of  George 
III.,  and  captain  in  the  British  navy, 
first  meeting  of  Nel«on  with,  33, 34  ; 
descrij.'tion  of  Nelson  at !  wenty-four, 
by,  33;  acccjmpanied  by  Nelson  in 
visit  to  Havana,  35;  Nelson's  asso- 
ciation with,  in  1786-87,  63,  64; 
gives  awav  tl;o  bride  at  Nelson's 
wedding,  64 ;  intimacy  of  Nelson 
with,  74-75 ;  returns  with  his  ship 
from  America,  contrarv  to  orders, 
75 ;  at  variance  with  the  King,  75, 
76 ;  made  Duke  of  (^iarence,  76 ; 
effect  of  intimacy  with,  upon  Nel- 
son, 76 ;  subse(|uent  correspondence 
between  Nelson  and,  204,  208,  218, 
243,  401  ;  c<mtinucs  his  friend  dap 
lo  Lady  Nelson,  after  her  husbiMul's 
alieiiiition,  452. 

Woolward,  Frances  Herbert,  maiden 
name  of  Lady  NeLsou,  56. 

Wurmser,  Austrian  marshal,  .suc- 
ceeds Beaulieu,  after  the  Matter's 
defeat  by  Bonaparte,  iu  179C, 
203 ;  raises  the  siege  of  Mantna, 
203;  Nelson's  enterprise  again.st 
Leghorn  dependent  on  the  suc- 
cess of,  205 ;  defeated  by  Bona- 
parte, Jit  Castiglioue  and  Lonato, 
205. 

Wyndham,  British  minister  to  Tus- 
cany, mention  of  Nelson  and  tiie 
Hainiltons  by,  437  ;  strained  rela- 
tions of,  tow'ards  Nelson  and  tlie 
Hamiltous,  437. 


■■•^.3 


fixed  by  Napoleon, 
tioii  of  his  rinels, 

Toulon  squatlnjii 
I'Isoii  purHUes  to, 
<^\VM'k  ill,  in  June, 
is  estiiiiutc  of  hjs 

liy  going  there, 
returns  to  Europe 

ice,  son  of  George 
1  the  British  naw, 
L'1«oii  with,  .•53,  34  ; 
on  iit ;  weiity-fotir, 
ier!  by  Nelson  in 
5 ;  Nelson's  asso- 
I7S6-87,    63,    64; 
>riile  at   Nelson's 
niivcy  of    Nelson 
lis  with  his  ship 
itrarv  to  orders, 
ith  the  King,  75, 
if   Clarence,    76  ; 
with,  upon  Nel- 
t  correspondeiiee 
id,  2«)4,  208,  218, 
s   his  frieiidihip 
or  her  husLfiid's 

Herbert,  maiden 
:>u,  56. 

marshal,  suc- 
ter  the  'atter's 
arte,  iu  179C, 
;ge  of  Mantiial 
erprise  against 
t  on  the  suc- 
ated  by  Boiia- 
le  and   Lonato, 

linister  to  Tus- 
Velson  and  tiift 
;  strained  rela- 
felson  and  the 


Captain  Mahan^Naval  Histories 

l^T^K  B?^.f^,«^WER    UPON 

•"-trative  of  great  naval  batdes      ''      '''''"•    ^'thaochart! 


Svo. 


^"'fh,  „nt  top.    ,1,4,00. 


No  .na„  is  fit  to  train  k'Lk      "^  "'  '"^  '""""lest  board   0100^  "'""•'"•  ''°'» 
'"'Tked,  learned   ami  i        ^  ^^'  *°  ^"""  ""eir  dutien  a^  1       ,  '  '"  '^^  "'"""try. 

"o  hard  or  irkaome  elt?"""  """ '^"'-«  *<>  be  trL     f  m"  ''"'  "^^  ^^^^ 

w.oro...a..diSr,.*"''  T.?iijr  ''^"'-  ^''«-X « :i:r"'- "'« 

Tfffi   INFLUENCE   OP   sva    i^.^,^ 

THE    FRENCH   iSvfWriTrS^    POWER     UPQN 


Iw.^ 


THE  LIFE  OF  NELSON:  THE  EMBODIMENT  OF 
THE  SEA  POWER  OF  GREAV  BRITAIN.  By  Capt.  A. 
T.  Mahan.  With  19  portraitH  aim  plates  in  photogravure  and  21 
maps  and  battle  plnn^ 

V   ro/j«.      Hfo.      Cloth,  {flit  tup.      $H.OO. 

Biography,  like  portt  .  paintiiig,  in  perhaps  the  most  difHcult  branch  of  the  art 
of  whioh  it  iH  i\  part ;  and  Captain  Mnimn  hax  written  the  best  of  all  naval  biogra- 
phies, about  the  Kreatest  of  all  Hea  captains,  the  man  who  was  himself  the  embodi- 
ment of  sea  power  in  action.  —  Throilort  Hoosercll,  in  "  'J'/ii-  liookmnn." 

The  greatest  literary  achievement  of  the  author  of  "  The  Influence  of  Sea  Power 
upon  History."  Never  before  liuve  charm  of  style,  perfect  professional  knowledge, 
the  insight  and  balanced  judgment  of  a  great  historian,  and  deep  admiration  for  tlie 
hero  been  blended  in  any  biography  of  Nelson.  —  Loniinn  Slaniinrd. 

Captain  Mahan's  work  will  become  one  of  the  greatest  naval  classics.  —  London 

Times. 

Full  of  thrilling,  human,  and  professional  interest.  —  London  Daily  Graphic. 
A  masterpiece  of  naval  biography.    -  Wexlminster  Gazetlp. 


THE  INTEREST  OF  AMERICA  IN  SEA  POWER, 

PRESENT  AND  FUTURE.    By  Capt.  A.  T.  Mahan.    With 
two  maps  showing  strategic  points. 

Crown  8i'o.      Cloth,  (flit  top.     $2.0O. 

CONTENTS:  I.  The  United  States  Looking  Outward  ;  II.  Hawaii  and  our 
Sea  Power  ;  III.  The  Isthmus  and  our  Sea  I'ower  ;  IV.  Anglo-American 
Alliance  ;  V.  The  Fu'ure  in  Relation  to  American  Naval  Power  ;  VI. 
Preparedness  for  Naval  War  ;  VII.  A  Tv.entieth  Century  Outlook  ;  VIII. 
Strategic  Features  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Caribbean  Sea. 

All  the  civilized  world  knows  Captain  Mahan  is  an  expert  on  naval  matters. 
His  present  position  on  the  Board  of  Strategy,  directing  the  American  fleets,  has 
made  him  even  more  conspicuous  than  usual.  These  papers,  in  the  light  of  the 
present  war,  prove  Captain  Mahan  a  most  sane  and  sure  prophet.  It  seems  hard  to 
imagine  any  topics  more  fascinating  at  the  present  time.  No  romance,  no  novel, 
could  possibly  equal  such  essays  as  these,  by  such  an  author,  in  present  public 
interest.  So  many  of  his  theories  have  come  to  reality  as  to  be  positively  re- 
markable. —  The  Criterion. 

The  last  paper,  "  Strategic  Features  of  the  Caribl)ean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,"  written  only  last  year,  deals  with  problems  that  now  confront  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  the  shape  of  practical  questions  vhat  will  have  to  be  decided 
for  the  present  and  the  future.  It  is  well  within  the  bounds  of  truth  to  say  that  an 
intelligent  comprehension  of  these  questions  is  not  possible  without  a  reading  of 
the  present  volume.      Philadelphia  /inquirer. 

His  paper  on  Hawaii  is  timely  at  this  moment,  as  it  treats  of  the  annexation  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands  from  the  point  of  view  which  our  statesmen  might  well  take, 
rather  than  from  the  professional  view  which  a  naval  officer  might  be  expected  to 
hold.  — Philadelphia  Telegraph. 

The  substance  of  all  these  essays  concerns  every  intelligent  voter  in  this  country. 
Boston  Herald. 


LITTLE,  BROWN,  &    COMPANY,  Publishers, 

254  Washington  Street,  Boston. 


Im 


ssics.  —  Lnnilon 


uiAN.    With 


J^IiANCIS  PARKMAN'S  WORKS 

upon  a  choice  Ini.l  paper    il'     ^   1"  T''"''  *"^  *^-"^''f"l  tvpe 

«'"i^l^  Tiu..e  .,e  T,..,;.:;   ]!       '.-f  i  '  "•^^^^'■'  '•^'^''  ^^« "- 
Adno,,  Arorcau,  and  other  artil's  ^^-'"".^'^0,,  Or«on  Well, 


I  vol. 
I  vol. 
I  vol. 
I  Vol. 

1  vol. 

2  vols. 
2V0l«, 


P^«EERS  OF  PRANCE  m  m  «EW  woim, 

^A  SAUE  A1»D  THE  DISCOVEBV  m,  ^ 

THE  OU)  REGIME  WcaST;"^'"^"^^^^^-    " 

COUlfT  FRONTElfAC  ABD  MEW  «A«r,    '         ' 

MOKTCALM  AW)  WOLIE 
™  Om-OOll  TOAH, jTrt.. 

Versaillos.  ''"'^"^-      ^'■°'"  «  Painting  by  Claurl^  r.f^  k 

»    •Iran  Guvhn  ■,«.„         ^  •'  ^'*"f'e  Lef^vbre  at 

".    THAI'S S  Jii- pP""!-  "°  •'""  '^"'""^  B"».    F,o„  . 

Tom  the  painting  by  Howard  PyJe. 


i\ 


FRANCIS  PARK }f AX'S    WORKS. 


la. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 
18. 
lU. 

20. 

21. 
22. 

2a. 

24. 


8iK  Wii.MAM  Pki-i-kkkku..     Froin  tliu  paiiitiii);  by  Sinibert. 
MAitguiH    i>K    Hkauiiaknoih,   (iovRKNoK   OK   (.'anada.     From   the 

l>uiiitiii(;  by  Tdiinit-rfH  in  tlie  Miist'e  de  (iiviioblu. 
MAKguiH  i>K  MuNT<'Ai.M.     Kroiii  the  orii;iiiul  |miiiting  in  the  posses- 

Hidii  of  thu  pi'usciit  Maniuii)  du  MoiitLulin. 
Makqui.s  i>k  V'AunuKiiir..     Kroni  thu  piiinting  in  thu  possei^sion  of  the 

Coun'os  lie  Clunnont  Tonnenu. 
Gknkk'.u  Woi.kk.     From  thu  oilginal  painting  by  Highniore. 
TiiK  '/all  ok  Montcalm.     From  the  imintinj;  by  Howuril  I'yie. 
ViKW  ok  thk  Taking  ok  Qukhkc.     From  the  early  ennruvinu  of  a 

drawing  nnide  on  the  spot  by  Cupt.  Hurvuy  Sinytii,  Wolfe's  uid-du- 

cuinp. 
Col.   Hkmky  Uuuijuet.     From  the   original  painting  bv  Benjamin 

West. 
Thk  Dkatii  ok  1\)ntiac.     From  the  Picture  by  De  Cost  Smith. 
SiK  William  Johnmun.     From  a  nie/.zotint  engraving. 
Halk   Slidino,    IIalk   Plunoimo.      From  a  drawing  by   Frederic 

Hemington. 
The  Tiiundek  F'iqhtlks.     F'rom  the  picture  by  F'rederie  Remington. 


It  is  hardly  necessary  to  quote  here  from  the  innumerable  tributes  to  so 
famous  an  American  author  as  Francis  Park  man.  Among  writers  wlio 
have  bestowed  the  iiighest  praise  upon  his  writings  are  such  names  as  James 
Rn^sell  Lowell,  Dr.  John  Fiske,  President  Charles  W.  Eliot  of  Harvard 
Universit}',  George  William  Curtis,  lulward  Eggleston,  W.  D.  Uowells, 
James  Schouler,  and  Dr.  Conan  Doyle,  as  well  as  many  prominent  critics  in 
the  United  States,  in  Canada,  and  in  England. 

In  two  respect"^  Francis  Parknian  was  exceptionally  fortunate.  He  chose 
a  theme  of  the  closest  interest  to  his  countr3'men,  —  the  colonization  of  the 
American  Continent  and  the  wars  for  its  possession,  — and  he  lived  through 
fifty  years  of  toil  to  complete  the  great  historical  series  which  he  designed 
when  but  a  youth  at  college. 

The  text  of  the  New  Library  Edition  is  that  of  the  latest  issue  of  each 
work  prepared  for  the  press  by  the  distinguished  author.  He  carefully 
revised  and  added  to  several  of  his  works,  not  through  change  of  views, 
but  in  the  light  of  new  documentary  evidence  which  his  patient  research 
and  untiring  zeal  extracted  from  the  hidden  archives  of  the  past.  Thus  he 
rewrote  and  enlarged  "The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  "  ;  the  new  edition  of 
"La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West"  (1878),  and  the  1885 
edition  of  "  Pioneers  of  France  "  included  very  important  additions  ;  and  a 
short  time  before  his  death  he  added  to  "The  Old  Rt'gime "  fifty  pages, 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Feudal  Chiefs  of  Acadia."  The  New  Library  Edition 
therefore  includes  each  work  in  its  final  state  as  perfected  by  the  historian. 
The  indexes  have  been  entirely  remade. 


LITTLE,    BROWN^,  &   CO.,   Publishers, 

254  Washington  Street,  Boston. 


[>i«*j«*»« 


cs. 


'  Siiiibert. 

NADA.     From  the 

ting  in  the  posscs- 

e  possession  of  the 

liRhniore. 
llowuid  i'yle. 
•ly  eufrrnvinp  of  a 
it,  Wolfe's  aid-(lu- 

ing  by  Benjamin 

>  Cost  Smith. 

Mg. 

viiig  by  Frederic 
Jderic  Remington. 

ble  tributes  to  so 
ong  writers  wlio 
h  names  as  Jumes 
Eliot  of  Harvurd 
W.  D.  Howells, 
ominent  critics  in 

unate.  He  chose 
Ionization  of  the 
he  lived  through 
hicii  he  designed 

est  issue  of  each 
.  He  carefully 
liange  of  views, 
patient  research 
past.  Thus  he 
i  new  edition  of 
I,  and  the  1885 
dditions  ;  and  a 
ne  "  fifty  pages, 
Library  Edition 
y  the  historian. 


r 


8LISHERS, 


